W. B. Yeats: No Second Troy

Was there another Troy for her to burn?

• Why should I blame her that she fill 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?

Summary

The speaker starts by asking why he should blame a certain woman for making him personally miserable. He also asks why he should blame her for encouraging poor, uneducated men to use violence in a political uprising, essentially turning the poor against the rich and powerful. He notes that the uprising failed only because the men's courage did not match their desire for change.

The speaker then answers his own question. He says it was impossible for her to be peaceful because of her personality. He describes her mind as being noble but also intense and destructive, like a fire. He describes her beauty as being tense and dangerous, like a tightly pulled bow. He feels that this kind of serious, intense, and solitary person is old-fashioned and does not belong in the modern world. e He concludes that, given her nature, she had no other choice. He compares her to Helen of Troy, a famous beauty from mythology who caused the destruction of the great city of Troy. The speaker implies this woman has the same epic, destructive quality. Since there was no ancient, legendary city like Troy for her to destroy in modern times, she had to cause this smaller, political conflict instead. It was simply her destiny to cause destruction.

Questions

1. Who is the author of the poem "No Second Troy"?
2. Who is the woman, the "her," that the poem is believed to be about?
3. What specific actions does the poet consider blaming the woman for in the first five lines?
4. Explain the meaning of the line "Or hurled the little streets upon the great." What historical context does this refer to?
5. What does the poet mean when he says the woman "taught to ignorant men most violent ways"?
6. According to the poet, what stopped these "ignorant men" from causing even more destruction?
7. Identify and explain the simile used to describe the woman's mind in the line "nobleness made simple as a fire."
8. Identify and explain the simile used to describe the woman's beauty. What does "a tightened bow" suggest?
9. What three adjectives does the poet use to describe the woman's character in the line "Being high and solitary and most stern"?
10. Why does the poet claim her kind is "not natural in an age like this"?
11. What is the central classical allusion in the poem, and how does it relate to the woman being described?
12. Who was Helen of Troy, and what is her significance in this poem?
13. What is the function of the rhetorical questions used throughout the poem?
14. How does the poet's tone towards the woman shift, or what complex mix of feelings does he express?
15. In what way does the poet suggest the woman is 'blameless' or acting according to her nature?
16. Explain the poem's final question: "Was there another Troy for her to burn?" What does it imply about the woman and the modern world?
17. What is the form and rhyme scheme of the poem?
18. How does the poem explore the theme of destructive beauty?
19. How does the poem contrast the 'heroic' or 'epic' past with the 'modern' present?
20. What does the poem suggest about the relationship between personal desire and political action?
21. Analyze the poet's own feelings. Is he simply angry, or is there also a sense of awe or resignation?
22. What does the poem imply about the woman's potential?
23. What "misery" might the poet be referring to in the second line?
24. Discuss the poet's perspective on the "ignorant men." How does he seem to view them?
25. Ultimately, what is the poet's final judgment or conclusion about the woman?

Answers

1. W. B. Yeats.
2. Maud Gonne.
3. Making him miserable and teaching violent ways to ignorant men.
4. She encouraged poor people (little streets) to fight the powerful (the great), referencing Irish nationalism.
5. She inspired common people to use violence for their political goals.
6. Their courage was not equal to their desire (they were not brave enough).
7. Her mind is compared to a fire, meaning it is naturally noble, intense, and destructive.
8. Her beauty is compared to a tightened bow, suggesting it is tense, powerful, and dangerous.
9. High, solitary, and most stern.
10. He feels her intense, heroic personality belongs to an ancient, epic time, not the modern world.
11. The reference to Troy (and Helen of Troy), comparing the woman's destructive power to Helen's.
12. In Greek myth, she was the most beautiful woman, and her kidnapping caused the Trojan War and the burning of Troy.
13. They show the poet thinking through the problem and realizing he cannot blame her.
14. He feels a mix of personal pain (misery) and admiration (awe) for her powerful nature.
15. He says she is just "being what she is" and her fiery nature cannot be peaceful.
16. It means her capacity for destruction is too large for the modern world; there is no target great enough for her.
17. It is one 12-line stanza with an ABAB CDCD EFEF rhyme scheme.
18. It links her beauty ("tightened bow") and mind ("fire") directly to causing misery and violence.
19. It presents her as a heroic, epic figure (like Helen) who is wasted in the less grand modern age.
20. It shows how one person's powerful personality and beliefs can inspire violent political action in others.
21. He feels more resignation and awe at her power than simple anger.
22. It implies she has the powerful, destructive potential of a figure from an epic myth.
23. He is likely referring to the personal heartbreak and sadness she caused him by rejecting his love.
24. He seems to see them as simple followers who were inspired by her but lacked real courage.
25. He concludes that she cannot be blamed because she is simply acting according to her unique, powerful, and fiery nature.