The Second Coming Flashcards
What is the context of The Second Coming?
Written in 1920
-Written shortly after the end of the Great War 1918 and after the Russian Revolution 1917
What are the differences between the first and second stanza in ‘The Second Coming’?
Stanza 1:
- End of a cycle and displaying how things are falling apart
- Lacks a clear rhythm as anarchy is being unleashed
- No rhyme scheme displays the anarchy whilst half rhymes display the coming of a new age
Stanza 2:
A prophetic vision of the future:
-Iambic tetrameter becomes more prominent towards the end of the stanza as it provides the sound of the thumping sphinx approaching along with the new age
-A sonnet of 14 lines but not split by the usual octet and sestet but rather by 9 and 5 lines and also not about love–> displays the overcoming of traditional values and the establishment of a new world order
What are the overall messages of ‘The Second Coming’? (2)
- The start of a new gyre/era/ cycle of time
- The rise of the anti-christ and a new evil will be unleashed upon the world
What are the quotations that display the arrival of a new era in ‘The Second Coming’? (2)
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre”- opening line of the poem explicitly states the movement through the gyre
“The blood-dimmed tide is loose” - imagery of a wave; of a new era
How does WBY display the evil being unleashed on the world in ‘The Second Coming’? (1)
“The blood-dimmed tide is loose” - displays all the deaths as a result of WW1, Easter Rising and Russian Revolution
–>Compound word “blood-dimmed” emphasises how “blood” is overcoming everything
How does WBY display the anarchy and revolution of the new era in ‘The Second Coming’? (3)
“the centre cannot hold” - the centre of society and what holds society together such as religion and politics is unable to control the world any longer
“The falcon cannot hear the falconer;”
- ->displays how people are being led off track and influenced away from goodness AND also displays moving away from traditional heritage with new culture emerging
- ->use of dissonance on separation of “falcon” and “falconer” highlights the instability
“mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”
“The ceremony of innocence is drowned” - a symbol of organisation (“ceremony”) is “drowned” out and overcome by anarchy
How is the contrast of the good of the current cycle contrasted with the evil of the new cycle in ‘The Second Coming’? (2)
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity”
–> displays how the good do nothing to help whilst the bad do everything to get across their beliefs
“indignant desert birds” makes reference to vultures who are scavengers of dead bodies and emphasises the number of the dead–> contrast with the falcon in the first stanza
What biblical references are made in ‘The Second Coming’ and what are the effects of these? (4)
“Surely some revelation is at hand; / Surely the second coming is at hand.”
- ->Christs second coming as of the book of revelation
- ->the anaphora, epistrophe and exclamatory tone gives it a feeling of an incantation or prayer
“sands of the desert” - Where Jesus was tempted by the devil. Where the devil resides and is coming from to the world
“rocking cradle” gives reference to the birth of baby christ like the birth of this new anti-christ
“slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” - the re-birth of Christ as in the Book of Revelation though “slouches” shows evil tendencies and question mark displays WBY’s hope that this is merely a theory
What are the mystical references of the coming of an anti-christ made in ‘The Second Coming’? (2)
“The darkness drops again” - the coming of darkness over the world= references to evil
“A shape with lion body and the head of a man” - represents the sphinx which displays both the strength and valour of a lion and the intellect of man; thus superior to man
How does WBY display the conflict between the people of the world and the gods in ‘The Second Coming’?
“Spiritus Mundi/ troubles my sight” - The spirit of the world makes WBY fearful as mankind makes up the spirit of the world and our actions have been extremely negative (violence & murder)
- ->Rather, WBY prefers the ‘Spiritus Sancti’- the spirit of the gods, that cannot be influenced by the treachery of man
- -> Hence, WBY fears that the reincarnation of Jesus that we will receive will be- rather than the blessful one we expect- the one we deserve for our violent and careless actions
