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Study guide · Short story

The Second Coming

by W. B. Yeats

The Second Coming is a short story by W. B. Yeats, first published 1920. Its central themes are despair, fate, fear, religion and faith. This chapter-by-chapter study guide covers chapter summaries, characters, themes, symbols, and the key quotes worth pulling for an essay.

  • 1chapters
  • 4characters
  • 6themes
  • 5symbols
  • 10quotes
  • 9study tools

01·Chapter-by-chapter

What happens in The Second Coming?

1 chapters · click any chapter to expand its summary and analysis.

  1. Ch. 1The Second Coming (Complete Poem)

    Summary

    W. B. Yeats's "The Second Coming" (1919, published 1920) begins with a falcon spiraling further and further away from its falconer — a controlling hand it can no longer hear. From this break, the speaker states that "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold," listing the chaotic violence that engulfs the world when order breaks down: "the blood-dimmed tide is loosed," drowning innocence. The "ceremony of innocence" is gone. The best among us lack conviction; the worst are overwhelmed by passionate intensity. This collapse sparks a prophetic moment the speaker refers to as "the Second Coming" — but what comes is not Christian salvation. Instead, a vast desert vision takes shape: a sphinx-like creature, "a shape with lion body and the head of a man," awakens from twenty centuries of sleep. The rocking of Bethlehem's cradle — the birth of Christ — sent this beast into its stony slumber; now that era of Christianity is spent, the beast slouches toward Bethlehem to be born. The poem concludes not with arrival but with the dreadful, suspended momentum of that approach.

    Analysis

    Yeats builds the poem around his cyclical theory of history — the "gyres" — where civilizations move through approximately two-thousand-year arcs before collapsing into their opposites. The falcon-and-falconer image in the opening couplet represents the poem's first gyre: a widening spiral that illustrates lost control before the speaker names any abstract concepts. Yeats then makes a sharp shift, transitioning from the concrete imagery to prophetic statements. The syntactic confidence in those declarations ("Things fall apart," "The best lack all conviction") mirrors the very certainty the poem laments — order reaffirming itself while describing disorder.

    The tonal shift at "Surely some revelation is at hand" acts as the poem's pivot. The word "Surely" conveys both irony and longing; it sounds like belief but feels more like dread. The Spiritus Mundi — Yeats's collective unconscious of world images — offers not solace but the Sphinx, which is ancient and indifferent. The beast's gaze is described as "blank and pitiless as the sun": this simile strips divinity of warmth, equating cosmic light with annihilation.

    Yeats deliberately delays the beast's arrival. The final question — "what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" — leaves the reader without resolution, ensnared in historical dread. "Slouches" is the poem's most precise verb: it suggests neither marching nor running, carrying the weight of inevitability without urgency, the horror of something that does not need to rush.

    Key quotes

    • “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”

      The speaker pivots from the falcon image to sweeping historical diagnosis, establishing the poem's central thesis of civilisational collapse.

    • “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”

      Yeats crystallises the moral inversion of a dying order, a couplet that has been applied to virtually every subsequent political crisis of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

    • “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

      The poem's closing rhetorical question refuses to name or resolve the approaching force, leaving the reader suspended in historical vertigo.

02·Characters

Who are the characters in The Second Coming?

  • The Falcon

    The Falcon appears in the opening image of W. B. Yeats's visionary poem "The Second Coming" (1919). Although it only features in the first two lines, it carries significant symbolic weight that anchors the entire work. Circling in a widening gyre, the Falcon has drifted so far from the Falconer that it "cannot hear" his call — a striking detail that highlights the poem's central crisis: the collapse of order, authority, and coherent civilization. The Falcon doesn't consciously rebel; its drift is passive, almost mechanical, dictated by the geometry of the gyre itself. This makes the situation even more unsettling — chaos emerges not from malice but from a gradual, inevitable centrifugal force.

    As a symbol of humanity or the civilized world, the Falcon represents a culture that has either outgrown or simply outlasted its animating principle. Its expanding arc reflects the historical moment Yeats identifies: post–World War I Europe spiraling away from the Christian framework that once held it together. The Falcon offers no arc of redemption or transformation; it merely recedes, its silence confirming that the old center cannot hold. In this sense, the Falcon acts less like a character with depth and more as a diagnostic image — a living gauge of spiritual and political disintegration. Its flight establishes the conditions for everything that follows: the unleashing of anarchy, the fading of ceremony, and ultimately the slow, dreadful approach of the Rough Beast.

