No Second Troy by W.B Yeats - Summary
W.B Yeats published the poem in his poetry collection of "The Green Helmet and Other Poems". It reflects the miseries of Yeats caused due to Maud Gonne, his crush and her firebrand revolutionary character. He had proposed her multiple times but each time she rejected him, but his obsession with her took much time to end. His unrequited love towards her continued till her loss of sanity. Here in the poem, he compares her to Helen of Trojan War fame who led to the widespread loss of lives and rampant destruction of the city of Troy. The poem follows the Rhyming scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF.
The narrator laments that he should not blame Gonne for the rejection and miseries she caused to him which made his life full of gloom. Dut to her activeness in Revolutionary politics regarding the Irish Independence from the Great Britain which calls for the violent uprising from the common people of Ireland. Yeats criticises the way she is putting the lives of these ignorant men on the line. He is aware of the inevitability of crushing the Revolution with its brutal methods by the Colonial power.
In reality, they don't have enough courage to match their desire. She could have a peaceful mind with noble and luminous quality, but her beauty adds to her character an unnatural element which can't resonate with the contemporary age. He compares her to a "tightened bow". He blames her arrogance, loneliness and abnormal seriousness. Perhaps, she could not help her disposition because she is what she is. The ancient city of Troy was destroyed a long time ago due to the wrath unravelled by the contenders of Helen, but another Troy (Ireland) could also be destroyed, to some extent, due to the arrogance of another Helen (Maud Gonne).
The narrator laments that he should not blame Gonne for the rejection and miseries she caused to him which made his life full of gloom. Dut to her activeness in Revolutionary politics regarding the Irish Independence from the Great Britain which calls for the violent uprising from the common people of Ireland. Yeats criticises the way she is putting the lives of these ignorant men on the line. He is aware of the inevitability of crushing the Revolution with its brutal methods by the Colonial power.
In reality, they don't have enough courage to match their desire. She could have a peaceful mind with noble and luminous quality, but her beauty adds to her character an unnatural element which can't resonate with the contemporary age. He compares her to a "tightened bow". He blames her arrogance, loneliness and abnormal seriousness. Perhaps, she could not help her disposition because she is what she is. The ancient city of Troy was destroyed a long time ago due to the wrath unravelled by the contenders of Helen, but another Troy (Ireland) could also be destroyed, to some extent, due to the arrogance of another Helen (Maud Gonne).