A Critical Assessment of Poem "No Second Troy" by W. B. Yeats

A Critical Assessment of Poem "No Second Troy" by William Butler Yeats

"No Second Troy" by William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939), an excellent Irish poet, is a poem about the love relationship between the poet and Maud Gonne, a devastatingly beautiful Irish woman. It is one of the best literary love stories of the 20th century. The poem guidelines how an attractive dazzling beauty can cause a devastating huge distraction with the reference to Helen of Troy, from the Iliad and the Aeneid. Now we will critically look into the poem.

Before analyzing the poem, let us have a look at the historical background of the poem. William Butler Yeats, in fact, published the poem in 1916 inside the collection “Responsibilities and Other Poems”, after he had already proposed his love to Gonne; and been rejected on several occasions. Yeats was once passionate about her and pursued her for over a decade and dedicated many of his poems to her. In this poem, however, In this poem, however, Yeats's way of thinking and evaluating is honestly harsh, as he compares Gonne with the infamously beautiful, lovely, and notoriously mischievous “Helen of Troy”.

Like Maud Gonne, Helen, a legendary personality from Homer's Iliad, was once regarded to be one of the foremost beautiful females of her age. She used to be additionally partly accountable for beginning the Trojan War, which subsequently led to the burning of the excellent and evergreen town of Troy.

Moreover, Similar to Helen, Yeats is accusing Maud Gonne of being partially accountable for the violence in revolutionary Ireland, a bit like Helen was once partially accountable for the Trojan War. According to "No Second Troy," she taught ignorant human beings the most violent and merciless ways.

In addition, Maud Gonne is a brave and devastatingly lovely woman. She is moreover a merciless lover and a shamelessly irresponsible activist. She makes use of her beauty and her high beliefs to convince people less noble and intelligent to attempt to do what he considers some very unwise things, like opposing the might of the British colonial powers.

Now, we will critically analyze the poem "No Second Troy" in our following discussion. The poem develops through four important rhetorical questions.

First, the speaker wonders "why" he should blame "her" for his unhappiness and for her reckless manipulation of the emotions of Irish commoners to awaken political violence. As the poet says:

“Why should I blame her that she filled my days

With misery,...?”

The speaker blames Maud Gonne for filling his life with sorrows and unhappiness. We can only anticipate that the reason for his "misery" is that she rejected him again and again.

Moreover, Yeats is speaking about the role of Maud Gonne performed in encouraging violent, revolutionary activities in Ireland during the independence movement mainly the Easter Rising of 1916, the same 12 months of publishing the poem.

“…she would of late

Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,

Or hurled the little streets upon the great,”

Again, the speaker accuses Maud Gonne of class warfare, trying to make poor, simple people, who sleep in the "little streets", the native people, rebel against the more powerful people that live on the "great" streets, the British.

Had they but courage equal to desire?”

“Or hurled the little streets upon the great,

It indicates that the common folk has the "desire" to overthrow British rule, but they do not have the "courage" to carry out the deed. They are too impoverished and uneducated.

Secondly, he asks whether or not it would even have been possible for "her" to be a "peaceful" person. He thinks her character and beauty have an old-school quality, more sort of a figure from Greek tragedy than an up to date woman. She belongs to another age.

“With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind

That is not natural in an age like this,

Being high and solitary and most stern?”

Thirdly, the speaker is simultaneously thinking about another reality during which Maud Gonne wasn't such a firebrand or heartbreaker, at the same time as he recognizes that it could never have been any other way.

“Why, what could she have done, being what she is?”

As there was once no "second Troy" for her to destroy, she had to ruin different things – simply like the speaker's happiness, and consequently the lives of Irish commoners. The first Troy, of course, was once destroyed due to a quarrel over Helen, every other politically troublesome beauty from every other "age", ancient Greece. Lastly, the speaker asks her:

“Was there another Troy for her to burn?”

In conclusion, we will say that the poem “No Second Troy” may additionally be a strong name in the direction of peace leaving the violent way of war or destruction. The poem appeals that no beauty like Helen of Troy or Gonne will cause the destruction of each and every different beauty like “Troy”. There will continue to be only peace and love interior of the world.