The Poetic Sense of the Second Coming

朱穎

（中國藝術研究院，北京100029）

The Poetic Sense of the Second Coming

朱穎

（中國藝術研究院，北京100029）

This article is a detailed analysis of the poem written by William Butler Yeats.Through the line by line explanation，the lаtеnt mеаning аnd prеdictiоn аrе rеvеаlеd thоrоughly.This pоеm is nоt оnly cоnfinеd tо оnе singlе mеаning，but hаs its universality.

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1005-5312（2016）08-0275-02

The Second Coming of Christ is the return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to Earth as expected in most Christian eschatology.The anticipated event is predicted in biblical Messianic prophecy.Views about the nature of Jesus Second Coming vary among Christian denominations.In the Book of Revelation，the last book of the New Testament in the Bible，it prophesies the return of Christ after Satan’s reign of darkness.

The Second Coming is also a poem written by Irish poet William Butler Yeats in 1919 and first printed in The Dial.The poem mainly adopts Christian imagery regarding the Apocalypse and second coming as allegory to describe the atmosphere in postwar Europe.The poet Yeats was born and brought up in Ireland，and was a Christian by birth.He was a poet，dramatist，mystic and public figure.In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.Yeats was greatly attracted by eastern mysticism and spiritualism.He came up with his own mythological explanation for life.Despite being born a Christian，his attraction towards paganism was so strong that he eventually converted to it.The effect of the change of religion can be seen in his poems which includes The Second Coming that he wrote after the conversion.

In the poem the second coming is not totally identical with the notion of the biblical one cited above.The differences will be gradually uncovered through the detailed analysis of the whole poem.

"Turing and turning in the widening gyre the falcon cannot hear the falconer；"Here Yeats used his self-invent image"gyre"to illustrate his special viewpoint towards history or life.Gyre actually is the conic helix drawn from his book A Vision.This work centers on a diagram composed of two conic helixes，one placed inside the other.He adopted two intersecting conical spirals to symbolize his philosophical belief that all things could be described in terms of this image，such as soul，civilization，age and so on.Because all of them experience the activity in which they move from the smallest point of the spiral to the largest before moving along to the opposite direction.He divided the whole history into different periods.Each gyre just symbolizes the relative historical period.Yeats believed that 1921 was the time the world was on the threshold of an apocalyptic moment.That is to say，some revelation is coming.As for Falconing，it is a noble activity in the medieval times.In this activity the man who is referred as falconer trained the hawk referred as falcon.So the hawk will unmistakably abide to the order made by the trainer.However，the condition now is out of control.The falcon cannot hear the call from its master.Here the images falcon and falconer have a myriad of dimensions.If the falcon represents human mind，then the other refers to the soul.Modern people seem to be less faithful to any kinds of religious belief than their forefathers.Some people just regard religion as a kind of life-saving straw.Ironically，the evil person may kneel down，burn incense and pray when they encounter difficulties.Another interpretation is that falcon refers to those machines invented by human beings whereas the falconer is human himself.Technology made a rapid progress beyond mankind's control.It seems one day we may become the victim of our own invention.Obviously，those weapons created by scientists bear the most dangerous potential.The world had never experienced the destruction of World War I，and most people were shocked at the extensive loss of human lives during the war.

"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；"if the center loses its power of holding，then everything will collapse due to the loss of magnetism. This world is governed by the"mere anarchy".The tiny word mere here has its magnificent role，for it arouses a sense of totality.It seems to say the world is absolutely in chaos.Besides，the hidden meaning of "loose upon"corresponds with the notion of anarchy.Both can show a degree of disorder.The most subtly arranged words in the poem are the"blood-dimmed tide".It has three connotations and all contribute to the center idea of this line.Firstly，it may refer to the religious story in Bible.The Pharaoh agreed to let Moses and his people leave Egypt，but then changed his mind.So Moses parted the Red Sea in order to lead his people to safety，and the Pharaoh and his army were drowned behind them.Hence the blood-dimmed tide symbolizes the evil.Secondly，it also brings to mind the biblical flood that sent Noah packing the wife，kids，and a few animals into the ark.Everything left will be drowned by the flood made by God.The flood can cleanse all the evil on the earth.It embedded a meaning similar to the first one.Last but not least，its connotation may be associated with WWⅠ.Uncountable people were killed in that war.The tide is the vivid representation of the violence and cruelty of human beings.On the contrary，"The ceremony"hints at the Baptism.In Christianity，Baptism is done invari-ably with the use of water.It has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of Jesus Christ.This holy water now is taken place by the evil blood-dimmed tide.