    Full analysis →
    Connected to The Falconer · The Rough Beast · The Sphinx
  • The Falconer

    The Falconer appears in a crucial image in W. B. Yeats's "The Second Coming": "the falcon cannot hear the falconer." Although he never physically appears in the poem, the Falconer symbolizes ultimate order, mastery, and control over civilization. In falconry, the falconer's voice or lure is meant to bring the bird back; thus, the failure of this communication represents not just a personal shortcoming but a cosmic one. The Falconer stands for the guiding authority—be it divine, political, or moral—that once kept human history in check. His key characteristic is absence: he calls out but is no longer heard. This silence marks the disintegration of the "gyre," Yeats's model of historical cycles, as the present age spirals out of reach of any stabilizing influence. The Falconer's journey, captured in a single line, shifts from implied presence to effective absence; he is not destroyed but made irrelevant by the expanding spiral. Thematically, he embodies all that the poem mourns—tradition, hierarchy, the potential for coherent leadership—and everything that the oncoming rough beast will erase. His silence is the pivot on which the entire poem revolves: once control is abandoned, "mere anarchy is loosed upon the world," making the emergence of a terrifying new order unavoidable.

    Full analysis →
    Connected to The Falcon · The Rough Beast · The Sphinx
  • The Rough Beast

    The Rough Beast is the main prophetic figure in W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" (1919). It appears not as an active participant but as a vision created within the speaker's apocalyptic imagination. The Beast never speaks or acts in the poem; instead, it is seen—slouching toward Bethlehem to be born—making its power entirely symbolic and anticipatory. This figure represents the monstrous new force that will take the place of the crumbling Christian era, emerging from the "twenty centuries of stony sleep" that the rocking of the Sphinx's cradle has stirred into a nightmare.

    Its defining characteristic is its terrible, relentless momentum: the verb "slouches" suggests neither speed nor hesitation but an unstoppable, brutish inevitability. Physically, it is depicted through the image of the Sphinx—"lion body and the head of a man"—but it is different from that ancient statue; while the Sphinx is motionless and stony, the Beast is alive, its "slow thighs" moving, its gaze "blank and pitiless as the sun." This blankness is significant: the Beast has no moral intent, only the impersonal force of historical cycles turning.

    Its trajectory is entirely prospective—it has not yet arrived. The poem's final rhetorical question ("what rough beast… slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?") delays its arrival, freezing the Beast in a transitional state of becoming. This pause heightens the sense of dread, positioning the Beast as the dark counterpart to the Christ-child, a counter-nativity that will shape the impending age of violence and chaos.

    Full analysis →
    Connected to The Sphinx · The Falconer · The Falcon
  • The Sphinx

    The Sphinx appears in W. B. Yeats's visionary poem "The Second Coming" as a symbol of ancient, inhuman forces ready to reclaim power in a crumbling civilization. It remains silent and inactive within the poem; rather, it is evoked through the speaker’s prophetic vision as a "vast image" emerging from the sands of the Egyptian desert — specifically Spiritus Mundi, the collective memory of humanity. Its description is intentionally jarring: it has a lion's body and a man's head, with a "gaze blank and pitiless as the sun." This blankness is crucial to its portrayal — the Sphinx represents an indifferent, pre-moral past that neither judges nor cares, starkly contrasting with the waning Christian era. Its "slow thighs" suggest immense, unhurried strength, and its movement toward Bethlehem hints that it will overshadow the birth of Christ with something darker and more primal. The Sphinx serves as the poem's climactic image, embodying Yeats's cyclical theory of history (from A Vision): every two-thousand-year period concludes, giving rise to a new, opposing force. The creature's awakening signifies not progress but recurrence — the return of a savage, pre-rational age. Its trajectory is one of emergence: from ages of stone-cold slumber to slow, unstoppable motion, making it one of literature's most economical yet terrifying symbols of historical upheaval.

    Full analysis →
    Connected to The Rough Beast · The Falconer · The Falcon

03·Themes

What are the themes in The Second Coming?

