No Second Troy by WB Yeats: Summary and Theme
No Second Troy is a poem by WB Yeats. The title suggests the time of ancient Greek history. It suggests the epic event of Greek time. We don’t find any direct explanation of Troy. But at last, we come to know that the poet is comparing Helen of Troy with the speaker’s girlfriend, Maud Gonne. The poem presents four rhetorical questions.
The speaker is unhappy because of her rejection. The speaker thinks that he has no right to blame her. So, he says why should he blame her? The speaker thinks that she is a peaceful figure. Her character and beauty are compared with person from Greek tragedy. She doesn’t look like a woman of his time. So, he calls her from ‘another age’.
She can’t destroy another city like in Troy. He compares her with Helen of the ancient time. In ancient time, Helen was the most beautiful woman of Troy. Because of her beauty two cities clashed with each other. She became the cause for the destruction. In this poem, the poet is indirectly comparing Helen with Maud Gonne, his girlfriend. Like Helen, Maud Gonne took his happiness and peace. So, the speaker is feeling like second Troy but ironically he is saying no second Troy.
Theme of the Poem No Second Troy by WB Yeats :
The poem presents the theme of guilt and blame. The speaker is blaming Maud Gonne for his loss of peace. He thinks that she is responsible for his present pathetic condition but ironically he doesn’t blame her directly.
