Thematic and General Understanding (1-20)
1. Who is the subject of the poem "No Second Troy"?
Answer: Maud Gonne.
2. What is the central question the speaker asks in the poem?
Answer: The speaker asks what could have been done with a woman like Maud Gonne, given her nature.
3. What does "No Second Troy" refer to in the title?
Answer: It refers to the idea that Maud Gonne, like Helen of Troy, caused widespread destruction and conflict.
4. How does the poem describe Maud Gonne's beauty?
Answer: It describes her beauty as "like a tightened bow."
5. What does the phrase "A mind that nobly planned" suggest about Maud Gonne?
Answer: It suggests she had a great, intellectual mind, not just physical beauty.
6. What are the two key qualities the speaker attributes to Maud Gonne's mind?
Answer: Her mind was "nobly planned" and "high and solitary."
7. What is the speaker's tone towards Maud Gonne in the poem?
Answer: The tone is one of admiration, frustration, and a sense of awe at her destructive power.
8. What is the "fiery" quality the speaker mentions?
Answer: Her passion, her spirit, and her ability to incite conflict.
9. What "burning roof and town" does the speaker allude to?
Answer: The burning of Troy, and by extension, the political turmoil in Ireland caused by Gonne's activism.
10. Does the poem blame Maud Gonne for her actions?
Answer: It doesn't explicitly blame her but questions what other path she could have taken.
11. What is the significance of the word "harsh" in the line "Harsh and sweet"?
Answer: It highlights the duality of her nature—her demanding, uncompromising side contrasted with her captivating charm.
12. What does the poem suggest about the relationship between beauty and destruction?
Answer: It suggests that a certain type of extraordinary beauty can be inherently destructive, like a natural force.
13. How does the speaker justify Maud Gonne's actions?
Answer: He suggests that a person with such a mind and beauty could not have done anything else.
14. What is the speaker's final conclusion about Maud Gonne?
Answer: That she could not have been a different person; her destiny was to be a destructive force.
15. What political context is hinted at in the poem?
Answer: The Irish independence movement and the turmoil it caused.
16. Why does the poem focus on Maud Gonne's mind as much as her beauty?
Answer: To show that her power came from her intellect and fierce spirit, not just her looks.
17. What is the poem's structure?
Answer: It consists of a single stanza of 16 lines.
18. What does the "high and solitary" mind suggest about Gonne's character?
Answer: It suggests she was aloof, uncompromising, and perhaps difficult to connect with on a personal level.
19. What does the speaker compare her beauty to in the poem?
Answer: A "tightened bow."
20. Why is the comparison to a "tightened bow" fitting?
Answer: It suggests both tension and potential for violence or release.
Figurative Language and Poetic Devices (21-40)
21. Identify a simile in the poem.
Answer: "Was there another Troy for her to burn?"
22. What is the central metaphor of the poem?
Answer: Maud Gonne as Helen of Troy.
23. What is the effect of the alliteration in the line "harsh and sweet"?
Answer: It emphasizes the contrasting qualities of Maud Gonne's personality.
24. How does the poem use an allusion?
Answer: It alludes to the Greek myth of Helen of Troy and the Trojan War.
25. What is the effect of the rhetorical questions in the poem?
Answer: They convey the speaker's genuine bewilderment and his inability to find a simple answer.
26. What is the significance of the word "pitch" in the line "she'd have a Troy to pitch"?
Answer: "Pitch" implies a camp, a scene of conflict, or a place to settle and create trouble.
27. How does the poem's single-stanza structure affect its tone?
Answer: It makes the poem feel like a single, uninterrupted, contemplative thought.
28. What does the phrase "With what great learning and what ancient fantasy" imply?
Answer: It implies that her great mind was full of old ideas, perhaps historical or mythical, which she used to justify her actions.
29. What is the sound device used in "tightened bow"?
Answer: Assonance (the repetition of the "ow" sound).
30. How does the poem's rhythm contribute to its meaning?
Answer: The iambic meter creates a steady, almost plodding, rhythm, reflecting the speaker's thoughtful, resigned tone.
31. What does the phrase "a terrible beauty" from another Yeats poem relate to here?
Answer: It relates to the idea that her beauty and actions, while destructive, are also awe-inspiring and powerful.
32. Identify an instance of anaphora in the poem.
Answer: The repetition of "With what" in the lines: "With what great learning and what ancient fantasy / With what clear passion..."
33. What is the purpose of comparing Maud Gonne to Helen of Troy?
Answer: To elevate her to a mythic, historical figure whose beauty and passion had far-reaching, destructive consequences.
