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Summary The Second Coming - William Butler Yeats
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The3 Second Coming - William Butler Yeats Analysing the poem and background information.
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The3 Second Coming William What is The Second ComingButler Yeats poem about?
"The Second Coming" is one of
W.B. Yeats's most famous
poems. Written in 1919 soon
after the end of World War I, it
Title: describes a deeply mysterious
It is suggestive to the return of and powerful alternative to the
Jesus Christ. SACAI NOV 2021 Christian idea of the Second
Coming—Jesus's prophesied
Yeats think of history as this swirling return to the Earth as a savior
vortex, the gyre. The gyre moves further announcing the Kingdom of
and further from its centre SACAI NOV 2021 Heaven.
Theme:
On one level, then, the poem explores the
The title contrasts with the content of
sense of optimism that spring may bring
the poem. The most powerful :The Sphinx
after a long, cold winter—symbolically
Instead of innocence and holiness, a The sphinx like creature described suggesting the cyclical nature of human life
great revelation is approaching; one in in the poem symbolizes both and its potential for renewed hope even
which a new future for humanity destruction and rebirth. It also after long periods of darkness.
emerges, but one that is menacing and symbolizes the pagan world that
The main theme of "The Second Coming" is
marked by tyranny, malice, and predated the Christian era.
apocalypse. The overall tone of the poem is
ignorance.
one of foreboding, chaos, and loneliness,
which supports the theme of the end of the
world.
What does The Second Coming symbolize?
While the Second Coming means the return of Christ and a new world order in
the Christian tradition, Yeats uses it to describe the birth of a mysterious beast.
The beast is meant to figuratively subvert the birth of Christ, end the age of
morality, and usher in an age of evil and immorality.
, What is the symbolism of the
What does widening gyre
gyre?
mean?
The symbol of the interlocking
The mystical belief that history
gyres reveals Yeats's belief in
repeats itself in cycles. But the
fate and historical determinism
gyre is 'widening': it is getting
as well as his spiritual attitudes
further and further away from
toward the development of the
its center, its point of origin.
soul, since creatures and events
must evolve according to the
conical shape.
What is spiritus mundi The Second Coming poem?
From The Second Coming (poem) by William Butler Yeats. Refers to
Yeats' belief that each human mind is linked to a single vast
intelligence, and that this intelligence causes certain universal
symbols to appear in individual minds.
Function of the double colon: It
introduces the description of a monster /
a sphinx-like creature with eyes empty of
all humanity. SACAI NOV 2021
Do you think our past creates our future, and if you do, what
does it suggest about what lies ahead for humanity? You tend
to use memories of the past experiences to predict what life
will be like in the future. The only way you can plan for the
future is by drawing on your memories of the past. If we do
What does the rough beast symbolize in The Second not heed what went wrong in our past, we will repeat the
Coming? same mistakes in our future. We will keep on ruining the earth
The "rough beast" to which Yeats refers in "The Second and there will be nothing left for the next generation. We are
Coming" is a manticore or sphynx, a mythical creature having moving away from our faith and relationship with God, so
a lion's body and a man's head. The beast symbolizes the forfeiting eternal life.
anti-Christ, which heralds an apocalyptic ending for
SACAI NOV 2021
Christianity and perhaps the world
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