William Yeats: No Second Troy

Yeats poem “No Second Troy” is a poem of rejection and heartbreak He compares Maud to Helen of Troy. In his poem he writes, “Why should I blame her that she filled my days with misery” (line 1 and 2).   It’s as if he came to the realization that he was only miserable because he allowed her to make him feel that way. Basically Yeats is kicking himself for allowing Maud to make him feel miserable, he realizes that she could only make him feel that way because he allowed her to.

Going back to Helen of Troy, she was a political figurehead, a ruler. She was to be loved by all, yet she causes chaos and destroyed a country. Keats uses the comparison of Helen of Troy to show the great destructive power women have. At the end of the poem he writes, “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?” Again the comparison is evident, but when he asks if there was another Troy for her to burn its context is a mystery. It could be a variety of things; he could be wondering if this was the only heart scorned by her love? He could also be wondering, if there are more countries that will be destroyed by women with too much beauty and power?