34. How does the final line, "Why, what could she have done, being what she is?" serve as a conclusion?
Answer: It suggests a kind of fatalistic acceptance that her nature dictated her actions.
35. What is the effect of the word "kindled" in the poem?
Answer: It suggests a spark of fire or passion that leads to a larger conflagration of conflict.
36. How does the poem use imagery?
Answer: It uses imagery of fire and violence ("burning roof," "pitch," "kindled").
37. What does the phrase "unendurable" imply about her beauty?
Answer: It suggests that her beauty was so intense and powerful that it couldn't be sustained without causing a reaction.
38. What is the effect of the short, sharp final line?
Answer: It's a definitive, almost rhetorical, summary of the speaker's position.
39. What is the poem's meter?
Answer: It is largely in iambic pentameter.
40. How does Yeats's love for Maud Gonne influence the poem's tone?
Answer: His personal feelings add a layer of personal reflection and wistful longing to the political commentary.
Vocabulary and Word Choice (41-60)
41. What does "wrought" mean in the poem?
Answer: "Wrought" means created, shaped, or formed.
42. What does "solitary" imply about Maud Gonne's mind?
Answer: It implies that her thoughts and plans were unique, isolated, and perhaps not understood by others.
43. What is the meaning of "lofty" in the context of the poem?
Answer: It means high or elevated, suggesting a superior nature.
44. What is the "plain" that the poem refers to?
Answer: The "plain" refers to the field or area where the conflict takes place, alluding to the plains of Troy.
45. What does the phrase "tightened bow" suggest about her beauty?
Answer: It suggests tension, power, and the potential to be released with force.
46. What does "unendurable" mean in the poem's context?
Answer: It means intolerable or impossible to bear, referring to her beauty's overwhelming effect.
47. What does "harsh" describe in the poem?
Answer: It describes her voice, her manner, and her uncompromising nature.
48. What does the word "fated" imply?
Answer: It implies that her destiny was predetermined and that her actions were inevitable.
49. What does "kindled" suggest about her power?
Answer: It suggests that her actions and influence set fire to the passions and conflicts of others.
50. What does "great learning" refer to?
Answer: It refers to her vast knowledge and intellectual prowess.
51. What is the "ancient fantasy" the poem mentions?
Answer: It could refer to her idealistic and perhaps romanticized view of history and conflict.
52. What does "common" refer to in the poem?
Answer: It refers to the ordinary, simple, and un-heroic things she was not suited for.
53. What does "no second Troy" mean in the poem?
Answer: It means there was no other great, historical event for her to influence, so she had to create a new one.
54. What does the word "being" in the final line suggest?
Answer: It suggests that her nature or essence was the reason for her actions.
55. What does the speaker mean by "a high and solitary mind"?
Answer: A mind that is superior to others and is often alone in its thoughts and ideals.
56. What does "flame" symbolize in the poem?
Answer: Flame symbolizes passion, destruction, and the fires of conflict.
57. What is the effect of the phrase "had she been born in a day"?
Answer: It is a hypothetical statement that suggests her actions would have been the same regardless of the time period.
58. What does the poem imply about the nature of the "war" she created?
Answer: It implies that her war was of the mind and spirit, as much as it was political.
59. What does "plain" mean in the context of the poem?
Answer: The setting or stage for a battle or conflict, similar to the plains of Troy.
60. What does the poem imply about Maud Gonne's beauty and intelligence?
Answer: It implies they were so formidable that they could only lead to destruction.
Historical and Biographical Context (61-80)
61. Who was W.B. Yeats?
Answer: He was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature.
62. Who was Maud Gonne?
Answer: An English-born Irish revolutionary, suffragette, and actress who was Yeats's unrequited love and muse.
63. What was Yeats's relationship with Maud Gonne?
Answer: He was deeply in love with her, proposed to her multiple times, but was repeatedly rejected.
64. What was Maud Gonne's role in Irish politics?
Answer: She was an active revolutionary who advocated for Irish independence from British rule.
65. Why did Yeats view her political activism with mixed feelings?
Answer: He was often conflicted, admiring her passion but also seeing it as destructive and dangerous.
66. What specific events might the poem refer to?
Answer: The poem could refer to the Easter Rising of 1916 or other Irish nationalist activities she was involved in.
67. How does this poem reflect Yeats's broader views on love and politics?
Answer: It shows his belief that love and politics are intertwined and can both lead to tragic, destructive ends.
68. How is the poem a form of a tribute to Maud Gonne?
Answer: It is a tribute because it elevates her to a mythic status, even while questioning her actions.
