Poetry · Chapter
The New Helen explained
The poem addresses Helen, questioning her whereabouts since the Trojan War and marveling at her reappearance in the modern world.
What happens
The poem addresses Helen, questioning her whereabouts since the Trojan War and marveling at her reappearance in the modern world. It reflects on her past glory, her association with love and war, and the speaker's own devotion and suffering in her presence. The speaker pleads for her to stay, acknowledging her divine origin and eternal beauty.
Themes in this chapter
Beauty and Aesthetics
Helen's beauty is described as divine and transcendent, with imagery of 'silver splendour of the foam' and 'white glory of thy loveliness.'
Love and Loss
The speaker expresses intense love for Helen, coupled with the pain of her inevitable departure and the suffering of unrequited devotion.
Classical Mythology and Antiquity
The poem is steeped in references to the Trojan War, Greek heroes, and mythological figures like Calypso and the Erycine.
Transience and Mortality
Helen's fleeting presence and the speaker's awareness of time passing ('summer of my days') highlight the theme of impermanence.
Characters to notice
- Helen
The central figure of the poem, addressed as the reincarnated Helen of Troy, whose beauty and divine origin are celebrated.
- Aphrodite
Referenced as 'treacherous Aphrodite’s mocking eyes' and later as the 'Erycine,' the discrowned queen associated with love and deception.
- The Wretched Cyprian
Mentioned as the 'discrowned Queen men call the Erycine,' linking to Aphrodite's Cyprian aspect.
- Love
Personified as a god whose 'terrible wheel' causes the speaker's suffering and devotion.
- Mary
Implied through references to 'Her, before whose mouldering shrine / To-day at Rome the silent nations kneel' and 'only a sword to pierce her heart,' alluding to the Virgin Mary.
- Death
Mentioned in 'the lotus-leaves which heal the wounds of Death,' symbolizing mortality and its relief.
Key passages
“Where hast thou been since round the walls of Troy / The sons of God fought in that great emprise?”
Where have you been since the time of the Trojan War, when divine beings fought in that great endeavor?
The speaker questions Helen's whereabouts since the mythological past.
“No other god save him, before whose feet / In nets of gold the tired planets move, / The incarnate spirit of spiritual love / Who in thy body holds his joyous seat.”
I recognize no other god except Love, who controls the planets with golden nets and resides joyfully in your body as the embodiment of spiritual love.
The speaker declares Love as the only deity, manifest in Helen's form.
“Thou shalt not die: no asps of Egypt creep / Close at thy heels to taint the delicate air; / No sullen-blooming poppies stain thy hair, / Those scarlet heralds of eternal sleep.”
You will not die: no Egyptian asps threaten you, and no poppies, symbols of eternal sleep, will touch your hair.
The speaker asserts Helen's immortality, free from mortal decay.