Helen of Troy has been revived through literature during the past centuries. Contrasting views such as the ones of Edgar Allan Poe or H.D. are contrasted through literary elements such as speaker, diction, and imagery. H.D. portrays in his poem "Helen" a pessimistic view of her, while Poe idolatries her in a superficial way in his poem "To Helen". .
When comparing H.D.'s and Poe's poems, it is evident that the speakers in each have contradicting views about Helen. In H.D.'s poem, the speaker shows no sympathy towards Helen. The Speaker is certainly a contemporary of Helen as he/she states in line 17 that he/she wished to see her dead. Moreover, it is to be assumed that he/she is also Greek as he/she refers to the many lives of the Trojans who died in the Trojan War. According to this poem, "all Greece hates [Helen]" (line 1) for possessing such beauty that would cause Paris to enter her life and take her to Troy thus starting a long bloody war killing innocent Greek soldiers. Overall, the speaker depicts Helen in this poem with no compassion; nevertheless, it encourages the reader to sympathize with her as one feels pity for her. On the other hand, in Edgar Alan Poe's poem, it is uncertain who the speaker is, but it is clear that he/she admires her exterior beauty. First, it is obvious that he/she is not Helen's contemporary. This is evident since he is familiar with both the Greek and the Roman world and he looks back on the "Nicean barks of yore" (line 3) signifying that he is not a contemporary of Helen. Moreover, this poem does not look deep into Helens thoughts or emotions. This is rather a shallow and superficial interpretation of Helen, as it lacks to analyze her as a person. The speaker praises Helen for her outward beauty and sites attributes that are well know. For instance he/she compares her to the beauty and "grandeur that was Rome" (line 10) and Greece. The speaker, however, treats Helen more like an object than a person and even refers to her as " statue-like" in line 12.
Following the fever, Helen fell in a 'deceptively' quiet sleep and from this the Keller's believed Helen was cured. Helen's eyes, however, continued to pain her. ... In 1890, Helen learned to speak after only one month of study. Ten years later, Helen entered Radcliffe College. ... This was the start of Helen's help for blind people. ...
That baby girl was named Helen Adams Keller. Due to Helen's inability to see, hear, and speak, she was a very difficult child to handle. ... She would attempt to teach Helen how to communicate with others. ... Anne turned on the water and let it run over Helen's hand. ... Seconds later, Helen quietly spoke the word "wawa," which in her case meant "water." ...
To each question Miss Sullivan replies negatively, puzzling Helen further. A day or two afterward, Helen is stringing beads, and making many mistakes while doing so. Miss Sullivan tells Helen to think, tapping her head while signing for emphasis. ... Imagine her excitement, as Helen must have felt a deep, almost spiritual, kinship with other persons. ... Helen Keller is a testament to the strength and courage of our species, and her place in history is well deserved. ...
Anne Sullivan taught Helen the five senses that Helen was not familiar with. ... One day miraculously Helen said, "Tea, tea, tea." ... While growing up, Helen learned sign language. ... To be real good at both of these Helen Keller practiced a lot. Helen also was able to set up the table for dinner. ...
The poem by Edgar Allan Poe, "To Helen" is a poem written to the Greek woman known for her incomparable beauty, Helen. ... "Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore, That gently o"er a perfumed sea." ... The second part of the line appears to me to mean that the beauty in Helen is gentle and sends off that gentleness elsewhere, by the "perfumed sea." ... The theme of the beauty being on the inside of her, and the message of the beauty being sent from within, describes just how beautiful the Greek woman Helen is. ...
Helen Adams Keller was born June 27th, 1880 West Tuscumbia, Alabama, which is now a museum and sponsors a annual Helen Keller day. ... When Helen was born she was able to see and hear both just fine, it was not until when Helen turned just about 19 months when she got really sick and the doctors thought it was scarlet fever or even meningitis. ... Helens family did all they could to help their daughter and that is when they found a 20 year old visually impaired women name Anne Sullivan to become Helens teacher. Anne and Helen not only became companions but their friendship lasted 49 years. E...
Soon Helen's mother noticed Helen could not hear nor see. ... She first tried to teach Helen to finger-spell with objects familiar to Helen. This did not make sense to Helen until one day while outside, Anne pumped water over Helen's hand. ... Helen became famous. ... In 1894 Helen attended the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf, where Helen had high hopes of learning to speak. ...
Mount St. Helen's Mount St. Helen's, located in the Cascade Mountains, about 95 miles south of Seattle has been an active volcano for more than 4,000 years. It is considered a very young volcano. Over the last 4,000 years, the mountain has erupted regularly every few hundred years and the top tha...
Helen's Duplicity Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, over whom the largest war in the ancient world was fought, appears to be unable to truthfully declare where her allegiances lie. ... Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to left field, may I introduce Helen of Troy. ... It simply further exemplifies Helen's masking nature. Clearly, Helen remains the "whore of troy" as Aeschylus so aptly brands her. ... It must be said that Helen's waning loyalties may not be entirely her own fault. ...
