Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- What point of view does the poem take on Greece's hatred of Helen? How can you tell?
- Do we ever hear Helen's perspective on her situation? If so, how does she feel about being blamed for the Trojan War?
- How does Helen's gender affect her situation? Is it possible to imagine a poem about a male Helen starting a war? How come no one's writing poems that blame Paris, for example?
- What are the effects of the poem's blazon form? What type of picture do we get of Helen through this form?
- How would you describe the poem's formal features? What is the effect of all of the poem's sonic repetitions?