Manuel Erika Jones C.
Introduction literature
Bscpe2B
Activity 2
THE SECOND COMING
"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 describes a deeply mysterious and powerful alternative to the Christian idea of
the Second Coming—Jesus's prophesied return to the Earth as a savior announcing the Kingdom of
Heaven. The poem's first stanza describes a world of chaos, confusion, and pain. The second, longer
stanza imagines the speaker receiving a vision of the future, but this vision replaces Jesus's heroic return
with what seems to be the arrival of a grotesque beast. With its distinct imagery and vivid description of
society's collapse, "The Second Coming" is also one of Yeats's most quoted poems.
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.
REFFERENCESS:
https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/william-butler-yeats/the-second-coming
https://literarydevices.net/the-second-coming/