Response to Online Class Discussion

Helen of Troy is a powerful symbol of femininity in relation to war . Her majestic beauty , one that launched a thousand a thousand ships (to quote Christopher Marlowe , was the root cause of the Trojan War . Helen is a powerful metaphor for the mechanics of war - a quarrel among the gods over Helen 's beauty leads to unparalleled tragedy suffered by the Greeks and the Trojans . In modern times , politicians and dictators have used lofty causes to justify war . Nationalism , economic stability , and territorial expansion are some of the common justifications that have

br been substituted for the Greek gods ' golden apple ' And just as in Greek mythology , it is the common masses that bear the brunt of war and suffer because of the folly of the modern day demi-gods - the ambitious politicians and military leaders . The masses also feel the resentment of the Greeks that is succinctly expressed in H .D 's Helen

Greece sees unmoved

Gods daughter , born of love

the beauty of cool feet

and slenderest knees

could love indeed the maid

only if she were laid

white ash amid funereal cypresses

Women have never failed to express their reactions to the horrors of war . During World War I , several women created profound reflections on the unparalleled tragedy that was the Great War These include Vera Brittain , Eleanour Norton , and Eva Dobell Vera Brittain used powerful mythological imagery in her poem We Shall Come No More ' to express the despair and hopelessness of war

O Captain of our Voyage

What of the Dead

Dead days , dead hopes , dead loves , dead dreams , dead sorrows-

O Captain of our Voyage

Do the Dead walk again

References

Celebrating women . Retrieved September 29 , 2008 , from

www .roadstoequality .org /documents /WW1 20Women 20 .doc...