DespairFateFearReligion and FaithThe Past and MemoryWar and Its Consequences

Despair

In Yeats's "The Second Coming," despair isn't just a personal feeling; it's a condition of civilization, intricately tied to the poem's imagery of collapse and confusion. The opening gyres—those expanding, spiraling circles—immediately suggest a world falling apart, beyond any hope of recovery. The falcon's failure to hear the falconer symbolizes more than a breakdown in communication; it represents a reality where human intentions can no longer influence events, creating the poem's pervasive sense of helpless observation.

The list of disasters that follows—chaos unleashed, the drowning of rituals, the best lacking conviction while the worst are driven by fervor—reads more like a lament than a political analysis. The contrast between "the best" being paralyzed and "the worst" being passionate is especially disheartening because it strips away the usual comfort of moral responsibility: virtue is rendered completely inactive.

The mention of Spiritus Mundi, the vast collective memory from which the speaker draws his insight, intensifies the despair by eliminating any personal deity or hope for redemption. What emerges from this collective unconscious is not a savior but a "rough beast"—slouching, unhurried, and indifferent. The word "slouch" is significant: it denies this approaching force the dignity of threat, making it seem merely unavoidable. Bethlehem, the traditional symbol of hope, is reduced to just a location, stripped of any promise. The poem concludes with an unanswered question, leaving the reader in the same dread that the speaker cannot escape.

Fate

In Yeats's "The Second Coming," fate isn't portrayed as divine will but rather as an impersonal, almost mechanical inevitability illustrated by the poem's central image of the gyre. The widening gyre that begins the poem represents not just chaos but a diagram of historical destiny, a cyclical system where the falcon's drift from the falconer indicates that the current civilization has already run its course. This loss of control isn't a crisis; it's an inevitable outcome: the center must fail because the geometry of history dictates it.

This feeling of an unavoidable path deepens when the speaker mentions the Spiritus Mundi, a sort of collective unconscious that delivers visions without being asked. The speaker doesn’t seek this revelation; it simply comes. The grand image of the sphinx-like creature emerging from the desert sands isn’t a warning to heed — it’s a declaration of what’s already underway. Here, fate completely bypasses human agency; the vision is received rather than interpreted.

The closing rhetorical question — what rough beast slouches toward Bethlehem to be born? — is technically a question but effectively a statement of certainty. The beast is already on its way; the birth is already predetermined. Yeats emphasizes this by referencing the nativity, implying that just as Christ's arrival was foretold and unavoidable, so is this darker coming. The twenty centuries of stony sleep act as a countdown rather than a warning. Even the poem’s tone of stunned observation instead of urgent alarm highlights fate’s nature here: the speaker watches because there’s nothing else to do.

Fear

In Yeats's "The Second Coming," fear functions not as a personal emotion but as a pervasive atmosphere that envelops civilization — a dread intricately woven into the very fabric of the cosmos depicted in the poem. The opening image of the falcon spiraling away from the falconer's call sets the tone for a world losing its grip; the bird's expanding gyre serves not merely as a natural phenomenon but as a warning, something that should be under control but is now beyond reach. This sense of lost control is the poem's initial note of fear.

The middle section amplifies this sense through accumulation rather than direct statements. The drowning of innocence and the best lacking conviction while the worst are driven by fervent intensity — these observations may not explicitly name fear, but they build it structurally, as readers perceive the inversion of every stabilizing principle. The "mere anarchy" unleashed in the world carries a casual, almost nonchalant terror: the word "mere" makes the catastrophe feel both inevitable and mundane, which is more unsettling than any outrage could be.

The poem's most intense moment of fear occurs with the sphinx-like beast awakening in the desert. Yeats describes it with a deliberate slowness — its lion-like body, its blank and merciless gaze — allowing dread to accumulate in the depiction even before the creature stirs. The final question, pondering what rough beast slouches toward Bethlehem to be born, leaves us without resolution. The fear here is not of something familiar but of something not yet fully realized, a future whose form can be sensed but remains unnamed. That open, unresolved question is the poem's most precise expression of dread.

Religion and Faith

Yeats's "The Second Coming" critiques Christian eschatology while using its language, transforming faith into a source of fear instead of comfort. The poem begins with the image of a falcon spiraling away from its falconer — symbolizing a world that has surpassed the divine order that once held it together. The widening gyre represents not just political chaos; it signifies the unraveling of the providential structure that gave history its significance, as if God has simply released the tether.

