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Difficulty: MediumAllusions in Poetry

Read the following poem by William Butler Yeats (1865��1939) carefully:

No Second Troy

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?

Which of the following best describes the function of the allusion to Troy in the final line of the poem?

  1. It characterizes the woman's beauty and political influence as inherently and tragically destructive, framing her actions as inevitable given her noble but out-of-place nature.Answer
  2. B
    It reveals the poet's literal desire to see contemporary Dublin destroyed in a manner similar to ancient Troy.
  3. C
    It implies that the woman is a victim of fate, whose tragic downfalls are modeled directly on the historical military tactics of ancient Greek warfare.
  4. D
    It acts as a standard classical ornament, identifying the poem as a traditional sonnet without contributing to the overall thematic development of the work.
  5. E
    It marks a sudden shift from a tone of frustration to a tone of passive indifference, resolving the speaker's emotional conflict.

Answer

The correct answer characterizes the woman's beauty and political influence as inherently and tragically destructive, framing her actions as inevitable given her noble but out-of-place nature.
The correct option is correct because the allusion to Troy links the woman's contemporary actions and character to Helen of Troy, whose epic beauty famously led to the destruction of Troy. This comparison frames the woman's disruptive political influence and stern, noble beauty not as simple maliciousness, but as a mythic, inevitable force of nature that lacks a suitable epic setting in the modern era.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the allusion in the final line of the poem.
The final line refers to 'another Troy' to burn, which alludes to Helen of Troy and the mythical destruction of the city of Troy.
Recognizing the cultural and historical reference is the first step in understanding the allusion's purpose.
2
Analyze how the allusion connects to the description of the woman in the rest of the poem.
Throughout the poem, the woman is described as having beauty like 'a tightened bow' and a mind of 'nobleness,' yet she fills the speaker's days with 'misery' and teaches 'violent ways.' Comparing her to Helen of Troy frames her destructive impact as a grand, epic quality.
This step connects the allusion to the poem's thematic depiction of the woman's character.
3
Determine the rhetorical and thematic function of the allusion in the final question.
The rhetorical question 'Was there another Troy for her to burn?' implies that her nature is so grand and heroic that she is naturally destructive; however, because she lives in a modern, less heroic age, there is no fitting stage ('another Troy') for her. This makes her destructive actions seem tragic and inevitable.
This establishes the correct analytical interpretation of the allusion's role in the poem.

Key Concept

Analyzing the thematic and character-building functions of classical allusions in poetry.
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Topics

Allusions in Poetry

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