Reading module 4

 

 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Painting and Poem

 

Helen of Troy – Oil on panel (1863). Click here to see it à Painting of Helen of Troy

 

 

         Troy Town

Heavenborn Helen, Sparta's queen,
               (O Troy Town!)
Had two breasts of heavenly sheen,
The sun and moon of the heart's desire:
All Love's lordship lay between.
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

Helen knelt at Venus' shrine,
               (O Troy Town!)
Saying, 'A little gift is mine,
A little gift for a heart's desire.
Hear me speak and make me a sign!
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

'Look, I bring thee a carven cup;
               (O Troy Town!)
See it here as I hold it up, --
Shaped it is to the heart's desire,
Fit to fill when the gods would sup.
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

'It was moulded like my breast;
               (O Troy Town!)
He that sees it may not rest,
Rest at all for his heart's desire.
O give ear to my heart's behest!
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

'See my breast, how like it is;
               (O Troy Town!)
See it bare for the air to kiss!
Is the cup to thy heart's desire?
O for the breast, O make it his!
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

'Yea, for my bosom here I sue;
               (O Troy Town!)
Thou must give it where 'tis due,
Give it there to the heart's desire.
Whom do I give my bosom to?
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

 

'Each twin breast is an apple sweet.
               (O Troy Town!)
Once an apple stirred the beat
Of thy heart with the heart's desire: --
Say, who brought it then to thy feet?
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

'They that claimed it then were three:
               (O Troy Town!)
For thy sake two hearts did he
Make forlorn of the heart's desire.
Do for him as he did for thee!
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

'Mine are apples grown to the south,
               (O Troy Town!)
Grown to taste in the days of drouth,
Taste and waste to the heart's desire:
Mine are apples meet for his mouth.Õ
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

Venus looked on Helen's gift,
               (O Troy Town!)
Looked and smiled with subtle drift,
Saw the work of her heart's desire: --
'There thou kneel'st for Love to lift!Õ
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

Venus looked in Helen's face,
               (O Troy Town!)
Knew far off an hour and place,
And fire lit from the heart's desire;
Laughed and said, 'Thy gift hath grace!Õ
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

Cupid looked on Helen's breast,
               (O Troy Town!)
Saw the heart within its nest,
Saw the flame of the heart's desire, --
Marked his arrow's burning crest.
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

 

Cupid took another dart,
               (O Troy Town!)
Fledged it for another heart,
Winged the shaft with the heart's desire,
Drew the string and said, 'Depart!Õ
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

Paris turned upon his bed,
               (O Troy Town!)
Turned upon his bed and said,
Dead at heart with the heart's desire, --
'Oh to clasp her golden head!Õ
               (O Troy's down,
               Tall Troy's on fire!)

 

      Troy Town (1869)

      Source: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/drg/7.html

 

 

 

Analysis

 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, born in London in 1828, belonged to the Prerafaelite Brotherhood, which he founded together with Millais and Hunt. What this movement wanted was to recuperate the authenticity, the truth by painting.

 

This poem is divided in fourteen stanzas, divided into seven verses each one. Three of these seven verses are repeated in all the stanzas composing the poem. So what the stanzas really are really is quatrains, but with those three extra lines that give rhythm and movement to the poem.  The rhyme used is aaba.

 

  In this poem Dante Gabriel Rossetti is talking about the queen of Sparta, Helen, who is completely worried about being loved by Paris. Paris love is what she really desires.

  In the first stanza the author is talking about the beauty of Helen, ‘had two breasts of heavenly sheen’ (line 3) and about her desire.

 

  In stanzas 2, 3 and 4 we find Helen talking to Venus and explaining to her that the cup is her symbol. She offers it to Venus. She wants to give her breast to Paris, the man she loves.

 

  In the ninth stanza Helen talks about her breast, and she compares them with two apples. ‘Each twin breast is an apple sweet’ (line 43), ‘Mine are apples meet for his mouth (line 61).  She is saying that her ‘apples’ grown up for Paris’ mouth. She wants to offer her body to him; she wants to feel she is his girl. It seems Helen has just eyes for him; she does not care what is happening around her.

 

  Venus accepts Helen’s gift and she sends Cupid to shoot a dart to Paris for that he falls in love with her. This was what Helen was really waiting for; she really desired to be loved by Paris.

 

  The three lines repeated in all the stanzas make the reader imagine how Troy looked in flames. These lines say ‘O Troy Town!, O Troy’s down, Tall Troy’s on fire!’. This repeated lines gives action to the poem, and it makes us feel worried about the city of Troy, which is burning, while it seems that Helen is not worried about it as she should be. She is too worried about being loved by Paris.

 

So two stories are taking place in this poem. The first one is that the city of Troy is falling down in flames while Helen does not give importance to it. The second story is about Helen’s desire towards Paris, who does not appear in the poem until the last stanza. So Rosseti is interconnecting two different stories and places in the poem. These two stories are reflected in Rossetti’s painting of Helen of Troy aswell.

 

If we look at Rosseti’s painting of Helen of Troy our first impression is that it is reflecting what the poem talks about. Helen appears in the foreground and on the background we can see the city of Troy burning in flames. We find no expressiveness in Helen’s face, which make us think the same that the poem, that she does not care about that her city is in flames and that she is thinking about something else, probably about Paris.

 

She is wearing a necklace which must be important for her because she is taking in it with care in her hands. In this necklace we can see a Torch, which symbolises fire. This may make us think that maybe she is responsible for Troy being burning down in flames.

 

Rossetti uses in this painting orange colours, which make us think of fire. These colours give to the painting a special environment.

 

Even for Helen’s hair Rossetti has used orange tones, the same as for the flames. Also her clothes are orange, so the image of Helen is shaded in the fire.

 

So as we can see both poem and painting treat the same stories, so one is related to the other one. Both are brilliant works from Rossetti.

 

 

Sources:

 

- ARTEHISTORIA.COM - La página del arte y la cultura en español, 2001 Ediciones Dolmen, S.L. http://www.artehistoria.com/frames.htm?http://www.artehistoria.com/genios/pintores/3174.html . Day of access: May 8th)

 

- Helen of Troy by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882), The Victorian Web, 19 October 2004, http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/dgr/paintings/9.html . Day of access: May 8th)

 

- Troy Town, The Victorian Web, 12 October 2004,  http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dgr/7.html. Day of access: May 8th)

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