When the speaker mentions "the Second Coming," it carries a sense of irony. Christian tradition heralds Christ's return as a moment of redemption; however, Yeats presents a "vast image out of Spiritus Mundi" — a collective unconscious rather than a personal deity — that brings forth not a savior but a sphinx-like creature. This being's gaze is described as empty and unfeeling, standing in stark contrast to the merciful divine eye that faith envisions overseeing humanity. Pity, the emotional foundation of Christian redemption, is exactly what this new revelation denies.

The desert backdrop emphasizes the poem's theological reversal: the sands of the Holy Land, once the birthplace of monotheistic faith, now nurture something monstrous. The "rocking cradle" of Bethlehem, referenced at the end, distorts the Nativity into a nightmare — the birth that shaped two millennia of Western spirituality is now simply the event that is being overshadowed. In Yeats's view, faith does not vanish; it transforms, its structures emptied and refilled with dread, suggesting that humanity's quest for revelation continues even as that revelation becomes disastrous.

The Past and Memory

In Yeats's "The Second Coming," memory and the past aren't just personal recollections; they act as a heavy burden of civilization—the accumulated weight of history pressing down on a moment of catastrophic change. The poem's key metaphor, the gyre, represents historical memory itself: each expanding spiral carries the remnants of the cycle that came before, meaning the present can only be understood as the exhausted end of what preceded it.

The opening image of the falcon losing touch with the falconer captures a specific historical sorrow—the break in a long-established bond between human intention and the natural world. The falcon doesn't merely fly away; it spirals outward, embodying the very shape of a civilization that is forgetting its own discipline.

When the speaker refers to "Spiritus Mundi," the phrase acts as a collective memory bank, a reservoir of images shared throughout human history. From this archive, the disturbing vision of the sphinx-like creature emerges—not created, but retrieved, as if the past is awakening itself back into importance.

The poem’s most unsettling shift in time occurs toward the end, where the speaker reflects on how twenty centuries of slumber were interrupted by the swaying cradle of Bethlehem. The Christian era is reinterpreted as a memory that has run its course, and what now stirs is older, beyond morality, and patient. Here, the past isn't a comforting precedent but a dormant force, and the poem's horror suggests that history doesn't progress—it circles back, indifferent to what has been learned.

War and Its Consequences

W. B. Yeats wrote "The Second Coming" in 1919, right after World War I and during the Irish War of Independence—contexts that deeply influence every image in the poem with the scars of mass violence. The poem opens with a falcon spiraling away from the falconer, not just symbolizing chaos in a general sense, but illustrating the specific breakdown of control that modern industrial warfare has revealed. The falconer—representing civilization, authority, and the old European order—can no longer summon anything back.

The poem's key assertion, that the center cannot hold and that "mere anarchy is loosed upon the world," serves as a stark commentary on post-war Europe: empires have fallen, borders have shifted, millions are dead, and no moral framework remains intact. The "blood-dimmed tide" that overwhelms the ceremony of innocence compresses the mud and horror of the Western Front into a single tidal image, implying that violence has become the new foundation of history rather than just a disruptive force.

Yeats's mention of the "Spiritus Mundi"—the shared dream-memory of humanity—does not bring forth a hopeful vision but instead a terrifying one: a sphinx-like creature making its way toward Bethlehem. This being does not come to restore order; it emerges from the destruction wrought by war, filling the void left behind. Yeats offers no solace. The "rough beast" is not simply an enemy to defeat but a consequence already set in motion, making the poem more of a reckoning than a prophecy about what violence, once unleashed at the scale of civilization, inevitably brings forth.

04·Symbols & motifs

What are the symbols in The Second Coming?

  • Bethlehem

    In W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming," Bethlehem symbolizes the old Christian order—the civilization, faith, and moral framework that has shaped the Western world for two thousand years. By mentioning Christ's birthplace at the end of the poem, Yeats portrays history as a spiritual era that has run its course and is now crumbling. Bethlehem doesn't offer renewal or salvation; rather, its "rocking cradle" is being lulled to sleep, marking the end of one age and the frightening emergence of another, opposing era. It represents a sacred beginning whose time has definitively come to an end.

