Poem analysis and biography of the poet
‘The Second Coming’
William Butler Yeats
Biography
William Butler Yeats was the son to John Bulter and Susan Mary Pollexfen. He was born in 1865, in Sandymount (Gonzalez & Emmanuel, 419). As the eldest son, he got the opportunity to join Godolphin School and later joined the Metropolitan School of art in Dubin from 1884-1886. It is also important to note that Yeats was a member of the Anglo-Irish community. Anglo-Irish was an ethnic group but since the group had lived in Ireland for hundreds of years, they had adapted to Irish life. However, some Anglo-Irish could resist the way of life and they loved and respected England. Yeats was patriotic to Irish and wished that the Irish could become a free and independent society (Gonzalez & Emmanuel, 419). While in the art school, he was not a good student and he realized that painting was not his talent. Instead, he could pay trips to the Irish countryside and he could meet his relatives, and he explored the Irish stories and legends. Although Yeats started literacy work in 1882, in 1886, he officially started the literacy career and published his first dramatic poem known as ‘Masada' (Gonzalez & Emmanuel, 420). Later, he published many other works such as ‘Crossways, ‘The Celtic Twilight', and others. Yeats did not only engage in literacy career but he established societies and clubs that aimed at bringing together artists, and also the clubs' aim was see that Irish achieved its independence and becomes free from England's authority (Gonzalez & Emmanuel, 420). Note that throughout the 19th century, Yeats was interested in Irish politics and he was so much committed to Irish nationalism.
During the Irish nationalism, Irish people wanted to stay away from foreign rule since it diminished their interest. In all his work, Ireland was the literacy subject and he revealed the need to create a sovereign Irish (Powell et al. 456). He wrote plays, produced dramas, and created the Irish National Theater Society. He was the head of the national theatre until 1915. However, while in the Irish theater, he was in love with Maud Gonne, who was an activist. Yeats thought that Gonne would become his lifetime part but unfortunately, Gonne left him for another man. Later, the nationalists and extra-nationalists criticized Yeats's work and argued that the theatre did not express the interest of the nation (Powell et al. 457). However, she married Georgie Hyde-Less, who joined the Yeats' alliances to assist him in his poetry work especially on the use of mastics and spiritualism. In 1922, Yeats received a Nobel Prize and gained a reputation throughout the 20th century. He died in 1939 due to health issues.
Poem analysis
The Second Coming
First, the purpose of the poem ‘The Second Coming’ is to express the chaos and confusion, and the vision of the future. In lines one to four, he uses the metaphors; ‘The falcon cannot hear the falconer' to indicate that things are not working well or there is no order or control (GALE, 1).Things have disintegrated and collapsed. The society is failing and there is no morality since there full of mass killings. The society is greed and it cannot control the anarchy and confusion (GALE, 1). The poet says that the innocent or the good people are struggling whereas the powerful villains are enjoying.
In analyzing the poem critically, the author reflects on World War 1 and the political turmoil that the Irish experienced during the 20th century. Irish focused on civilization and it showed its nationalistic effort toward the achievement of civilization (Allison, 217). Irish wanted to become a free state or in other words, it wanted to come out of the British dominion. In writing this poem, Yeats has a positive future and he believed that one day Irish would come out of the authoritarian government. Yeats and other volunteers engaged in the Civil War and they combined efforts to liberate the country (Allison, 217). The first stanza is a reflection of the profound changes that occurred during this time.
In the second stanza, the poet gives a revelation of what will happen. He relates this stanza with the second coming of Christ that is in the book of Revelation. For example, when Jesus comes back the second time; the righteous will be saved while the unrighteous will be destroyed. In the first line, he says that ‘surely some revelation is at hand' (GALE, 1). When the revelation will be revealed, an image with the body of a lion and the head resembles a human being will come and the coming will be accompanied by a real shadow, and darkness. The poet sees a vision that a time will come and the society and world full of chaos and violence will be changed. Similarly, when Jesus comes back, the world will be completely changed and there will be a new earth and a new heaven. The present world has a sinful state but the Christ who is the savior will destroy and save the just.
In interpreting the poem, the poet uses political and religious ideology to assert that Ireland would come out of the England authority. He sees a future that is full of peace and Ireland will experience great expansion (Allison, 218). Note that Ireland wanted full independence and activists have joined the nationalistic movement to fight for independence. As one of the Anglo-Irish minority, he has a sense of nationalism and believes that the social troubles will come to an end. He foresees an apocalyptic revelation that the nations will experience a new age. A new world is coming and there will be no more conflict (Allison, 218). In the line ‘when a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi', the poet asserts that there is a connection between the world soul and the memory. In other words, the poem has a religious belief that human beings will forget a traumatic situation and the Irish people will achieve their national identity.
In the first stanza, the reader is taken in the world full of chaos. It seems like the thing that is happening is a sign that the second coming is at hand when the world will be changed and the negative experiences will be chronicles. In addition, the Irish will have a great future where people will enjoy freedom and autonomy (Allison, 219). Even though the poem reveals a chaotic image where things are falling apart, at the end the country will experience a nationalistic pride. The war will come to end and Ireland will become a distinct region and rule itself. However, to achieve freedom, Ireland has gone through difficulties since it has experienced mass killing but the present condition is a stepping stone to a bright future(Allison, 219). It is important to note the theme of the apocalypse is represented which means that justice will be achieved and the injustices will come into an end.
Work cited
Gonzalez, Alexander G, and Emmanuel S. Nelson. Modern Irish Writers: A Bio-Critical
Sourcebook. Westport (Connecticut: Greenwood, 1997. Print.
Powell, John, Derek W. Blakeley, and Tessa Powell. Biographical Dictionary of Literary
Influences: The Nineteenth Century, 1800-1914. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press,
- Print.
Allison, Jonathan. Yeats's Political Identities: : Selected Essays. Ann Arbor (Mich.: University
of Michigan Press, 1996. Print.
GALE, C. E. N. G. A. G. E. L. E. A. R. N. I. N. G. (2016). POETRY FOR STUDENTS: A study
guide for william butler yeats's "the second coming.". DETROIT: GALE, CENGAGE
LEARNING.
