How therefore could she help but braid
The gold into my hair,
And dream that I should carry
The golden top of care?
In these concluding lines, the narrator summarizes her mother’s actions. She explains that her mother was so convinced of her vision, which told her that her daughter (the narrator) would become queen. So convinced was she that she dressed the narrator in golden clothes and braided gold into her hair. This final stanza emphasizes how the mother believed her visions so completely that she groomed her daughter for royal life. She believed them so completely that she wanted her daughter to look like a queen.
Why should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery [?]
In these opening lines from “No Second of Troy,” the narrator references Maude Gonne. The narrator points out that Gonne contributed greatly to his suffering. The fact that the narrator mentions Gonne first, before any other failings/conflicts is very telling. It suggests that the narrator perhaps views Gonne as the first and primary failure of the relationship. To the narrator, perhaps all other conflicts come second; they are nothing more than mild annoyances. In this way, the narrator is suggesting that the anguish and trials that Gonne inflicted upon him are at the forefront of his memory and troubles. In this way, the illusion to the titular Helen of Troy is very apparent; just s Helen did to the ancient peoples, Gonne’s beauty has caused him great anguish and personal destruction.
What could have made her peaceful with a mind
That nobleness made simple as a fire […]
This particular poem from Yeats addresses modernity and both the benefits and dangers of modern living. In this poem, Yeats argues that modern peoples are complicated. The marvels of modern life—our technology, machines, research, etc.—complicates life and muddles our ideals. Due to this more complicated way of living, Yeats argues in this poem that we tend to look back upon the ancient peoples in awe. In this particular stanza, Yeats points out how ancient peoples were not distracted by as many things as we are with our modern existence. As a result, ancient peoples lived simpler, more concise lives. Therefore, in this stanza, Yeats is drawing a comparison between Maude Gonne and her simple, unwavering passion—just like the simple and unwavering passions of those ancient peoples. In this way, her comparison to Helen of Troy is apparent.
[A]nd suddenly thereupon I thought
That on the lonely height where all are in God’s eye,
There cannot be, confusion of our sound forgot,
A single soul that lacks a sweet crystaline cry.
In these concluding lines of Yeats’ poem, Yeats once again captures his oft-used theme of nature and spirituality in the natural world. Though the narrator and the shopkeeper had previously been quite angry and tense with each other, upon hearing a beautiful exchange between two birds, the tension between them resolves. In these lines, Yeats is emphasizing the similarity between the narrator/shopkeeper and the two birds. Both were exchanging a series of emotions, thoughts, and ideas. This comparison is clearly comforting to Yeats, as he uses this realization to emphasize the connection between all animals on Earth. In other words, this exchange between these two birds reminds the narrator that all creatures—human, bird, mammal—were created equal in God’s eye. The narrator takes solace in this understanding and quickly resolves his argument as he realizes that he and the shopkeeper were created as equally as the birds calling outside.
