The Second Coming (by W.B. Yeats)

The Second Coming

                                  - W.B. Yeats

The keynote of the poem:

The Second Coming is one of the most famous poems of W B Yeats. In this poem Yeats, the nationalist poet of Ireland, heralds the advent of a new era. To tell us this simple thing the poet has used a nice imagery. The richness of the poem lies in the presentation of poet’s vision through his use of imagery.

The background of the poem:

Before we embark on the real appreciation of the poem, a little peep into the political events of the time and their impact on the mind of the poet will certainly be a real help to understand the poem. Wide-spread murder and bloodshed in Ireland in the course of the Ester Rebellion of 1916 had filled poet’s mind with gloom. Not only this, the Irish Civil War that followed the great war of 1914-19 and various other events in Europe added to that gloom. The poem is the outcome of a state of mind of ominous forebodings. The title of the poem suggests the manifestation of a new God to man.

Yeats Philosophy:

Like political background Yeats philosophy will also be useful for the understanding of the poem. Yeats believed that the present cycle of history began two thousand years ago with the birth of Christ. Prior to that there prevailed in the continent the Greco-Roman civilization which began in 2000 B C with the mating of God Zeus with Leda. As a sequel to this union, Helen, Castor, Pollux and Clytemnestra were born. The Greco-Roman civilization attained its climax about 1000 B C when Homer composed his two epics.

The Greco-Roman civilization collapsed after enjoying a life span of 2000 years. Christ came and a new civilization emerged out of the ashes of the earlier civilization. Likewise, the Christian civilization has nearly run its span of two thousand years and hence, Yeats believes a second coming is imminent. History repeats itself albeit with some difference. The present cycle of history has come to its full circle and a new civilization is coming into being. The birth of the new civilization may strike us as the death of the old, its merits may seem horrifying, the very idea may be like a dreadful dream. But a change is positively coming and very likely the future is already being formed in some distant region.

The gist of the poem:

Now in the light of the above background and poet’s philosophy, it will be easy to draw some gist from the poem. The falcon cannot hear the falconer. It has lost control over the falconer. Like the gyre turning and turning to the extent it loses its control. The centre cannot hold anything. And therefore things fall apart. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The ceremony of innocence is drowned and blood dimmed tied is loosed upon everywhere. The best lack all conviction and the worst are full of intensity. This is what the poet has said to in the first eight lines.

In the next stanza the poet talks about the coming of an avatar. Second coming is about to take place. The poet envisages some terrible shaped animal; ion’s body and man’s head. The poet is troubled with such a terrifying figure. This terrible figure moves clumsily towards Bethlehem.

    

In short in these two stanzas the poet talks about two scenes: (1) great anarchy, chaos and bloodshed, disharmony and disintegration in the world and (2) the emergence of something new or second coming or a new avatar.

Use of imagery in the poem:

It is in the use of the images in the poem that the poem becomes intelligible. The philosophy of the poet and his vision become crystal clear to the reader only when he understands the images used by the poet. Confused and disturbed by the Ester Rebellion, Irish Civil War and the Great War of 1914-19, the poet pours his heart, expresses his philosophy and the ideology of chaos and disintegration through the use of images of ‘gyre’ and  ‘falcon’. The world too is perplexed to see the disaster of the Great War. In spite of the development of the science and technology man is helpless and embarrassed. The present civilization has reached to the zenith of its development from where he sees nothing. The gyre is turning and turning wider and wider, the result is that it loses its contact with the centre. The centre cannot hold the things and therefore things fall apart. As the falcon cannot see the falconer, the modern man has lost all his contact with his soul and hence in a state of embarrassment. The falcon’s loss of contact implies man’s separation from every ideal of himself that enables him to control his life whether this comes from religion or philosophy or poetry. It is also, in more general term, his break with every traditional tie. It may also mean that emotion (falcon) has separated itself from intellect (guiding principle that controls falconer). See Even the rhetoric in the poem: Blood-dimmed tides, ceremony of innocence, intensity of the worst, the best lack all convictions etc….. the second part of fourteen lines is but a prophecy of a new Avatar; i. e. the second coming. A shape, a rough beast, a vast image in the form of lion’s body and a head of a man. What will be the effect of this new Avatar; the second coming is somewhat vague and beyond our comprehension. See the phrases: troubles my sight, a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, the darkness drops again, vexed to nightmare, rocking cradle…. All these phrases create a terrifying atmosphere. 

Embodiment of poet’s vision: 

In a nutshell the poem is the true embodiment of Yeats vision. History repeats after a cycle of some years; a millennium. The new avatar will emerge to correct the moral, social and political decadence. The striking feature of the poem is poet’s correct choice of the words and phrases. The poem is rich in both the thought and language. Befitting words enrich the poet’s great vision and philosophy. 

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