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.Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! 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.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Meanings of The Second Coming
The poem “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats presents a strange situation in the world where everything has become anarchic. This poem presents the main ideas of the prophecy of the future, violence, and meaninglessness.
Meanings of Stanza -1
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 poet presents a falcon turning and widening the circle of its flight until it goes out of the limits of the voice of the falconer. Then all things turn topsy turvy. The center has given way to anarchy in the world. The tidal wave is full of blood and almost dimmed with its redness. It has swallowed the ceremonies of innocence. The best people are not taking action, while the worst are full of anger and passion. It means that everything in the world has become topsy turvy, and the world order has given way to anarchy. The anarchic situation has terrified the best people, while the worst are leading the people. This stanza presents the partial theme of chaos and violence.
Meanings of Stanza -2
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! 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.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
The poet adds further that there is some revelation to be made soon. It is the Second Coming that is very close now. However, as soon as he writes “The Second Coming,” it dawns upon him that it is the collective unconscious. He sees troubles before him. The desert is barren from were a creature having a lion’s body appears. It is quite pitiless and lacks emotions as its blank gaze shows. The poet uses the simile of the sun to show its pitilessness. He states that the creature moves its thighs slowly and disturbs the birds flying around it as their shadows point out. Everything again becomes black with darkness. However, the poet knows that something is going to happen. He thinks that the rocking cradle has disturbed the calmness of two thousand years and brought a nightmare to the world. The poet questions that some beast has gotten up from its calmness. Now its time has arrived, after which it drags itself toward Bethlehem, the place of its birth. However, the poet does not know the beast. The metaphor of the Second Coming and the beast shows that the poet means that anarchy has arrived where a new world is going to emerge. It also means something apocalyptic is going to happen. This stanza highlights the main theme of the meaninglessness and prophesies of the future.
Summary of The Second Coming
- Popularity: “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats, a legendary Irish poet, is the most robbed piece of literature due to its heavily used or borrowed title, lines or phrases. It was first published in The Dial in 1920. The poem deals with the subjects of political, spiritual and cultural decay and regeneration. The poet prophesizes that some sort of “the Second Coming is arriving”, and the anarchy in the world foreshadows it is not very far. The popularity of the poem rests on the fact that it has resonated through all the cultural decays across the globe since its publication.
- “The Second Coming” as Commentary on the Changing World: As this poem is about the changing nature of the world, the poet says that the world is constantly altered through violence and chaos. Comparing the world with the widening gyre, he says that this changing world is made up of interlocking circles constantly spinning and expanding to catalyze their existence. He argues that, due to this change, humanity has become disillusioned, and has loosened away from its center. This distance, in turn, liberates the people from their ancient traditions and conventions. Also, it pushes them into a new era of freedom and new opportunities. That is why the center of the world is falling apart, which will eventually lead humanity to more destructive situations. Hence, the poet also prophesizes that there’s a monster looming in the future, which is constantly paving its way to reach this dismantled world.
- Major Themes of “The Second Coming”: Violence, prophecy, and meaninglessness are the major themes foregrounded in this poem. Yeats emphasizes that the present world is falling apart, and a new ominous reality is going to emerge. The idea of “the Second Coming” is not Biblical. 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. He argues that people are moving away from the center and there is no hope in the future due to the chaos. And those, who wish for any spiritual guidance, are living in fool’s paradise.
Analysis of Literary Devices in “The Second Coming”
literary devices are tools the writers use to convey emotions, ideas, and beliefs. With the help of these devices, they make their texts appealing to the reader. Yeats has also employed some literary devices in this poem to prophesize the future of the world. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been stated below.
- Metaphor: There are several metaphors used in this poem such as, “the Falcon” and “the falconer,” which stands for the world and the controlling force that directs humanity. Similarly, “the blood-dimmed tide” stands for waves of violence, while “the rough beast” stands for “the Second Coming.”
- Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate a statement for the sake of emphasis. The poet has used hyperbole in the tenth line where it is stated as, “Surely the Second Coming is at hand,” as if the beast is about to enter the world in just a few hours or days.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle.”
- Allusion: Allusion is an indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of a historical, cultural political or literary significance in a literary piece. The use of illusion in the fourth line of the second stanza is “the spiritus” It is an illusion to the Latin phrase meaning the world’s soul. “The Second Coming” is also a biblical allusion to the return of Christ.
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ in “Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the” and /n/ sound in “The darkness drops again; but now I know.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. Yeats has used multiple symbols such as, “falcon” as the symbol of the world, “desert birds” are the symbols of approaching death and “the Second Coming” symbolizes the indifference.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of same vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /i/ in “Turning and turning in the widening gyre” and /e/ sound in “The ceremony of innocence is drowned.
- Imagery: Imagery means the use of images of the five senses intended to make the readers understand the writer’s feelings and emotions. Yeats has used imagery to present the vivid and clear picture of the ominous beast such as, “A shape with lion body and the head of a man”, “somewhere in sands of the desert” and “Is moving its slow thighs.”
The literary analysis shows that Yeats has skillfully used some literary devices to discuss the reason why the world is going astray. The effective use of these devices and clarity of subject matter have made the poem thoughtful for the readers.
Analysis of Poetic Devices in The Second Coming
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are only two stanzas in this poem.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABBA CDDC throughout the poem with iambic pentameter.
- Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter consisting of five iambs. This poem comprises iambic pentameter For Example, “Turning and turning in the widening gyre.”
Quotes to be Used
These lines can be used in a speech to describe the present condition of the world. They also could be used to express a personal point of view about the mismanagement and malfunctioning of the center of the world, which has allowed the worse to prevail.
“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.”
