General Introduction
No Second Troy is a love poem composed by Yeats dedicated exclusively to his beloved Maud Gonne. The poem, at first appeared in 1916 in a poetic collection called Responsibilities and Other Poems. But this poem is not entirely about the frustrated love affair between Maud and Yeats, the inclusion of the word "Troy" gives it a political outlook. Maud was in favour of independence with radical approaches and Yeats, rather unjustly, compares her with a vicious lady, Helen in Homer's Iliad, who was responsible for wagging war and the historical burning of the city of Troy.
Development of Situation
The poem basically contains four rhetorical questions asked by Yeats. The poem begins with the question of the poet that why should he blame Maud for ruining his happiness and her actions which aroused great emotional violence for independence. Then he asks the second question that whether it is even possible for her to be a peaceful person. Her beauty is just an old-school means of temptation. The poet argues that Maud belongs to another age,
With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind
That is not natural in an age like this,
Lastly, the poet asserts that there was no "Second Troy" for her to destroy, she had to diminish other things like the peace of the poet (by rejecting his sincere proposal). The first Troy was decayed due to fighting over Helen, the second might be lost due to ensuing political beauty.
Themes
The first rhetorical question posed by the poet is why should he blame the woman for rejecting his proposal. The theme of guilt is inwardly present in Yeats' treatment of Maud. Perhaps Yeats indirectly considers it a pang of guilt in loving her. It is revealed that Yeats proposed to her several times (some say his efforts lasted for a decade). But she rejected him every time. Maybe Yeats is trying to assert in this poem that he had made a mistake in loving her. He should have loved someone else.
The second theme of this poem is a political one as is indicated by the title of the poem. Both Yeats and Maud wanted the liberation of Ireland from the colonial hands of England. But Maud proposed violent means to answer the brutalities of British colonialism. Yeats blames her of inciting violence among her followers. Yeats, rather, indirectly suggests that the British version of law and order is bearable than no order in this poem.
Figurative Analysis
The poem contains a few literary devices. As mentioned before, there are four rhetorical questions asked by Yeats. A rhetorical question is that kind of question in which answering is not a primary intention. One instance may include the last line of the poem,
Was there another Troy for her to burn?
The poet has also used allusion. An allusion is a literary technique in which a poet relates to a historical period, person or place. The last line and the title of the poem are allusive to Homer's Iliad. Also, the Second Troy is a direct metaphor used for Ireland.
Setting and Imagery
There is no definitive place where the poem takes place. But the time of this poem is in between the World War First to Post-War period when the freedom movement caught fire. The images used in this poem are limited because the poem is centred around spreading the idea than creating a world inside a reader's mind. Some images like, "an age like this" and "another Troy for her to burn".
Structural Analysis
The poem is composed of twelve lines and is a one continuous stanza. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABAB CDCD EFEF. While the rhythmic pattern of this verse is iambic pentameter. The diction is formal, marked with a complaining tone.
Conclusion
No Second Troy[!] is a compelling poem, written not only to put Maud Goone on shame but to also propagate the message of peaceful movement towards the freedom of Ireland.
