Helen of Troy: two poems

A detailed Summary of Helen of Troy: two poems

When reading the poems "To Helen" by Edgar Allen Poe and "Helen" by Hilda Doolittle

and knowing nothing about Helen of Troy, one would be thoroughly confused about her

character. Acclaimed in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen was the wife of the Greek

king Menelaus and her seizure by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War. The two poems

about Helen are so different in nature in that they are worth exploring in depth to gain a

better understanding of why each writer thought the way they did.

First lets discuss the deviation of the two writers views. The first line in Poe's

poem is "Helen, your beauty is to me..." by which you can infer he has indisputably put a

value on her appearance above all else. The fact that Helen was the believed to be the

most ravishing woman ever to live is definitely a the main factor in hi

Another difference between the two pieces are their basic structure and wording.

face." She is depicted as a goddess, whose very soul is Holy. Poe admires her beauty and

identifies with Menelaus who did every thing in his power to bring her back. On the other

five to six then to seven lines in each stanza. Also, the two poems have a different rhyme

are a significant discrepancy in the two poems.

Approximate Word count = 563
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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