    Evidence

    The symbol shows up in the poem's haunting final couplet: "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" Yeats has spent the earlier lines painting a picture of a world in chaos — the falcon unable to hear the falconer, anarchy unleashed, "the best lack all conviction" while "the worst are full of passionate intensity." The "vast image out of Spiritus Mundi" that emerges from the desert — lion-bodied, blank-eyed — is clearly moving toward Bethlehem, turning the Nativity story on its head. While the original birth in Bethlehem marked the beginning of an era of Christian civilization, this new arrival signals the start of something monstrous. The city's name thus carries the heavy burden of two thousand years of sacred history, only to pinpoint the exact place where that history is about to be violently erased.

  • The Falcon and Falconer

    In W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming," the falcon and the falconer illustrate the disastrous collapse of order, tradition, and human control. The falcon stands for civilization, history, or the human spirit, while the falconer represents the guiding authority—whether divine, moral, or political—that once kept that spirit grounded and directed. Their separation indicates that the ties that held society together have irreparably broken. Yeats uses this imagery to express that modernity has lost its anchor: traditional religion, reason, and governance can no longer demand obedience, leaving humanity to drift into chaos and violence.

    Evidence

    The symbol first appears in the poem's striking opening lines: "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer." The gyre—Yeats's recurring image for historical cycles—is stretching to its furthest limit, and the falcon's circular flight has taken it so far from the falconer's wrist that it can no longer hear the command to return. This vivid image instantly sets up the poem's central crisis. Everything that follows—"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world"—stems directly from this fundamental break. The "blood-dimmed tide" and the drowning of "the ceremony of innocence" result from the falcon's inability to hear its master. By the time the "rough beast" slouches toward Bethlehem, the falconer's authority has been completely overshadowed, leaving a new, frightening force to fill the void left by the broken connection.

  • The Gyre

    In W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming," the gyre represents the cyclical and unavoidable collapse of civilization. Yeats viewed history as shaped by overlapping gyres—expanding spirals that illustrate the rise and fall of different eras. The falcon's increasingly wide gyre in the opening lines reflects a civilization that has drifted so far from its center that maintaining coherence is impossible. The gyre symbolizes entropy, the breakdown of order, and the overwhelming force of historical change—too massive and indifferent for people to control or steer. It indicates that one era is reaching its end, paving the way for a violent and uncertain new order.

    Evidence

    The poem begins with the image of "the falcon" turning "in the widening gyre," unable to "hear the falconer." This vivid scene illustrates how the expanding spiral represents a collapse of hierarchy and control. The gyre has widened to the point where the connection between the creature and its master is completely broken. This sets the stage for the poem's famous line: "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." Here, the widening gyre serves as the geometric reason behind social and moral decay. Later, the speaker references "Spiritus Mundi" to picture the "rough beast" slouching toward Bethlehem—an image brought forth by the completion of the gyre. The beast's arrival signifies the end of one gyre and the start of another, highlighting that this symbol represents not only destruction but also the unsettling, automatic cycle of Yeats's perspective on history.

  • The Rough Beast

    In W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" (1919), the Rough Beast represents a frightening and unfathomable force that emerges as civilization crumbles. It stands for the dark spirit unleashed when historical cycles come full circle—the opposite of Christ, born not from divine grace but from a harsh emptiness. The Beast embodies our greatest fears: that progress may be an illusion, that each period of order gives rise to its own monstrous counterpart, and that the new era approaching us will be marked by violence, chaos, and spiritual emptiness instead of salvation.

    Evidence

    Yeats brings forth the Beast through the vision of Spiritus Mundi: "A shape with lion body and the head of a man, / A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun." This creature, with its hybrid, sphinx-like appearance, represents something ancient and inhuman — something that exists outside moral boundaries. Its movement is intentionally foreboding: "Moving its slow thighs, while all about it / Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds," hinting at a predatory certainty rather than a divine presence. The final lines — "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" — turn the Nativity on its head. While Christ was born in Bethlehem to offer salvation, the Beast shuffles there to herald an era of violence. The term "slouches" is essential: awkward, animalistic, and scornful of human dignity, it captures a force that ridicules every ideal that the last two millennia revered.

