Key Facts

• Writer: William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)
• Original Title: Leda and the Swan
• Source: Greek Mythology (myth of Leda and Zeus)
• Written Time: 1923
• Published Date: 1924, in The Dial magazine
• Form: Sonnet (Petrarchan/Italian sonnet)
• Genre: Mythological Poetry
• Tone: Violent, Powerful, Reflective
• Point of View: Third-person
• Total Lines: 14 lines
• Total Part: 2 parts (Octave and Sestet)
• Setting: 

• Time Setting: Mythical past (time of the Gods)
• Place Setting: Leda’s encounter with Zeus in nature (indicated to be near water or an outdoor setting)