“Surely the Second coming is at hand;… when a vast image out of Spiritus
Mundi Troubles my sight:… A shape with a lion body and the head of a man, / A
gaze blank And pitiless as the sun,”(2.9-15). Is the world actually coming to
an end? Is this sphinx-like creature truly our inevitable savior? Or, is Yeats’
life and things surrounding it coming to chaos? Is the war and restless spirit
of Ireland influencing Yeats’ work? On the other hand, is Yeats trying to help
one to understand the frustrations of their own lives on a more personal level?
The depth of Yeats’s work, among many other great poets, is immeasurable. Many
surrounding emotions, and intentions may go into this poem, along with various
other subsidies the poet may not even be aware of. This is precisely why the
literature department, or lack of, in many schools is weakening. Too many
teachers, professors, and now students focus either solely on rhyme and meter or
the “obvious” reason a poet might compose a poem, such as personal
relationships, failures, earthly surroundings, or mental distress. The educators
of students today need to be more open-minded on the interpretations one has for
a particular poem. Literature has been a very strong Darr2 foundation for any
prosperous civilization. For centuries poets will be immortalized in classes and
books. However, as their words are remembered their spirit has been lost. When
analyzing a great poet’s work such as Yeats, the most obvious interpretation
is usually not the correct one. Literature helps open minds to endless
possibilities in every possible aspect. If students are taught to just accept
explanations and are discouraged from questioning or even thinking for
themselves, then the world will soon become full of conformed, mindless robots.
Future leaders of the world must be taught to analyze everything. They must be
taught to use their imaginations and logical thinking together. That is a most
powerful combination in the hands of a determined student. The process must be
in the root of this thinking. It must begin with literature. Throughout Yeats’
life he has produced numerous controversial poems. Many people hold their own,
very strong, opinions about poems. The truth is, there is not only one. Yeats
had many different influences when writing “The Second Coming”, and it is
important for the reader to know each of them before they can even begin to
understand the many meanings and interpretations of this poem. Yeats’s poetry
has three major influences. The more obvious one is the fact that Yeats was from
Ireland, and at the time that this poem was written, World War II was affecting
Ireland. However, WWII was not something knew to the Ireland’s culture because
for the past 300 years Ireland had been involved in many other wars and at the
same time trying to gain their independence. Another influence on Yeats’s
writing was his personal religion, Gnosticism. According to Harold Bloom, Yeats
believed Christianity to be “the barbarian theosophy,” and declined to
distinguish it form Gnosticism (1). Gnosticism Darr3 has to do with searching
for self-knowledge and rejecting the society of their time. This seems to have
been quite appropriate for Yeats and his writing. The third influence on
Yeats’s writing was the work of other philosophical writers such as Shelley,
Blake, and Nietzsche. Yeats used some of the imagery and context of their
previous works to help describe the meaning of “The Second Coming.” When
reading “The Second Coming” one’s first impression might be of someone who
felt as though they had no control of their life and therefore life was about to
come to an end. That interpretation was not well thought out and very
narrow-minded. The meaning is much more complex than that. “The Second
Coming” is a very powerful piece of poetry, and one of the most universal
admired poems of the 20th century. Attempting to understand William Butler
Yeats’s work is almost impossible unless you let one to become completely
open-minded on every aspect of the poem. There are many different theories as to
what the true meaning of “The Second Coming” really is. The fact of the
matter is that Yeats purposefully has more than one interpretation of “The
Second Coming.” He wants the average person to open his or her creative mind
and to analyze every influence, language, and imagery to understand the message
he is trying to get across. When reading the opening lines of “The Second
Coming” there are two meaning Yeats is trying to portray. In the opening
figuration, the center is man, unable as the falconer to no longer maintain
control over a “turning and turning” movement. Man is going through constant
chaos that is affecting all of society. It is described, as “Things Darr4 are
falling apart; the center cannot hold;”(1.3). However, there is evidence also
suggesting that the falconer is also the poet himself. The poet is loosing
control of his own creativity. He has a powerful and creative message to get
across but struggles to put it on paper. This presentation, either way, is
