“Helen being chosen found life flat and dull

And later had much trouble from a fool.”

These lines are taken from W. B. Yeats’ (1865-1939) poem “A Prayer for My Daughter” (1919). In this poem, Yeats prays for the future life of his newborn daughter, Anne. He worries about the world and hopes that she will grow up with good qualities, not just beauty. To explain this point, he gives the example of Helen of Troy.

In these lines, Yeats talks about Helen, the most beautiful woman in Greek mythology. By “Helen being chosen,” he means that she was chosen by Paris because of her great beauty. Paris took her away to Troy. But this choice did not bring happiness to Helen. Instead, her life became “flat and dull.” Even though she was very beautiful, her life did not become meaningful or peaceful.

The line “had much trouble from a fool” refers to Paris. Yeats calls Paris a “fool” because he acted without wisdom. He followed beauty blindly and made a careless decision. Helen was the wife of a Greek king, Menelaus. So, Paris’s act of fleeing with Helen caused a huge war, the Trojan War. This brought destruction, suffering, and death to many people. Helen herself also suffered because of this foolish choice.

By using this example, Yeats tries to teach an important lesson. Beauty alone cannot give a stable and happy life. If a woman depends only on beauty, she may face problems like Helen.

Hence, Yeats wants his daughter to have beauty, but not too much beauty that brings danger or pride. He wants her to have good character, kindness, and wisdom, so that she can live a peaceful life.