The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats Poem Analysis

“The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats describes an apocalyptic future that is allegorical to the current state of humankind engaged in warfare and bloodshed. Throughout the poem, rhythm and meter are used to emphasize the chaotic nature of the world as well as the speaker’s reaction to it. The speaker alludes to Biblical occurrences that have been twisted, leaving a sinister mark upon a once hopeful prophecy. Hope and certainty are key themes throughout the poem as the speaker suggests that there is no reason to have either.

The speaker employs an urgent tone within the first stanza, connoting a sense of disorientation and confusion. The first images of the poem succeed one another like an exhaustive and never-ending list:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The caesura within the first line places an emphasis on the fact that the world is disjoint and “apart”. The next lines come in rapid succession; the speaker is listing an overwhelming number of things to suggest that the world itself is overwhelmed. There is a twinge of irony hidden within the diction of the next line: the speaker understates the gravity of chaos, saying “Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”. The word “mere” may refer to purely, however it also connotes a minimized and weak impact. The diminutive“mere” juxtaposed with the beastly “loosed” further implies that the speaker is trying to make light of the ghastly situation. Furthermore, this is especially ironic considering that the word “anarchy” is included within iambic pentameter rather than free verse. This irony suggests that the speaker is trying to mock what is befalling upon the Earth; minimizing the effects in order to convince himself that all will be well.  The “blood-dimmed tide” alludes to one of the apocalyptic events that will plague the Earth, when the seas will turn into blood. This also subtly alludes to Jesus turning water into wine, however, this is a much darker transformation. Finally, the speaker references baptism, describing it as drowned within the blood-dimmed tide of anarchy. Baptism represents established order and structure that has been destroyed by chaos and anarchy. 

The first line of the next stanza, “Surely some revelation is at hand”, is trochaic: the speaker is desperately preaching to himself. He is screaming and attempting to convince himself that the evils befalling the world herald the coming of the Messiah. He repeats himself, suggesting that he doesn’t truly believe what he is proclaiming:

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out   

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert   

A shape with lion body and the 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 desert birds.   

When mentioning the Noble Messiah and the certainty of peace that comes with him, the speaker employs a structured meter. However, following a caesura marking a halt in order at “The Second Coming!”, the speaker’s rhythm lacks any conformity and becomes free verse; thus matching the chaotic world surrounding him. The stanza also begins with two short sentences referencing the Messiah, followed by a drawn out sentence referencing the sphinx-like beast. This further contrasts the structured order of hope and the anarchy of chaotic evil. The speaker is inspired to see the Beast from Spiritus Mundi, alluding to when Ezekiel was inspired to see the Sphinx-like angel. The speaker, however, continues with his habit of twisting noble figures into evil characters. Rather than being an angel of God, the beast appears to be leading the “desert birds” astray. These desert birds reference the first stanza where the speaker says “the falcon cannot hear the falconer”. This seems to suggest that the Beast takes advantage of humanity’s straying from order and leads them even more astray. The sphinx is a symbol of chaos, he comes from“somewhere in the sands” and is an abomination of nature. It is dehumanized, referred to as “it”. This coalescence of randomness cements the sphinx as a symbol of disorder and pandemonium.

The final lines of the poem

Humans have left God/become birds of prey that have awakened a beast of great evil.