The Second Coming A Painful Truth Essay example - 575 Words

The Second Coming: A Painful Truth? For hundreds of centuries, man has pondered what revelations or spiritual awakenings will occur in futures time. Poet William Yeats, has written, The Second Coming, which foretells how the Second Coming brings horror and repression to the world. Yeats takes into speculation that the future will certainly bring further darkness than is already present in the current world. He employs various symbols and allusions to assert his claims of the worlds ultimate demise. The purpose of these symbols and allusions make it possible to fully understand Yeatss point of view of the fall of our present civilization and the rise of a new civilization with a gloomy future. One of Yeats major symbols,†¦show more content†¦This process repeats itself over and over, which marks the beginning and ending of continuous cycles of history. Another major symbol that Yeats employs is the sphinx-like character that presents itself at the second coming. The sphinx represents a satanic, domineering, merciless monster, which in turn represents the horrendous terror of the new world to be. Yeats describes the sphinx as a rough beast with birds of prey circling around it, thus symbolizing a new age of violence and death. In a broader context, the publication of this poem in 1920 results from the recent conclusion of World War I. Mass destruction and death ensued following the war further suggesting Yeats theory that after the twenty centuries of stony sleep conclude, widespread horror and repression will fall by the coming of the rough beast. The poems dominate and crucial allusion, The Second Coming, is ironic in how Yeats defines it. Yeats alludes to the second coming from the New Testament of the Bible. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. This allusion stems from the Christian belief that one day the son of God will return to Earth and bring spiritual renewal and salvation. The Second Coming will mark the beginning of a new and better world. However, Yeats makes use of the Second Coming not as it is widely believed. Conversely, the irony he creates is defined from his belief that instead of Jesus marching valiantly towards BethlehemShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Blindness In Trifles And Oedipus744 Words   |  3 PagesEveryone has the will to acknowledge the truth or not, but there are some that are blinded to the truth. In the dramas Trifles by Susan Glaspell and Oedipus by Sophocles, Both having some type of blindness as their theme. While using the theme of blindness, the authors try to teach that the truth could sometimes be right in plain sight. In Trifles, you start to see the theme of blindness in Henry,Lewis and George during their investigation of the death of John Wright. An example of this occursRead MoreAnalysis of Sylvia Plaths Mirror1281 Words   |  6 Pagesmarriage began going worse. The poem is not simply about a mirror. 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