Ledas+Sister+and+the+Geese

=Katharyn Howd Machan=



Katharyn Howd Machan was born 1952 in Woodbury Connecticut. She attended St Rose University of Iowa and received her Phd in creative writing and literature at Northwestern University. She is currently a professor at Ithaca college where she teaches in the department of writing. She is an outspoken feminist who for many years directed the National Feminist Women's Writing Workshop. She has also won multiple awards for her work, including the Ann Stanford Poetry Prize, the Luna Negra poetry prize, the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, and the City Works National Award for poetry. She has also written two books and has published many other works including a series of journal entries. =__Leda's Sister and the Geese__= All the boys always wanted her, so

it was no surprise about the swan-

man, god, whatever he was. That day

I was stuck at home, as usual, while

she got to moon around the lake

supposedly picking lilies for dye. Think I

would have let some pair of wings catch me,

bury me under the weight of the sky?

She came home whimpering, whined out

the whole story, said she was "sore afraid"

she'd got pregnant. Hunhm "Sore"

I'll bet, the size she described, and

pregnant figures: no guess who'll get

to help her with the kid, or, Hera forbid,

more than one (twins run in our damned

family). "Never you mind, dear," Mother said.

"Your sister will take on your chores."

Sure. As though I wasn't already doing

twice as many of my own. So now

I clean, I spin, I weave, I bake,

fling crusts to feed these birds I wish

to Hades every day; while she sits smug

in a wicker chair, and eats sweetmeats,

and combs and combs that ratty golden hair.

=I**nterpretations**=
 * Perrine's Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense:** Says that this poem is a humorous take on an ancient greek myth. The language used creates that humorous tone and has complex devices used such as the allusions of two divine births of the old greek myth involving zeus disguised as a swan and a biblical reference.
 * My Interpretation:** I believed that this poem was about a jealous, loathing sister who victim blames her sister who was going to give birth to a child of rape. I believe that the speaker is supposed to represent society.

=Theme= The theme that I interpreted in this poem was society often victim blames rape victims. Throughout the poem Leda's Sister expresses strong distaste for her sister incident bailing her with phrases like "think I would have let some pair of wings catch me? Bury under the weight of the sky". This line saying I would have not let this swan rape me like my sister had. Showing that her sister thought it was Leda's fault. The sister/ speaker of the poem also shows jealousy toward her sister which is shown in such lines as "All the boys always wanted her so it was no surprise about the swan man, god, whatever he was." =Literary Devices=
 * Sarcasm**: Throughout the poem Leda's sister uses irony in a way that is meant to convey contempt to the reader.
 * Example: "your sister will take on your chores." Sure. As though I wasn't already doing twice as many as my own"
 * Importance: The sarcasm used by the speaker in this line allows the reader to better understand the speakers personality and shows he negative view of her sister.


 * Asyndeton**: This device is used in the poem to make or really stress a certain point
 * Example: "I clean, I spin, I weave, I bake"
 * Importance: This is used to show the sisters frustration and anger toward her sister. Claiming that now she has to do all the work where her sister Leda just gets to relax.


 * Allusion**: The poem uses the allusion of the ancient greek myth of "Leda and the Swan" to base this poem after. The Perrine Literature text book also believes that there is a allusion of Luke 2.9 from the bible. Both these myths have in common the idea of a divine birth, which is seen from Leda Getting pregnant from Zeus in the form of a swan.
 * Example: Luke 2.9 from the bible and the Leda and the Swan greek myth.
 * Importance: The importance is that the allusion of this greek myth is vital for this poem to even exist. If the author did not use this tail it would have changed everything about the poem.

=Meter=
 * Rhetorical Quetion**: A question asked in the poem that is not meant to be answered.
 * Example: "Think I would have let some pair of wings catch me, bury me under the weight of the sky?
 * Importance: The use of this rhetorical question allows for the poem to capture the personality of the speaker/sister.
 * Form**: No specific form evident
 * Structure**: Free verse
 * Speaker**: The speaker in this poem is Leda's sister who goes unnamed. The speaker seems to show jealousy, contempt, and anger towards her sister throughout the poem.

=Emotion=
 * Tone:** Contemptuous and jealous is the tone. The speaker throughout the poem shows jealousy like when she says all the boys always wanted her and then goes on to say its then no surprise that the Swan God wanted her. The speaker also shows scorn and contempt throughout the poem with the way she describes her sister Leda. An example is when the speaker says Leda came home "whimpering" and "whined out" showing the speaker thought her sister was being overdramatic. The poem having this tone was vital for the work because it gave the reader a better understanding of the theme of victim blaming.
 * Mood:** This poem had a pessimistic mood. The mood is achieved by the speaker not wanting to take care of her sister and instead complaining about having to take on more chores. The mood is also shown by the sister blaming her sister Leda for what happened and not wanting the baby (possibly twins) to come because it will make for more work for herself. The impact of the mood is that it makes the reader dislike the speaker. This allows for the theme to be shown by showing that victim blaming is a terrible thing and allows the reader to feel compassion for Leda.
 * Words with connotations:**
 * Hades: This was the god of the underworld. The way the speaker uses this word would be the equivalent to the other saying I wish to the devil.

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