Leda

Now, this poem is weird for me. I like it, but I feel bad for liking it. Rape shouldn't, in my mind, be so pretty sounding.

I guess why this one struck me was that it addressed it from Zeus' outlook. I mean, rarely do you see what was going through the rapist's mind. "The bird from Olympus, wounded by love" makes me feel bad for Zeus (1720, line 9). He's been hurt, so he just wants something from someone. Much like a child that has had its favorite toy taken away, it lashes out. A child doesn't rape, but throws a tantrum. A kicking, screaming, horrible thing that lets the adult know that the child is not happy.

In this sense, I feel like Dario shows Zeus as a large child that doesn't know how to explain his frustration. He throws a tantrum and acts out upon the nearest person or thing that he knows. I'm not sure he targeted Leda for any reason other than she caught his eye before. I don't think he wanted to hurt her specifically. Zeus had all of his home issues with Hera. She hated his womanizer ways. It was Hera that was so harsh to him and probably wounded him. Now, that is an assumption. It could also be Leda that denied him his desires. When you sit and think about why he is acting out, you feel less bad for him, I guess.

Part of the reason this is so hard to be disgusted by is that it's romanticized, at least in my mind. She struggles, but doesn't seem to actually do anything that would cause damage. I mean, you can struggle, and you can really struggle. He seems to come across as someone who is trying to be her lover. He seeks her lips which is an odd thing in this sort of situation. Often, in situations where the couple is not emotionally bonded, kissing is out of bounds. It gives it a sort of extra desperation, like he just wants to be loved.

This poem is so different than some of the other ones. It seems less vibrant. Everything seems muted. The colors of the swan have changed, from bright white to grey, and the beak has become amber instead of rose-red. The poems after the TR one are much more dark, but dark doesn't describe it right.

I feel that this one is a guilty pleasure. It makes such a beautiful story out of something so utterly horrible.