"The Second Coming" is a poem written by Irish poet W.B. Yeats in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I. The poem reflects on the chaos and destruction brought about by the war and the sense of uncertainty and disorientation that followed.
At the beginning of the poem, Yeats describes a world in turmoil, with "the centre [that] cannot hold" and "things fall apart." The "best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." This line suggests that in this chaotic world, those who are normally good and virtuous are no longer sure of their values and beliefs, while those who are wicked are filled with a fierce and unyielding determination.
The poem then describes a falcon that "cannot hear the falconer" and "things fall apart." The falcon represents humanity, while the falconer represents God or some higher power that guides and directs us. The fact that the falcon cannot hear the falconer suggests that humanity has lost its connection to this higher power and is no longer guided by it.
The poem's title, "The Second Coming," refers to the Christian belief in the return of Jesus Christ at the end of the world. Yeats uses this concept as a metaphor for the sense of upheaval and change that was occurring in the world at the time. He describes a "rough beast" that "slouches towards Bethlehem to be born," suggesting that something ominous and unknown is coming into the world.
The final stanza of the poem describes this "rough beast" as a "gyre," or a spiral, that is "widening" and will "cease to be." The use of the word "gyre" suggests a cyclical pattern, perhaps implying that history is repeating itself and that the world is going through a similar period of upheaval as it has in the past. The fact that the beast will "cease to be" could suggest that whatever this ominous force represents will eventually be destroyed or come to an end.
Overall, "The Second Coming" is a powerful and thought-provoking poem that reflects on the chaos and uncertainty of the world in the aftermath of World War I. It speaks to the idea that times of great change and upheaval can be disorienting and confusing, but that ultimately, these periods of unrest are part of a larger, cyclical pattern that humanity has experienced throughout history.
The Second Coming (poem)
With this iconic, prophetic poem, he is not only regarded a public hero but also deviates from established popular beliefs, wherefore he is also named the first iconoclastic Modernist in English writing. Many observers — poets, writers, analysts, journalists — viewed these changes as destructive. This brief exposition, though intriguingly blasphemous, is not terribly complicated; but the question of what it should signify to a reader is another story entirely. To him, the Second Coming is not a savior that is going to restore the business of humanity, but a sphinx that will add more to the agony and destruction of the world. Everything is immediate, superlative, and transitory.
The Second Coming: Theme, Analysis & Summary
Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart ; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. And yet, at the same time, there is a directness to his work which makes readers feel personally addressed, and situates his work always at one remove from more famous modernist poets such as T. Retrieved 30 January 2020. There are two stanzas, in the first stanza the poet describes the current conditions that the world is facing. The metrical rhythm is broadly Language and Imagery This is a complex and deep poem. That phrase and "the centre cannot hold" are iconic themes of the 20th century's complete collapse of progressive values amid grandiose self-adulation.
The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats
This poem may be dark, and ugly, but it is also a good message. Hardly are those words out 12When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi 13Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert 14A shape with lion body and the head of a man, 15A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, 16Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it 17Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. Also, it pushes them into a new era of freedom and new opportunities. Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Yeats died in 1939.
Yeats’s Poetry “The Second Coming” Summary & Analysis
Sentences are long but divided into short phrases by semi-colons, producing a choppy, staccato rhythm. The idea of Christ being born in Bethlehem and consequently also giving birth to a whole new world order is a major idea that he is trying to communicate. Yeats comments on how humanity has wandered so far off from its values that people can no longer act responsibly as there seems to be a wary distinction between what is right and what is wrong 1-3. First off, i think that this poem is actually about the second coming of Jesus Christ. At some point, all of these ideas that we have put into place to build some kind of stability—they are eventually wrecked. In the second stanza, Yeats concludes that a monstrous second coming will take place sometime in the future. Meanings of The Second Coming Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
