Despite its metaphorical intricacy, "The Second Coming" has a rather straightforward message: humanity's time is up, and society as we know it is going to come to an end. Yeats composed this poem just after World War I, a worldwide disaster that killed millions. He was trying to express his belief that humanity was on the brink of self-destruction and that a great war would destroy everything we have achieved over the last 100 years.
Yeats based his concept of the second coming on biblical prophecies about the end times. The Bible says that at some point in the future, Jesus will return to Earth to set things right. During this time, known as the millennium, there will be no violence or crime because everyone will be living in peace under God's rule.
In "The Second Coming," Yeats imagines that someone sees the start of the new world order with their own eyes. They see "a crowd of people silent and still" who are waiting for something to happen. Then, out of nowhere, a huge battle starts between angels and demons who are fighting for control of Earth. The person watching all this happens to be a young poet who has not been born yet. So in a sense, the whole thing is his prophecy about what will happen at the beginning of the next century.
Themes of "The Second Coming": The key themes foregrounded in this poem are violence, prophesy, and meaninglessness. Yeats underlines that the current world is disintegrating and that a new, scary reality is going to arise. He also indicates that this new reality is inevitable because it is part of human nature for things to turn violent at times of change. Finally, he suggests that there is no hope for humanity because its destruction is foretold by many prophets over time.
Yeats begins the poem by saying that the "second coming" will be both sudden and slow. This coming refers to the return of Jesus Christ to Earth after his death and resurrection. Many people think that when Jesus returns, he will bring about global peace and love among all mankind. However, according to Yeats, this return will be full of violence because humans will try to kill one another over possessions and power.
Furthermore, the return of Jesus Christ will be complete and total. When Jesus first came to Earth, he showed many signs that pointed to his death later on. For example, he suffered and died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Also, some people think that when Jesus returns, he will raise the dead back to life. However, according to Yeats, this return will be permanent because none of the living will be resurrected.
The concept of "the Second Coming" is not found in the Bible. However, many religions have used this phrase to describe Jesus' return to Earth. Jesus will come back to judge everyone who has died without accepting Jesus as their savior.
In "The Second Coming", Yeats also uses other literary devices to create impact and emotion. He makes use of alliteration (repeating consonant sounds) when describing the violence that the coming world will bring about. This device was popular among poets during the Romantic era because it was thought to be effective in creating strong emotions in readers. Also, by using metaphor and simile, Yeats can get his audience to think about the coming world in new ways. Metaphor is the comparison of one thing to another for emphasis while Simile uses "like" or "as" to make an explicit connection between two things. In this case, Yeats is comparing the current world to a paradise garden where humans lived in peace and happiness until they decided to reject God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Yeats uses language that is important for understanding the meaning of the poem.
The Second Coming also has a simple message: humanity's time has come to an end, and civilization as we know it is going to be destroyed. The poem tells us that the world will end when Jesus returns to Earth again.
The speaker in "The Second Coming" is clearly God, but it is possible to interpret some of the lines as referring to someone else. For example, some scholars believe that the last line actually refers to Jesus returning to save his people, not God ending mankind. In fact, some Christians believe that this is exactly what will happen at the end of times!
However, most scholars agree that the entire poem was written by William Blake who lived from 1757-1827. Blake was a British artist, poet, and philosopher. He is best known for creating illustrations that include poems that can only be read with reference to specific colors. These color-coded drawings feature figures holding up colored glasses before them, as if looking through a telescope. Today, they are used in art classes to help students understand how different colors relate to each other and what that means visually.
During his lifetime, Blake became famous for being both a visionary artist and poet. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement in poetry.
Butler Yeats' poem The Second Coming is a modernist work. Everything appears to be breaking apart; there is disturbance to the order and "simple chaos" (Yeats 4). The first stanza is a figurative remark on how human ideals are being undermined. It describes how "ideals of good and evil / Are now but myths with little meaning for mankind." No one follows any set of rules anymore, and there is no such thing as right or wrong action. Humans are simply acting out of self-interest.
The second stanza is much more direct in its commentary on contemporary society. It warns that "the times should know that they are dangerous," and that "evil will prevail." This comes off as a prophecy rather than a hope, which implies that something bad is going to happen.
Finally, the third stanza explains what this coming disaster means. It says that "a new world shall be created" and that this new world will be "one where man will live in harmony with nature." There will be no more wars or violence, because these things destroy humanity's ability to live in peace. Instead, we will be able to live in harmony with each other and the rest of creation because there will be nothing to fight about once the mess has been cleaned up!
The conventional tale of Christ's coming to redeem the "rituous" is subverted in Yeats' poem "The Second Coming." Instead, he used horrifying and twisted animal images to represent a facet of the world's impending demise without redemption. These images include: a blood-drinking bat (a vampire); a dragon; a giant with a hundred arms; a woman in labor who requires a horse to deliver her child.
Yeats also uses this poem as a vehicle for criticizing Christianity. He attacks what he calls "the Christian myth" that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. Rather, according to Yeats, his return is a metaphor for how history will come to an end when humanity is redeemed through spiritual awakening rather than through violence.
In conclusion, the poem shows us that the world would be better off without any form of religion because they are all based on myth and magic. At their core, all religions are about people making themselves feel important by attributing human qualities to God or gods. This both empowers them to act violently toward others or to forgive them, which is why religious leaders have always sought to convert or kill those who believe differently than themselves.
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