69. How does the poem reflect the persona of Yeats as the heartbroken lover?
Answer: The speaker's contemplative and resigned tone reveals the enduring impact she had on him, despite her political actions.
70. What is the significance of the poem being written after a long period of their relationship?
Answer: It reflects a mature and resigned perspective, as Yeats had come to terms with her nature.
71. What does the poem suggest about the relationship between art and life?
Answer: It suggests that some individuals' lives are so epic and powerful that they become a form of art themselves.
72. What is the Irish nationalist context in the poem?
Answer: The poem alludes to the struggle for Irish independence and the revolutionary figures involved.
73. How does Maud Gonne's "fiery" nature contrast with the "high and solitary" mind?
Answer: The "fiery" nature is her public persona as an activist, while the "high and solitary" mind is her internal, intellectual character.
74. What does the poem say about Maud Gonne's temperament?
Answer: She had a volatile and passionate temperament that made her ill-suited for a quiet, domestic life.
75. How did Yeats's perception of Maud Gonne evolve over time?
Answer: He moved from viewing her as a divine figure to seeing her as a complex, destructive, and human force.
76. What does the poem imply about the "common kind of man"?
Answer: It implies that ordinary people, like the speaker, are not equipped to handle or understand a woman of her magnitude.
77. How does the poem connect a personal experience to a historical one?
Answer: It uses Yeats's personal obsession with Maud Gonne to comment on the broader political turmoil in Ireland.
78. What does the poem suggest about the nature of a hero or revolutionary?
Answer: It suggests that a great revolutionary may be so singularly driven that they are not fit for a normal life.
79. How does Yeats use the myth of Helen of Troy to explain Maud Gonne?
Answer: He uses the myth as a framework to understand her power to incite conflict and destruction.
80. What is the speaker's final attitude towards Maud Gonne?
Answer: His attitude is one of bewildered acceptance; he cannot fully understand her, but he accepts her for who she is.
Analysis and Interpretation (81-100)
81. Why does the speaker question what could have been done with her?
Answer: He is trying to understand if her life could have been different or if her path was inevitable.
82. What does the image of the "tightened bow" symbolize?
Answer: It symbolizes both her beauty and the potential for a powerful and destructive release of energy.
83. How does the poem's ambiguity contribute to its power?
Answer: The poem's ambiguity allows the reader to see Maud Gonne as both a tragic figure and a destructive force.
84. What does the phrase "kindled every part" imply?
Answer: It implies that her influence was widespread and all-consuming.
85. How does the poem present Maud Gonne's character?
Answer: As a complex figure who is both beautiful and destructive, intellectual and passionate.
86. What is the "clear passion" the speaker mentions?
Answer: Her clear and unwavering passion for the Irish cause.
87. What is the "common kind of grace"?
Answer: It refers to the simple, everyday manners and social pleasantries that she lacked.
88. How does the speaker portray his own role in this drama?
Answer: He portrays himself as a powerless observer, a man who loved her but could not change her.
89. What does the "burning roof and town" symbolize?
Answer: The widespread destruction and chaos of war and political conflict.
90. Why does the poem end on a rhetorical question?
Answer: It leaves the reader with a sense of the speaker's resigned conclusion.
91. What does the poem suggest about the nature of genius?
Answer: It suggests that some forms of genius are so powerful they can't exist in a normal, peaceful way.
92. How does the poem's tone shift from the beginning to the end?
Answer: It shifts from a sense of inquiry and questioning to a sense of resigned acceptance.
93. What is the significance of the poem's title?
Answer: It sets up the central comparison and the idea that her power was so great that it couldn't find a suitable, historical outlet.
94. What is the "unendurable" quality of her beauty?
Answer: The power it had to incite conflict and passion.
95. How does the poem link personal passion to political violence?
Answer: It shows how Maud Gonne's personal passion for her cause led to real-world political violence.
96. What is the main conflict in the poem?
Answer: The conflict is between the speaker's personal love for a woman and his understanding of her destructive political nature.
97. How is the poem a form of a historical comment?
Answer: It comments on the nature of the Irish struggle for independence through the lens of one powerful woman.
98. What does the "high and solitary" mind contrast with?
Answer: It contrasts with the "common kind of grace" she lacked.
99. What is the central idea of the poem?
Answer: That a woman of Maud Gonne's singular nature and beauty was fated to be a destructive, historical force.
100. Why does Yeats not explicitly state his feelings for her in the poem?
Answer: He uses the language of myth and history to distance himself and make a more profound, universal point about beauty and destruction.
