Wednesday, February 12 The Second Coming

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was an Irish poet and an important 20th century figure in literature. The Second Coming is the Christian idea that Jesus will someday return to earth. The following poem imagines the Second Coming as apocalyptic in order to describe the atmosphere of Europe after World War I. 

(note: this is the most quoted poem in the last thirty years!)

Yeats began writing the poem in January 1919, in the wake of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and political turmoil in his native Ireland. But the first stanza captures more than just political unrest and violence. Its anxiety concerns the social ills of modernity: the rupture of traditional family and societal structures; the loss of collective religious faith, and with it, the collective sense of purpose; the feeling that the old rules no longer apply and there’s nothing to replace them.

 As you read, take note on Yeats' use of diction and imagery, and consider his likely purpose for imagining the post-war era in this way.

the second coming

Name______________________________ The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats

Grading: numbers 1-8 are worth 8 point each; numbers 9 and 10 are worth 27 points each.

1. Turning and turning in the widening gyre 1  

The falcon cannot hear the falconer; 2

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

5. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere  

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction,3 while the worst                              

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

10 Surely the Second Coming is at hand.  

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out  

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi 4

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert  

A shape with lion body and the head of a man, 5  

15. 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

20. Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,  

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,  

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

1. A revolution or a circuit (a full circle).

 2. A falconer is a person who keeps and trains falcons or other birds of prey.

3. Conviction (noun) : a firmly held belief or opinion

4. According to W. B. Yeats, “Spiritus Mundi” is a spiritual world, which is accessible to perceptive people.

5. A sphinx is a mythic creature, known for its cunning and mercilessness. Yeats may also be directly referencing the Great Sphinx of Giza, an ancient Egypt.

1. The scene the speaker describes is

A. tragic yet peaceful

B. chaotic and tragic

C. bright and beautiful

D. strange and disheartening

2. What happens when the speaker mentions the Second Coming?

A. A lion begins slowly walking across the desert.

B. The sun is no longer shining on the desert.

C. A strange man loses his ability to see.

D. An image of a lion’s body with the head of a man appears.

3. The speaker…

A. has lost hope for the future.

B. never had hope in twenty centuries.

C. cannot imagine a world where anything survives.

D. is desperate for the creature to arrive.

4. PART A: Which of the following best explains the first 2 lines and their contribution to the central themes of the poem?

A. The  first 2 lines describe a falcon "turning and turning," similar to the earth's rotation, suggesting that time in cyclical and humanity is stuck in this loop.

B. The  first 2 lines describe a falcon circling in the air, free of its master, suggesting that humanity (as the falconer) can no longer control the wild nor the environment (as it was ravaged by the destruction of WWI).

C. The  first 2 lines describe a falcon circling into a "widening gyre," suggesting that with the first global war the world has become a bigger, scarier place.

D.The  first 2 lines describe a falcon circling into a "widening gyre," unable to find its master, suggesting that humanity is lost, like the world has fallen out of its natural revolution into chaos (such as with the destruction of WWI).

5. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?

A. “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” ( Lines 3-4)

B.“The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere” ( Line 5)

C. “The ceremony of innocence is drowned” ( Line 6)

D. “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.” ( Lines 7-8)

6. For what purpose or effect did the poet likely include the imagery in lines 5-6?

A. The imagery contributes to the tone of regret, for like a flood released, the violence of global warfare cannot be contained.

B. The imagery reminds the reader of the casualties of WWI, and therefore mainly has an effect of pathos (i.e. making the reader feel for said casualties).

C. The imagery has biblical and apocalyptic associations, emphasizing similar imagery in the poem and contributing to the general sense of violence and chaos.

D.The imagery refers to the biblical flood and Noah’s ark, suggesting that this shift to global violence and chaos may actually be part of redemption.

7. PART A: How does the repetition of the phrase “The Second Coming” in lines 10-11 contribute to the tone of the poem?

A. The repetition emphasizes the speaker’s cynicism and contributes to the depressed tone.

B. The repetition emphasizes the speaker’s worry and contributes to the fearful tone.

C. The repetition highlights the speaker’s pleased tone, as he or she is eager for apocalypse.

D.The repetition reveals the speaker’s mockery of those who claim it is the end of the world and thus contributes to the inflated, dramatic tone.

8. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?

A. "Turning and turning in the widening gyre" ( Line 1)

B."the worst / Are full of passionate intensity" ( Lines 7-8)

C."Surely some revelation is at hand" ( Line 9)

D. "a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi / Troubles my sight" ( Lines 12-13)

9. How is the image of the “shape with lion body and the head of a man” (Line 14) important to the poem as a whole? Make sure to weave in text for your response.

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10. What does the speaker say of the “best” people? What does the speaker say of the “worst” people? Describe a way in which this situation can manifest itself. Minimum 100 words. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________