Yeats' Poem "The Second Coming"

Yeats begins his brief, 22-line poem with the image of a falcon caught in the widening currents of the ocean, escaping the control of his master. This image could symbolize humankindÆs loss of connection with the natural world, as well as standing for world leaders no longer able to connect with those they govern. Whatever the specific meaning, ôThings fall apart; the centre cannot holdö (line 3), and then, ôMere anarchy is loosed upon the worldö (line 4) in the form of ecological disasters and political upheavals. While Yeats may have been alluding to a specific event, such as the Russian Revolution of just a few years earlier, his use of poetic imagery allows the modern reader to draw parallels to all kinds of anarchy in which ôthe ceremony of innocence is drownedö (line 6).

He concludes his allusion to the whirlwind of great events by detailing the effect of this chaos on the human population: ôThe best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensityö (lines 7-8). His description paints a vivid picture of the confusion that anarchy unleashes in human in

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Some common words found in the essay are:
YeatsÆ Sphinx, Russian Revolution, Messiah United, Coming Christ, World War, Middle East, Butler YeatsÆ, Comingö YeatsÆ, War Wars, ôthe comingö, William Butler, sleepö line 19, stony sleepö line, centuries stony, egyptian desert, sleepö line, line 19, return messiah, yeatsÆ words, ôtwenty centuries, centuries stony sleepö, ôtwenty centuries stony, stony sleepö, suggests judgment,
Approximate Word count = 826
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page)