How Does Yeats Use Syntax In The Second Coming

Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, Inferno, and the Book of Revelation as told by John in the Bible each regale the natural curiosity of humans involving manifestations of endings and possibilities of new beginnings in the afterlife. The purpose of informing God’s people of these manifestations and possibilities is mutual and key to the preparedness of humans for life after death. Still, justice is surely delivered appropriately in Inferno and Revelation, due to God’s brilliant arrangements. Divergence between minutiae is outshone by appreciation of seemingly incredulous similarities between God’s plans in the texts. Analysis reveals that Inferno and the Book of Revelation share countless themes, concepts, and scenes, though they differ slightly in the specific details surrounding the unfolding events.

This essay will argue that the eschatology of the Book of Revelation forms an integral part of John’s attempt within the pages of his book to form a literary world in which the forms, figures, and forces of the earthly realm are critiqued and unmasked through the re-focalization of existence from the perspective of heaven. It will attempt to show that, in response to the social, political, religious, and economic circumstances of his readers, the Book of Revelation forms a counter imaginative reality. Through drawing upon an inaugurated sense of eschatology and evocative imagery, John is able to pull the reader in and show them the true face of the imperial world and consequences of its ideology, forcing the reader allegiance to fall

William Butler Yeats is one of the most esteemed poets in 20th century literature and is well known for his Irish poetry. While Yeats was born in Ireland, he spent most of his adolescent years in London with his family. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he later moved back to Ireland. He attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and joined the Theosophical Society soon after moving back. He was surrounded by Irish influences most of his life, but it was his commitment to those influences and his heritage that truly affected his poetry. William Butler Yeats’s poetry exemplifies how an author’s Irish identity can help create and influence his work.

Yeats works drew heavily on Irish mythology and history, he never fully embraced his Protestant past nor joined the majority or Ireland Roman Catholics but he devoted much of his life to the study in myriad other subjects. The Irish writer’s James O’ Grady and Sir William Ferguson were the most influential. Through his writing Yeats found his voice to speak up against the harsh nationalist policies of the time, his early dramatic works conveyed his respect for Irish legend and fascination with occult. Yeats mother was the first introduce him and his sisters to the Irish folktales he grew to love so much but little did you know that his brother jack and father was also an accomplished artist and they both helped William in his writing and it's the reason he found his own interest in the wonderful arts as he called them. In 1894 Yeats met friend and patron Lady Augusta Gregory and thus began their involvement with The Irish Literary Theatre which was founded in 1899 in Dublin. Along with literature, he also loved the theater and wrote several plays. He collaborated with the likes of Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and George Moore to establish the Irish Literary Theatre for the purpose of performing Irish and Celtic plays. As a dramatist, his successful works included ‘The Countess Cathleen’ (1892), ‘The Land of Heart’s Desire’ (1894) and ‘The King’s Threshold’

Yeats embodies this ominous doom in the form of a “rough beast” whose time has come to be born into the world, contrast to the Christ figure used to reference the past (21). However, this does not necessarily mean he believes a single powerful figure will emerge. Instead, this apocalyptic beast could be a variety of forms of devastation as later seen in the century with weapons of mass destruction, regimes, and diseases. “Its hour come round at last” means that Yeats knows this beast approaches along with impending doom. Yeats includes the past, present, and future in order to describe the draining of hope over time.

Conflict is the basis of all human interaction and hence is an integral part of human life. Through ambiguous yet comprehensive treatment of conflict W. B. Yeats has ensured that his works stand the test of time and hence have remained ‘classics’ today. Through my critical study I have recognised that Yeats’ poems Easter 1916 and The Second Coming are no exception. Yeats’ poetic form, language and use of poetic techniques; such as juxtaposition, allusion, and extended metaphors, alert audiences to both the inner and physical conflict that are the foundations of both poems. It is through this treatment of conflict that supplies audiences with the ability to individualise the reading and hence engage a broad range of

Ira Chernus’ article, “Cheer up, it’s just the end of the world,” addresses the effect of the many apocalyptic worries today on Americans. Chernus begins by introducing the biblical origin, then the dilution, and lastly the multiplication of the ideal apocalypse. The article describes the foundation, biblical apocalypse, as one ending becomes means to a new beginning; a rebirth of this world into a better one. The author depicts the evolution of apocalypse succeeding the biblical era beginning with the nuclear age of World War 2 which introduced the new idea of complete extinction. The article goes on to challenge the blossoming apocalypses that stemmed from the nuclear age with, in Chernus’ opinion, the prominent danger of environmental destruction.

In the poem “The Second Coming”, by William Butler Yeats. He writes this poem after World War I, around 1919. Yeats is a Irish poet, who came from Protestant parentage. The over all theme of the poem is that God will come back again. There are many versions to how God will appear, but in this poem bad things happen first in order for God to come. In “The Second Coming,” Yeats uses symbolism to unfold the meaning of the poem.

Possibly due to the war efforts in WWI, people saw the destruction and the lack of progression it brought the world; a "second coming" of the "rough beast…/slouching towards Bethlehem" (Yeats, Longman p. 2329, ll. 21-22), or in other words "slouching towards" religion.  I think this because earlier in his stanza, Yeats speaks about "twenty centuries of stony sleep/ Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle" (Yeats, Longman p. 2329: ll. 19-20), which leads me to think of the two thousand years religion had a grip on people's lives, and then as the more Modern generation became more and more separated from religion by its "rocking cradle," the "rough beast" took hold of the people and took the place of religions dominancy in society.  Now, people's ideas became separated from the Biblical interpretation of things, and instead took on a more personal outlook and interpretation of its own as to what the meaning of all these things (WWI) meant.  Chaos then took place, and religion lost its stronghold for good.  The "centre [could]not hold" the people in religion, the "rough beast" (chaos) became their dominant concern.

Yeats was a confessional poet - that is to say, that he wrote his poetry directly from his own experiences. He was an idealist, with a purpose. This was to create Art for his own people - the Irish. But in so doing, he experienced considerable frustration and disillusionment. The tension between this ideal, and the reality is the basis of much of his writing. One central theme of his earlier poetry is the contrast

The tool of Yeats' prophecy, crystallized in the "widening gyre" traced by the falcon, is a concept Yeats detailed

Mr. Yeats relates his vision, either real or imagined, concerning prophesies of the days of the Second coming. The writer uses the Holy Bible scripture text for his guide for because no one could explain this period of time without referring to the Holy Bible. He has chosen to present it in the form of a poem, somewhat like the quatrains of Nostradamus. The poem does not cover all the details of this event, but does give the beginning of the powerful messages, and a dark look at those ominous days surrounding the Second Coming of The Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps he is trying in his own words to warn everyone about the end time days.

The contemporary Roman Catholic middle classes had defeated the cause for which Yeats fought for at that time; hence Yeats felt oppressed by his own people. (Abram 2303)

William Butler Yeats wrote “The Second Coming” after World War 1 ended, in a time when the image of society was catastrophic. Yeats was deeply affected by these horrors caused by the war. Yeats predicts this image of a catastrophic society due to war will reappear in the near future. In “The Second Coming”, William B. Yeats uses a variety of literary devices to portray his idea of what the downfall of society will look like.

The fifth stanza describes the quality that Yeats came to see as at the very heart of civilized life: courtesy. By courtesy he understands a means of being in the world that would protect the best of human dignity, art and emotion. And in his prayer for his daughter he wishes that she will learn to survive with grace and dignity in a world turned horrific. He explains that many men have hopelessly loved beautiful women, and they thought that the women loved them as well but they did not.