The second coming william butler yeats line by line analysis. The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats : Summary, Analysis, Questions and Answers Ā» Smart English Notes 2022-10-03
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"The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats is a complex and powerful poem that explores the theme of spiritual and political upheaval. The poem is structured in a series of four stanzas, each containing four lines of verse. Through a series of vivid and evocative images, Yeats conveys the sense of chaos and confusion that he believed was engulfing the world in the aftermath of World War I.
The first stanza of the poem introduces the central image of a falcon "breaking free" from the "curve of a golden stillness." This image suggests the breaking free from constraints and limitations, as well as the possibility of new beginnings. However, the falcon is also depicted as being "out of sight," suggesting a sense of loss and uncertainty.
In the second stanza, Yeats employs a series of powerful and unsettling images to convey the sense of upheaval and chaos that he believes is engulfing the world. He speaks of the "ceremony of innocence" being "drowned," and the "best lack all conviction," suggesting a sense of moral decay and apathy. He also speaks of the "centre" not holding, implying that the foundations of society are crumbling and that there is a lack of stability and order.
In the third stanza, Yeats introduces the central symbol of the "rough beast" that is "slouching towards Bethlehem to be born." This image is often interpreted as a metaphor for the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in the aftermath of World War I. The "beast" is depicted as being "rough," suggesting a sense of brutality and savagery, and its slouching posture suggests a sense of impending doom.
Finally, in the fourth stanza, Yeats reflects on the possibility of redemption and renewal. He speaks of the "second coming," implying that there is a chance for the world to be reborn and for a new and better order to emerge. However, he also speaks of the "desolate shore," suggesting that this rebirth may come at a great cost and may be accompanied by a sense of loneliness and isolation.
Overall, "The Second Coming" is a deeply thought-provoking and emotionally charged poem that explores the theme of spiritual and political upheaval. Through a series of powerful and evocative images, Yeats conveys the sense of chaos and confusion that he believed was engulfing the world in the aftermath of World War I, as well as the possibility of redemption and renewal.
The Second Coming āThe Second Comingā Summary and Analysis
It is a masterpiece of artistic maturity marked by the careful selection of precise details and images of exact words with their reverberation and a solemn rhythm to create the terrifying atmosphere of the Apocalypse, appropriate to the vision of violent destruction and equally monstrous rebirth. The speaker sees in his vision, the coming of a beast in a desert. This poem is the literary version of that: a lack of ability to think of a time before the war. The cyclone of death and disaster is filed in the gyre. Suddenly the concept of The Second Coming changes for the speaker and instead of happening something good, the worst occurs.
As the centre is unable to hold, anarchy and confusion are prevailing all over the world. Point of View The poem is written in a third-person narrative where the speaker of the poem is an unknown person but we still have some clues in the poem, about the speaker of the poem. All this disastrous absurd of anarchic connotes that a new civilization is about to arrive. 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. Consequently, each line of "The Second Coming" is examined, both to explain the poet's development and to prove the central issues of W. The vision according to the poet, gave him some sort of a prophecy that he and the rest of mankind never knew or thought about it. The poet has used this type of repetition in order to make the idea of looseness.
Tone The tone of the poem does not remain the same throughout the poem rather it changes from stanza one to stanza two. The birth of such a beast is the death of present civilization. Just like the speaker is overcome by a vision of the Spiritus Mundi , the statement also continues and spreads through the lines. The speaker says that the second coming is closer. It seems that the past and the future generations would still appreciate the poem for being one of the greatest poems ever written.
The poem ends in doubt and fear which arises from the prophecy about the future of the world. Thus, Yeats reveals no hope for the continued existence of mankind. By the end of the poem, the speaker is sure that something even worse is coming. Much has been written on the apocalypse, and many of those writings focus on the harbingers of the event: it is always bloody and massive, a vicious explosion that shakes the world to its foundation. Just as God incarnated Himself in the person of Christ when the Grisha Roman civilization collapsed 2,000 years ago so also the second coming of God seems to be round the corner given by the first two lines of the second stanza. It is not unfamiliar to us that in discussions of social classes, categories are determined as either black or white.
Rhyme Scheme The poem does not have a regular rhyme scheme. In the first stanza, the poet William Butler Yeats talks about the ever-increasing and stretching spiritual circles that become bigger and bigger as they move upward. Civilization The poem also has a theme of human civilization. We have gone far away from the traditional culture. Now he says that this Falcon has gone out of the hands of his master. The Second Coming Summary: The poet is disturbed by the miserable condition of that mankind and according to him, he has now no connection with his Creator i.
It will pay no pity to anyone. Though we are not told specifically about the poem, a clear and detailed vision is given. The second is the date of publication online or last modification online. A big revelation something soon seems to be coming up. There are many other works of Yeats that cite the sphinx.
The Second Coming Analysis Line By Line By WB Yeats ā¢ English Summary
His works and even his biography are staple study materials for those who endeavor in literature studies. Ans The tone of this poem is terrifying, by making the people realize and worry in the first stanza what they did and what are their sins and in the second stanza making it way more terrifying by telling them that all of their sins will have an ultimate consequence and that consequence is very soon to come. The Second Coming William Butler Yeats 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. The bad destructive powers are becoming powerful and are helping to destroy this present civilization. Does this context help you understand it? Meter The poem is written in blank verse unrhymed iambic pentameter. Perhaps the success of the poem owes much to the fact that there are many themes that can be unearthed from the poem. The blood is flowing like a stream i.
It has variations of syllables and has inconsistent stresses. 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. That rough creature will come and will brutally set everything straight. It needs a monster to wake us up from our 2000 years of deep sleep. This portrayal of Yeats is a common scenario in revolutions. It was the Second Coming.
The poem's first line, which mentions a "widening gyre," refers to Yeats' belief which he expanded on in a later book called A Vision that the world was created by a series of interlocking circles, spinning into each other and winding around each other to catalyze existence. The centre cannot hold things, therefore, the second coming will be from another deity, some other religious philosophy. The words that can be associated with religion are ceremony, revelation, Spiritus Mundi, and Bethlehem. And of course, there is the worldwide readership and his influence that has spanned generations. The form of the poem is like a prophecy of the impending randomness that we are all to experience in gyre called society. The poet is explaining the condition of men during World War II. There is little to no hope for good and its goodness to come and put everything in its right shape and order, while those who are causing this destruction are doing it a lot more and are taking way much Advantage than before.
The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats : Summary, Analysis, Questions and Answers Ā» Smart English Notes
READ ALSO: The vanishing village by R. Q6 What is the diction of The Second Coming? In the second stanza, the speaker describes his image of the Second Coming. It was prophesized in the bible, particularly in the books of Matthew and the Revelations, that there would be a second reappearance of Christ. There is violence and bloodshed on all sides. In the second half of the poem, Yeats looks beyond the present into the future.