"The best lack all conviction，while the worst are full of passionate intensity."This two lines actually are kind of antithesis.But by adding the word"passionate"，it gives a sense of unbalance.We may notice the second one overweighs the first one.So we come to know that the evil is much more vital，fierce and powerful than the innocence.

"Surely some revelation is at hand；surely the Second Coming is at hand."This line reveals a kind of uncertainty and doubtfulness in the heart of Yeats.He was not sure what the world would embrace，the second coming of Jesus Christ or something else.By using"surly"，on the contrary，he emphasized the effect of his uncertainty.

"The Second Coming！Hardly are those words out when a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight：somewhere in the sands of the desert A shape with a lion body and the head of a man，A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun，Is moving its slow thights，while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.The darkness drops again；"

A new image pumped into mind with its lion body and human head.This beast is sphinx who is the tomb guardian in Egypt.This mash-up creature is unconquerable for it has the body of the most ferocious animal and the most intelligent mind from human beings.A vast image of a frightening monster pulled from the collective consciousness of the world.Yeats modified the well-known image of the sphinx to embody the poem’s vision of the second coming.By rendering the horrible prospect of destruction and change into an easily imagined mysterious monster，Yeats made an abstract fear become tangible and real.The insignificant words"desert"，"sun"and"birds" all have their connotations.Desert is the place where Satan tempted Christ.So it can be judged as the home of evil.Sun in the desert is not as kind and welcomed as the one in the South Pole.Yeats made a comparison to illustrate his idea that the Sphinx’s gaze to human was merciless as the scorching sunshine to the creature beneath its ray in desert.The indignant birds are hawks or falcons，which symbolize sky deities or God according to Egyptian culture.They are indignant because they are extremely upset with what the world will become.They try to block the way of Sphinx，but all effort is in vain.

"The darkness drops again；but now I know 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 section，"Stony sleep"can be used to represent the anti-Christ being rocked by his mother.The rough beast is the anti-Christ that will bring destruction and pain to the world.This unholy creature will be born in Bethlehem，the holy birth place of Christ. "Nightmare"and"rocking cradle"，part of an extended metaphor，compare the"twenty centuries"between Christ and the Second Coming as only one night of an infant’s sleep.Moreover，the not so sound and sweet sleep may indicate that twenty centuries are just obliviousness.Another delicately arranged pan here is the word"rocking".On one hand，it is an allusion drawn from the mythology of William Blake.In Blake's poem，Urizen falls，unable to bear the battle in heaven he has provoked.To ward off the fiery wrath of his vengeful brother Eternals，he frames a rocky womb for himself："But Urizen laid in a stony sleep Unorganiz'd，rent from Eternity."During this stony sleep，Urizen goes through seven ages of creation-birth as fallen man，until he emerges.This is the man who becomes the Sphinx of E-gypt.On the other hand，it seems to express the twenty centuries are just in havoc and everything is unstable and rocking.The poem ends with a question.To some extent，it shows the poet’s uncertainty.He didn’t know what the next age will become.All is in doubtfulness.

In this poem，Yeats adopted a series of Biblical references and mythology to show his concern for the world.Being a poet-prophet，he didn’t fix his poetry to one single meaning.This poem actually has a quality of universality.It also adapts to individual.Though differentiated from the original Second Coming，this artistic creation derived from the biblical one and a sense of holiness and mystery seep through.