Analysis Essay: "The Second Coming" By W.B. Yeats

As seen many times in the past, having too much authority over others can lead to havoc in the world. However, some may argue otherwise. “The Second Coming”, written by W.B. Yeats, presents the theme that the farther away we get from authority, the more unstable and chaotic the world becomes. Yeats expresses the changing world as, “Turning and turning in the widening gyre the falcon cannot hear the falconer.” Distancing from authority has caused chaos and violence to occur in the world. Symbolism enhances this theme by portraying the relationship between humanity and religion. Yeats uses a falcon and a falconer as symbols to indicate that “The falcon cannot hear the falconer.” The falconer in this case is God, and the falcon represents humanity who starts to stray away and disconnect from their faith.

As the poem continues, an ominous tone is established when the world is described as: “Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere. The best lack all convictions, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Yeats gives the impression that something bad has occurred and/or is going to occur later on. Imagery establishes this tone when Yeats expresses the world as “mere anarchy” where the “ceremony of all innocence is drowned” in the first stanza. An ominous tone is set as he describes the damage taking place in the world before the Second Coming. The tone remains at the end of the poem, as Yeats provides a biblical allusion to the return of Christ. After describing a world of violence and chaos, Yeats describes Jesus‘s return as, “That twenty centuries of stony sleep were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, and what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” In the Bible, the Second Coming represents Jesus coming back to the world to execute the prophecies made about him.