Tyranny is a strong dominion over innocence. Poetry and other forms of literature often use symbolism as a means of delivering a message. The reasons for using symbolism are as varied as the symbols used. Images are not always as they appear, and when you think about poetry more abstractly many interpretations can arise. In WB Yeats' poem “Leda and the Swan,” Yeats uses the retelling of a classical myth and its connotations to symbolize English rule over the Irish people. A swan, transformed by Zeus, raping a woman provides an image of deviousness, dishonesty and tyranny. Leda provides the image of innocence and a person forced into submission. Yeats loves the use of symbolism and writes about this love in his essay "The Symbolism of Poetry". Using the two works mentioned above at a minimum, this essay will show how he uses symbolism and how it works in this particular poem. First, there will be a stanza-by-stanza analysis of the use of rape as a symbol and why Yeats chose this particular story to tell. So, the general use of symbolism in poetry will be discussed in relation to Yeats's essay "The Symbolism of Poetry". WB Yeats's "Leda and the Swan" tells the ancient myth of Leda being raped by Zeus, and with this provides imagery and symbolism for the tyranny over Ireland and a model of his philosophy on symbolism. During the opening line of the sonnet Yeats shows a surprise: “A sudden blow: the great wings still beating” (l. 1). What this line brings to the symbolic meaning of the poem is to make the reader gasp in shock and give the perception of the wings as large and powerful. Next, the poem provides an introduction to the victim of this rape: “Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed by darkness… in the center of the paper… as this must happen in the ideal realm.” of how Yeats would have appreciated symbolism. Overt meaning is the opposite of symbolism and if different opinions cannot be expressed about a particular symbol, then a symbol ceases to exist. Imagination stands out in Yeats's philosophy, and without imagination there can be no art. Without art there can be no symbolism to convey, only reality: something everyone needs a break from, to relax and think. Works Cited Yeats, William Butler. “Leda and the Swan”. The Norton anthology of modern and contemporary poetry. 3rd ed. vol. 1. Ed. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair. New York, NY: Norton, 2003.---, “The Symbolism of Poetry.” The Norton anthology of modern and contemporary poetry. 3rd ed. vol. 1. Ed. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair. New York, New York: Norton, 2003. 877-883.