  • The Sphinx

    In W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" (1919), the Sphinx-like creature emerging from the desert sands represents a frightening new power set to take over from the crumbling Christian era. Yeats’s idea of history as a cycle—his notion of gyres—suggests that every civilization eventually runs its course and is replaced by its opposite. The "rough beast" captures that opposing force: ancient, inhuman, and morally indifferent. With its "lion body and the head of a man," it combines animal savagery with human awareness in a twisted parody of Christ's divine humanity, indicating that the new age approaching will not be characterized by love or redemption, but by a merciless and unfathomable power.

    Evidence

    Yeats introduces the creature during a crucial moment in the poem: "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." This "blank and pitiless" gaze sharply contrasts with the compassionate eye of a Christian God, presenting the beast as a post-Christian, amoral force. The image of it awakening after "twenty centuries of stony sleep" connects directly to Yeats's gyre theory: one two-thousand-year cycle ends as another begins. The final rhetorical question—"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"—reverses the Nativity. Bethlehem, the site of Christ's birth, becomes the destination for something opposing Christ, emphasizing the symbol's role as a representation of civilizational decline and the unsettling inevitability of history.

05·Key quotes

What are the most famous quotes in The Second Coming?

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer;”

These lines are from W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming," written in 1919 and published in 1920 in Michael Robartes and the Dancer. Since the poem is a lyric without a distinct speaker or addressee apart from the poet, Yeats is seen as the one speaking, directly addressing the reader. The image of the falcon spiraling outward in an ever-widening gyre, until it can no longer hear the falconer's call, sets up the poem's main metaphor of civilization falling apart. The concept of the "gyre" comes from Yeats's own mystical-historical framework (explored in A Vision): history unfolds in interlocking conical spirals, and when one gyre reaches its maximum width, the existing era collapses, giving way to a new, opposing age that is born in violence. The falcon's disconnection from the falconer represents humanity's loss of moral, spiritual, and political control — a transition from order to chaos. This opening couplet thus lays the groundwork for the poem's apocalyptic theme: when the center of a civilization can no longer maintain its unity, anarchy and a frightening new force ("the Second Coming") will inevitably rush in to take its place.

W. B. Yeats (lyric speaker) · Stanza 1 · Opening of the poem

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;”

These lines open W. B. Yeats's powerful poem "The Second Coming," written in 1919 and published in 1920. Unlike traditional dramatic poetry, it features an unnamed prophetic narrator, often interpreted as Yeats himself, who conveys his cyclical theory of history through the concept of "gyres." Right from the beginning, the poem establishes its core theme: the world after World War I is undergoing a profound disintegration. The phrase "Things fall apart" reflects the breakdown of social, moral, and political order, while "the centre cannot hold" suggests that there is no stabilizing force—whether religious, governmental, or cultural—that can stop this unraveling. Thematically, this couplet captures a deep sense of apocalyptic anxiety that resonates throughout literature. Yeats believed that history unfolds in cycles of about 2,000 years; the failure of the "centre" indicates the end of the Christian era and the looming arrival of a frightening new age, later represented in the poem by the "rough beast" slouching toward Bethlehem. These lines have come to symbolize a civilizational crisis and have been referenced in a multitude of political, literary, and journalistic discussions.

Prophetic narrator (Yeats) · Opening stanza, description of the gyre spinning out of control

“Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,”

This line is from W. B. Yeats's powerful poem "The Second Coming" (written in 1919 and published in 1920), which is one of the most frequently quoted poems of the twentieth century. The speaker is the poem's lyric "I," representing Yeats as a prophetic voice, addressing a broad audience — all of humanity. This line begins the second sentence of the poem and follows an image of a falcon spiraling out of the falconer's control, setting the stage for a world where order has catastrophically fallen apart. Written just after World War I and during the Irish War of Independence, Yeats uses "mere anarchy" to convey not just simple chaos, but pure, unfiltered anarchy — chaos in its most raw and absolute form. The word "loosed" is significant: it implies that something once bound or contained has been intentionally or inevitably set free, much like a beast escaping from a cage. Thematically, this line roots the poem's central argument — inspired by Yeats's cyclical theory of history in A Vision — which posits that civilization progresses in 2,000-year cycles, and that the current cycle is collapsing, paving the way for a frightening new era. This line continues to serve as a reference point for discussing societal breakdown.

Yeats's lyric speaker (W. B. Yeats) · Opening stanza, second sentence of the poem

“The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned;”

These lines are from W. B. