William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) is considered one of the foremost writers of the 20th Century. Yeats was a poet, dramatist and prose writer. Yeats was Irish. In December 1922 British rule of Ireland ended after a long struggle. The Irish fight for independence was often referred to in Yeats' work.
No Second Troy by William Butler Yeats
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?