In the poem, the language used to describe Leda and the language used to describe the Swan is quite contrasting. If we look at some of the words used to describe Leda, such as, "staggering", "caught", "helpless", "terrified", and "vague", we can see that they are weak, and contain no power at all, which implies that Leda felt powerless and vulnerable, unable to stop what was happening. The word, vague, in particular implies that Leda was unsure of how she could defend herself. The words insinuate that she was probably caught, and forced against her will, which can be interpreted as an attack. The description given of the swan contradicts also the stereotypical image of a swan, with words such as, "great wings", "dark webs", "feathered glory", and "indifferent beak". These words are far from beauty, serenity and harmlessness, but instead imply power, uncaring, or something sinister and threatening. Language used in the poem is always weak vs. strong, which on its own indicates that there is a conflict being portrayed, and Leda is probably the victim. Secondly, the poet has also made an interesting use of tenses to add to the meaning of the poem. The octave uses verbs in present tense, such as "beating", and so gives us the feeling that the scene is taking place right at that moment. The sestet uses verbs in past tense, such as "mastered" and "caught", which imply that the action has already taken place, and the attack is over. Alliteration is also used in this poem, and some examples are "he holds her helpless breast", which by the use of alliteration has become more poignant in emphasizing the injustice being done to Leda. Also, "brute blood", which is the only description of the surroundings, gives them human characteristics, by making them seem beast-like and unreasonable.
Although the poem is short, it used imagery to a large extent and so is very expressive, and is able to convey significant meaning. The first line of the poem in itself is important as it starts very aggressively, "A sudden blow", and takes us directly to the action. We immediately get the image of a swan with its "great wings beating above the staggering girl", and this is the first statement which hints that the swan is sinister. The use of the word "staggering", is also interesting because on one hand it implies an image of weak, scared Leda, who is possibly injured, or trying to escape, whereas staggering also means amazing, which implies that Leda was beautiful, but takes us away from the theme of the conflict. Another example of using a word with an ambiguous meaning is "laid in that white rush". Here the words white rush can imply the eager white body of the swan, but on the other hand they could be describing a riverside background with white rushes growing on the bank. In the latter meaning, white could symbolize the peacefulness that is being disrupted, or the innocence that is being lost. In the line, "thighs caressed by the dark webs", the poet uses an interesting combination of contradicting words. Caressed implies gentleness, and even possibly love, whereas dark webs goes back to the sinister image of the swan. This line gives us the image of a threatening invader coaxing Lena and we can almost say that the swan is given human characteristics. Personification can also be seen in the line, "he holds her helpless breast upon his breast". Imagery is also present in the third and fourth stanzas, in which the "shudder in the loins" can indicate ejaculation, or the end of the attack, which can be seen more clearly as a rape. "The broken wall", can support this by possibly indicating a broken hymen, or loss of virginity and innocence. The entire image of Agamemnon dead, who appears to be an outside character could signify that this act has caused a greater conflict or has greater consequences than the immediate ones mentioned. Finally, the imagery in the last stanza uses words such as "mastered", "brute", and "indifferent, which implies that everything was done so fast and with such power that Leda did not even know what was happening. At the end of the attack, the swan had taken what it had wanted, and without a care had left Leda lying there, quite different from the first feeling we got when the swan was caressing Leda as though he loved her.