"The Second Coming" was composed by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats in 1919, in the aftermath of the First World War and was first published in November 1920. The present paper examines what enables the speaker to envision the Second Coming and how his vision is linked to the Biblical model. How is the breakdown of the world depicted and what are revealed to be its possible causes.
The poem's title “The Second Coming” makes reference to the Biblical reappearance of Christ, as prophesied in Matthew 24 and the Book of Revelation of St. John in the New Testament. According to Christian belief, Christ will return to conquer Satan and the forces of evil, before presiding over a thousand-year reign of peace on Earth.
True to the Biblical pattern, the speaker of the poem envisions the breakdown of the present state of the world and the dawn of a new age. He adds, however, a sinister twist to the idea of the Second Coming, suggesting that the return of Christ might just as well become the arrival of the Antichrist.
I will consequently go on to conclude that the poem presents the world as a perfectly balanced system of two opposing forces or principles such as: centrifugal vs. centripetal force in physics, democracy vs. aristocracy in politics, Christ vs. Antichrist in religion etc..
Whenever this opposition is completely cancelled, chaos will be its consequence. All this is, however not to say that chaos sounds for the final phase of existence. On the contrary, it denotes but a phase of transition, as the world is subject to constant change and history moves in a cyclic pattern. Chaos can hence be described as being part of a greater system.
I will proceed in a more or less chronological order starting with the 1st stanza where the speaker describes the present state of the world. The focus will be put here on the omnipresence of chaos and its relation with the laws of physics, political systems and the divine judgement.
The second main part of the paper will deal with the 2nd stanza which presents the speaker’s future vision of the Second Coming. The detailed description of the “Antichrist” in the poem will be compared to the depiction of Christ in the Bible.
In the last stanza the speaker looks back in history, as if to back up his prophetic vision of the breakdown of the Christian era.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 The First stanza - The present state of the world
1.1 Chaos and the laws of physics
1.2 Chaos as a political system
1.3 Chaos and the divine judgement
2. Second Stanza – The prophetic vision
3. Third stanza – a look back into the past
Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines how William Butler Yeats’ poem "The Second Coming" conceptually frames chaos as a systematic, cyclic, and inevitable phenomenon. It explores the poem's internal logic, arguing that Yeats presents the world as a balanced system of opposing forces that, when cancelled out, leads to inevitable transition and transformation rather than simple annihilation.
- The intersection of physical laws and metaphysical chaos.
- Political implications of anarchy and the breakdown of traditional systems.
- Biblical allusions and the reinterpretation of divine judgement.
- Yeats’ personal occult framework, specifically the "Spiritus Mundi."
- The cyclic nature of history as a transition between eras.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 Chaos and the laws of physics
The first stanza describes the present state of the world as one of complete confusion and disorder creating a threatening doomsday atmosphere. The chaos is depicted as being omnipresent and general, for the poem refrains from any concrete historical references to then current political conflicts such as the First World War, the Russian Revolution or the War of Independence in Yeat’s own country of Ireland (Holdeman, 64). Moreover, there is no definite location given in the first stanza. On the contrary, the prepositional phrase “in the widening gyre” (1) even suggests that the world has not yet arrived at the height of disaster, but that chaos perpetually continues to spread out.
This idea is partly confirmed by the double repetition of “turning” (1) which underlines the idea of incessant movement and constant relocation. Additionally, the verb “turning” offers a choice between two distinct meanings here. Firstly, it denotes the movement “in a circle around a central point” (OALD, 1397) which anticipates the notion of “centre” (3). This meaning relates to the curved flight-path of the “falcon” (2) soaring in widening circles high over a field around its “falconer” (2), hence delineating a “widening gyre” (1). Secondly, “turning” (1) can also be used here in the sense of “to change direction” (OALD, 1397). This resonates with Yeat’s conception of history as two intersecting cones, or gyres that move in opposite directions. Wheras one gyre widens over a period of two thousand years the other narrows. The process then reverses after another twenty centuries have passed, producing a cyclic pattern throughout time (Brooker, 245; Cullingford, 54).
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides the historical context of the poem and outlines the analytical approach regarding chaos and its role within a greater balanced system.
1 The First stanza - The present state of the world: Analyzes the imagery of the first stanza, connecting the concept of chaos to physical laws, political transition, and biblical patterns of judgement.
2. Second Stanza – The prophetic vision: Investigates the speaker’s subjective and occult-driven vision of the "Second Coming" and the emergence of the "rough beast" as an antithesis to Christ.
3. Third stanza – a look back into the past: Examines the poem's conclusion in the context of history, focusing on the "stony sleep" of the last twenty centuries and the inevitability of the impending rebirth.
Conclusion: Summarizes the finding that the poem illustrates a cyclical conception of time where chaos functions as a necessary transitional phase.
Keywords
Yeats, The Second Coming, Chaos, Modernism, Symbolism, Cyclic history, Spiritus Mundi, Gyre, Antichrist, Biblical imagery, Physics, Anarchy, Political transition, Metaphor, Poetry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic work?
The work focuses on interpreting William Butler Yeats’ poem "The Second Coming" as a manifestation of a systematic, balanced, and cyclical view of chaos within history.
What are the core thematic areas discussed?
The paper covers the physics of chaos, political instability, religious symbolism, and the occult concept of the "Spiritus Mundi."
What is the central research question?
The paper seeks to understand what enables the speaker to envision the "Second Coming" and how this vision is linked to existing Biblical and physical models.
Which scientific or analytical methods are applied?
The author uses literary analysis, cross-referencing the poem with historical, scientific, and occult concepts (such as gyres and vortexes) to ground the poetic imagery in a systematic framework.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
It provides a stanza-by-stanza analysis, investigating how each section progresses from describing the present state of the world to a prophetic vision and a historical retrospective.
Which key terms best characterize this work?
Key terms include Yeats, chaos, cyclical history, Spiritus Mundi, and apocalyptic imagery.
How does the author interpret the term "gyre" in the context of the poem?
The author interprets "gyre" as both a physical vortex and a historical movement, representing the cyclical nature of change where one era wanes as another waxes.
What role does the "rough beast" play in the author's argument?
The "rough beast" is analyzed as an antithesis to Christ, symbolizing a combination of human and bestial elements that emerges during a time of moral and political decay.
Why is the "Spiritus Mundi" relevant to the analysis?
It is highlighted to demonstrate that the speaker’s vision is not derived from traditional religious scripture, but from Yeats's own preference for occult and symbolic reservoirs of human imagery.
- Quote paper
- Francesca Cavaliere (Author), 2011, The System of Chaos in "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats. How is the Breakdown of the World Depicted?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/318219