breaking down, or falling apart. At the end of the first stanza Yeats describes
and uses imagery when stating, “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and
everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned;” (1.5-6). This of course
refers to the biblical story of Noah and the great flood. Yeats is painting a
picture of an ocean of blood, which symbolizes the “last wave”, or the end
of the world. In the beginning of the second stanza words are crucial here, for
Yeats “surely” is showing us how insure he is, the repetition of
“surely” betraying his uncertainty. When Yeats repeated the words “the
Second Coming” he is either referring to the Christian Second Coming of Christ
or the Gnostic Second Birth of their Demigod. Either interpretation is a great
change and uncertainty. Next Yeats describes the spirit of the world or
“Spiritus Mundi.” This image is identical with “Anima Mundi,” the second
part of Per Amica Silentia Lunae, written also by Yeats just two years before (Cowell
15). In the second half of the last stanza Yeats states: “somewhere in the
sands of the desert A shape with lion body and head of a man, A gaze blank and
pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows
of the indignant birds” (2.5-9). Yeats is describing a male Sphinx, Egyptian
rather than Greek; also there is evidence that the Sphinx is associated with the
sun god. The literary representation here is of Shelley’s Darr5 famous sonnet
“Ozyman-dias,” which described a monument that was in the shape of a male
Sphinx (Donoghue and Mulryne 68). This is evidence clearly shows how other
philosophical writers influenced Yeats’s work. Another example of this takes
place in the third and final part of this poem. These last few lines are
extremely confusing but very powerful. Yeats goes on to say: “The darkness
drops again; but now I know Those twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to
nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at
last, Slouches twards Bethlehem to be born?”(2.17-21). The “stony sleep”
of the Sphinx associates him with the “stony sleep” of Blake’s Urizen in
The Book of Urizen. According to Donoghue and Mulryne, those twenty
“Christian” centuries can be taken as the outside term in this metaphor;
they represent nature, the fallen object-world. The “rocking cradle” is the
inside term, standing for the subjective unconsciousness that is aware of the
Incarnation (24). Yeats's vision in the end seems to be that the Christian age
is over and the Gnostic’s are waiting at Bethlehem for the Second Birth of the
Sphinx. Summarizing the experience of “The Second Coming” reveals a
successful representation of other philosophical writers such as Shelley, and
Blake. It portrays many of the characteristics of the Gnostic religion. The poem
demonstrates how Yeats is waiting for his Sphinx to come again in “The Second
Coming”. Lastly, Yeats uses imagery and the influences of the Irish wars to
depict the chaos and intensity throughout the poem. It is with theses influences
that Yeats is able to express the many meaning of “The Second Coming”. Darr1
Christin Darr Dr. Arthur Edward Salmon Eng.II 9:45a.m. 25 May 2000 The Spirit of
William Butler Yeats and “The Second Coming” “Surely the Second coming is
at hand;… when a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight:… A
shape with a lion body and the head of a man, / A gaze blank And pitiless as the
sun,”(2.9-15). Is the world actually coming to an end? Is this sphinx-like
creature truly our inevitable savior? Or, is Yeats’ life and things
surrounding it coming to chaos? Is the war and restless spirit of Ireland
influencing Yeats’ work? On the other hand, is Yeats trying to help one to
understand the frustrations of their own lives on a more personal level? The
depth of Yeats’s work, among many other great poets, is immeasurable. Many
surrounding emotions, and intentions may go into this poem, along with various
other subsidies the poet may not even be aware of. This is precisely why the
literature department, or lack of, in many schools is weakening. Too many
teachers, professors, and now students focus either solely on rhyme and meter or
the “obvious” reason a poet might compose a poem, such as personal
relationships, failures, earthly surroundings, or mental distress. The educators
of students today need to be more open-minded on the interpretations one has for
a particular poem. Literature has been a very strong Darr2 foundation for any
prosperous civilization. For centuries poets will be immortalized in classes and
books. However, as their words are remembered their spirit has been lost. When
analyzing a great poet’s work such as Yeats, the most obvious interpretation
is usually not the correct one. Literature helps open minds to endless
possibilities in every possible aspect. If students are taught to just accept
explanations and are discouraged from questioning or even thinking for
themselves, then the world will soon become full of conformed, mindless robots.
