No Second Troy by William Butler Yeats

No Second Troy by William Butler Yeats

Why should I blame her that she filled my days

With misery, or that she would of late

Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,

Or hurled the little streets upon the great,

Had they but courage equal to desire?

What could have made her peaceful with a mind

That nobleness made simple as a fire,

With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind

That is not natural in an age like this,

Being high and solitary and most stern?

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

Was there another Troy for her to burn?

INTRODUCTION –

"No Second Troy" is a famous poem by the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. It was written in 1916 during the Irish revolution but published later, in 1921 in his collection titled 'The Green Helmet and Other Poems'. The poem consists of a single stanza of twelve lines. The rhyme scheme followed in the poem is ABABCDCDEFEF. It is addressed to the beautiful Maud Gone, an Irish revolutionist whom Yeats loved but who rejected his proposals of marriage. Instead, Maud Gone married John MacBride in 1903. Although this marriage resulted in a separation, two years later, it left Yeats in great distress. Hence, in this poem, Yeats has shown his anger and frustration towards her by her comparing her to the Helen of Troy.

Helen is a legendary character from Homer's Iliad. Like Maud Gonne, Helen was considered one of the most beautiful women of her age. She was also partly responsible for starting the Trojan War, which eventually led to the burning of the great city of Troy at the end of the ten-year war. Many legends paint her as a romantic who left her husband Menelaus for the beautiful but cowardly Trojan Prince Paris. With this comparison to Helen, Yeats is accusing Maud Gonne of being partially responsible for the violence in revolutionary Ireland, just like Helen was partially responsible for the Trojan War. Hence, Maud Gone is portrayed similar to Helen in his poems as she too broke Yeats's heart for someone else.

POET –

William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and an important literary figure in the 20th century. Further, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923 for his great contribution to literature. A renowned poet, Yeats works include famous poems like Byzantium, Sailing to Byzantium, A Prayer for My Daughter, etc.

SUMMARY –

In the very first line of the poem, Yeats begins with a rhetorical question saying that he should not blame her (Maud Gonne) for filling his life with misery. The answer to this is implied in the question itself. The poet is unhappy that Maud Gonne has not responded to his love but he doesn't blame her for his pain of rejection. He continues further by saying that he should also not blame her for teaching innocent Irish people the rebellious and intense methods to get freedom for their country. He addresses the ignorant men as "little streets" symbolizing that these men belong to the poor class of the society. Maud Gone is encouraging these poor people to fight the 'great' i.e. the British rulers, which is futile. It is to be noted here that she is not training the rich or high-class men but those who are low-class and can be easily moved. Yeats even questions these men as they have the desire to achieve their freedom but are still under the dominance of a woman refusing to question her and her ideas.

Next, Yeats analyses Maud Gone's thoughts, intelligence, beauty, and motives. There is no doubt that she is a very powerful and authoritative woman but the poet views her as a symbol of destruction. Her beauty is said to be like a tightened bow ready to strike. Her mind is made simple as a fire of nobleness, which presents a contrast in itself as simple is not used to describe fire. Further, it is incredible to possess a beauty like her at such an age. Beauty fades away with time but Maud Gone seems to remain unaffected by it. She can be described as distinguished, solitary, and most stern. She belongs to another age. Lastly, the poet concludes that because there was no "second Troy" for her to destroy, she had to destroy other things – like the speaker's happiness, and the lives of Irish commoners.

THEMES –

• Love - The poem follows the emotions and feelings of a heartbroken lover. Yeats loved Maud Gone and worked with her for a long time. He wished to marry and have a life with her but she rejected his proposals. The poem opens on a sad note describing how her refusal filled him with misery.

• Violence and revolution - The poem is written around the period of the Irish Revolution. There was an increase in the spirit of patriotism during that interval. But the ways to achieve it turned more damaging. With time, it turned violent killing many common men. It was even more painful because the people most affected and killed were poor men and not the rich class.

END –

"No Second Troy" expresses that moment in a disturbing love affair when the unanswered lover, fed up with all the hoaxes and shenanigans that have been raging beneath the surface, finally empties all his emotions in a fit of pitiless honesty. Yeats's love for Gonne and his love for his country conflict dramatically, pulling him this way and that. In the end, his love of Ireland and nonviolence win the day, and he comes close to rebuking Gonne through the ruinous comparison to Helen of Troy.