Future leaders of the world must be taught to analyze everything. They must be
taught to use their imaginations and logical thinking together. That is a most
powerful combination in the hands of a determined student. The process must be
in the root of this thinking. It must begin with literature. Throughout Yeats’
life he has produced numerous controversial poems. Many people hold their own,
very strong, opinions about poems. The truth is, there is not only one. Yeats
had many different influences when writing “The Second Coming”, and it is
important for the reader to know each of them before they can even begin to
understand the many meanings and interpretations of this poem. Yeats’s poetry
has three major influences. The more obvious one is the fact that Yeats was from
Ireland, and at the time that this poem was written, World War II was affecting
Ireland. However, WWII was not something knew to the Ireland’s culture because
for the past 300 years Ireland had been involved in many other wars and at the
same time trying to gain their independence. Another influence on Yeats’s
writing was his personal religion, Gnosticism. According to Harold Bloom, Yeats
believed Christianity to be “the barbarian theosophy,” and declined to
distinguish it form Gnosticism (1). Gnosticism Darr3 has to do with searching
for self-knowledge and rejecting the society of their time. This seems to have
been quite appropriate for Yeats and his writing. The third influence on
Yeats’s writing was the work of other philosophical writers such as Shelley,
Blake, and Nietzsche. Yeats used some of the imagery and context of their
previous works to help describe the meaning of “The Second Coming.” When
reading “The Second Coming” one’s first impression might be of someone who
felt as though they had no control of their life and therefore life was about to
come to an end. That interpretation was not well thought out and very
narrow-minded. The meaning is much more complex than that. “The Second
Coming” is a very powerful piece of poetry, and one of the most universal
admired poems of the 20th century. Attempting to understand William Butler
Yeats’s work is almost impossible unless you let one to become completely
open-minded on every aspect of the poem. There are many different theories as to
what the true meaning of “The Second Coming” really is. The fact of the
matter is that Yeats purposefully has more than one interpretation of “The
Second Coming.” He wants the average person to open his or her creative mind
and to analyze every influence, language, and imagery to understand the message
he is trying to get across. When reading the opening lines of “The Second
Coming” there are two meaning Yeats is trying to portray. In the opening
figuration, the center is man, unable as the falconer to no longer maintain
control over a “turning and turning” movement. Man is going through constant
chaos that is affecting all of society. It is described, as “Things Darr4 are
falling apart; the center cannot hold;”(1.3). However, there is evidence also
suggesting that the falconer is also the poet himself. The poet is loosing
control of his own creativity. He has a powerful and creative message to get
across but struggles to put it on paper. This presentation, either way, is
breaking down, or falling apart. At the end of the first stanza Yeats describes
and uses imagery when stating, “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and
everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned;” (1.5-6). This of course
refers to the biblical story of Noah and the great flood. Yeats is painting a
picture of an ocean of blood, which symbolizes the “last wave”, or the end
of the world. In the beginning of the second stanza words are crucial here, for
Yeats “surely” is showing us how insure he is, the repetition of
“surely” betraying his uncertainty. When Yeats repeated the words “the
Second Coming” he is either referring to the Christian Second Coming of Christ
or the Gnostic Second Birth of their Demigod. Either interpretation is a great
change and uncertainty. Next Yeats describes the spirit of the world or
“Spiritus Mundi.” This image is identical with “Anima Mundi,” the second
part of Per Amica Silentia Lunae, written also by Yeats just two years before (Cowell
15). In the second half of the last stanza Yeats states: “somewhere in the
sands of the desert A shape with lion body and head of a man, A gaze blank and
pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows
of the indignant birds” (2.5-9). Yeats is describing a male Sphinx, Egyptian
rather than Greek; also there is evidence that the Sphinx is associated with the
sun god. The literary representation here is of Shelley’s Darr5 famous sonnet
“Ozyman-dias,” which described a monument that was in the shape of a male
Sphinx (Donoghue and Mulryne 68). This is evidence clearly shows how other
philosophical writers influenced Yeats’s work. Another example of this takes
place in the third and final part of this poem. These last few lines are
extremely confusing but very powerful. Yeats goes on to say: “The darkness
drops again; but now I know Those twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to
nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at
last, Slouches twards Bethlehem to be born?”(2.17-21). The “stony sleep”
of the Sphinx associates him with the “stony sleep” of Blake’s Urizen in
The Book of Urizen. According to Donoghue and Mulryne, those twenty
“Christian” centuries can be taken as the outside term in this metaphor;
they represent nature, the fallen object-world. The “rocking cradle” is the
inside term, standing for the subjective unconsciousness that is aware of the
Incarnation (24). Yeats's vision in the end seems to be that the Christian age
is over and the Gnostic’s are waiting at Bethlehem for the Second Birth of the
Sphinx. Summarizing the experience of “The Second Coming” reveals a
successful representation of other philosophical writers such as Shelley, and
Blake. It portrays many of the characteristics of the Gnostic religion. The poem
demonstrates how Yeats is waiting for his Sphinx to come again in “The Second
Coming”. Lastly, Yeats uses imagery and the influences of the Irish wars to
depict the chaos and intensity throughout the poem. It is with theses influences
that Yeats is able to express the many meaning of “The Second Coming”. Darr1
Christin Darr Dr. Arthur Edward Salmon Eng.II 9:45a.m. 25 May 2000 The Spirit of
William Butler Yeats and “The Second Coming” “Surely the Second coming is
at hand;… when a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight:… A
shape with a lion body and the head of a man, / A gaze blank And pitiless as the
sun,”(2.9-15). Is the world actually coming to an end? Is this sphinx-like
creature truly our inevitable savior? Or, is Yeats’ life and things
surrounding it coming to chaos? Is the war and restless spirit of Ireland
influencing Yeats’ work? On the other hand, is Yeats trying to help one to
understand the frustrations of their own lives on a more personal level? The
depth of Yeats’s work, among many other great poets, is immeasurable. Many
surrounding emotions, and intentions may go into this poem, along with various
other subsidies the poet may not even be aware of. This is precisely why the
literature department, or lack of, in many schools is weakening. Too many
teachers, professors, and now students focus either solely on rhyme and meter or
the “obvious” reason a poet might compose a poem, such as personal
relationships, failures, earthly surroundings, or mental distress. The educators
of students today need to be more open-minded on the interpretations one has for
a particular poem. Literature has been a very strong Darr2 foundation for any
prosperous civilization. For centuries poets will be immortalized in classes and
books. However, as their words are remembered their spirit has been lost. When
analyzing a great poet’s work such as Yeats, the most obvious interpretation
is usually not the correct one. Literature helps open minds to endless
possibilities in every possible aspect. If students are taught to just accept
explanations and are discouraged from questioning or even thinking for
themselves, then the world will soon become full of conformed, mindless robots.
Future leaders of the world must be taught to analyze everything. They must be
taught to use their imaginations and logical thinking together. That is a most
powerful combination in the hands of a determined student. The process must be
in the root of this thinking. It must begin with literature. Throughout Yeats’
life he has produced numerous controversial poems. Many people hold their own,
very strong, opinions about poems. The truth is, there is not only one. Yeats
had many different influences when writing “The Second Coming”, and it is
important for the reader to know each of them before they can even begin to
understand the many meanings and interpretations of this poem. Yeats’s poetry
has three major influences. The more obvious one is the fact that Yeats was from
Ireland, and at the time that this poem was written, World War II was affecting
Ireland. However, WWII was not something knew to the Ireland’s culture because
for the past 300 years Ireland had been involved in many other wars and at the
same time trying to gain their independence. Another influence on Yeats’s
writing was his personal religion, Gnosticism. According to Harold Bloom, Yeats
believed Christianity to be “the barbarian theosophy,” and declined to
distinguish it form Gnosticism (1). Gnosticism Darr3 has to do with searching
for self-knowledge and rejecting the society of their time. This seems to have
been quite appropriate for Yeats and his writing. The third influence on
Yeats’s writing was the work of other philosophical writers such as Shelley,
Blake, and Nietzsche. Yeats used some of the imagery and context of their
previous works to help describe the meaning of “The Second Coming.” When
reading “The Second Coming” one’s first impression might be of someone who
felt as though they had no control of their life and therefore life was about to
come to an end. That interpretation was not well thought out and very
narrow-minded. The meaning is much more complex than that. “The Second
Coming” is a very powerful piece of poetry, and one of the most universal
admired poems of the 20th century. Attempting to understand William Butler
Yeats’s work is almost impossible unless you let one to become completely
open-minded on every aspect of the poem. There are many different theories as to
what the true meaning of “The Second Coming” really is. The fact of the
matter is that Yeats purposefully has more than one interpretation of “The
Second Coming.” He wants the average person to open his or her creative mind
and to analyze every influence, language, and imagery to understand the message
he is trying to get across. When reading the opening lines of “The Second
Coming” there are two meaning Yeats is trying to portray. In the opening
figuration, the center is man, unable as the falconer to no longer maintain
control over a “turning and turning” movement. Man is going through constant
chaos that is affecting all of society. It is described, as “Things Darr4 are
falling apart; the center cannot hold;”(1.3). However, there is evidence also
suggesting that the falconer is also the poet himself. The poet is loosing
control of his own creativity. He has a powerful and creative message to get
across but struggles to put it on paper. This presentation, either way, is
breaking down, or falling apart. At the end of the first stanza Yeats describes
and uses imagery when stating, “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and
everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned;” (1.5-6). This of course
refers to the biblical story of Noah and the great flood. Yeats is painting a
picture of an ocean of blood, which symbolizes the “last wave”, or the end
of the world. In the beginning of the second stanza words are crucial here, for
Yeats “surely” is showing us how insure he is, the repetition of
“surely” betraying his uncertainty. When Yeats repeated the words “the
Second Coming” he is either referring to the Christian Second Coming of Christ
or the Gnostic Second Birth of their Demigod. Either interpretation is a great
change and uncertainty. Next Yeats describes the spirit of the world or
“Spiritus Mundi.” This image is identical with “Anima Mundi,” the second
part of Per Amica Silentia Lunae, written also by Yeats just two years before (Cowell
15). In the second half of the last stanza Yeats states: “somewhere in the
sands of the desert A shape with lion body and head of a man, A gaze blank and
pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows
of the indignant birds” (2.5-9). Yeats is describing a male Sphinx, Egyptian
rather than Greek; also there is evidence that the Sphinx is associated with the
sun god. The literary representation here is of Shelley’s Darr5 famous sonnet
“Ozyman-dias,” which described a monument that was in the shape of a male
Sphinx (Donoghue and Mulryne 68). This is evidence clearly shows how other
philosophical writers influenced Yeats’s work. Another example of this takes
place in the third and final part of this poem. These last few lines are
extremely confusing but very powerful. Yeats goes on to say: “The darkness
drops again; but now I know Those twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to
nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at
last, Slouches twards Bethlehem to be born?”(2.17-21). The “stony sleep”
of the Sphinx associates him with the “stony sleep” of Blake’s Urizen in
The Book of Urizen. According to Donoghue and Mulryne, those twenty
“Christian” centuries can be taken as the outside term in this metaphor;
they represent nature, the fallen object-world. The “rocking cradle” is the
inside term, standing for the subjective unconsciousness that is aware of the
Incarnation (24). Yeats's vision in the end seems to be that the Christian age
is over and the Gnostic’s are waiting at Bethlehem for the Second Birth of the
Sphinx. Summarizing the experience of “The Second Coming” reveals a
successful representation of other philosophical writers such as Shelley, and
Blake. It portrays many of the characteristics of the Gnostic religion. The poem
demonstrates how Yeats is waiting for his Sphinx to come again in “The Second
Coming”. Lastly, Yeats uses imagery and the influences of the Irish wars to
depict the chaos and intensity throughout the poem. It is with theses influences
that Yeats is able to express the many meaning of “The Second Coming”.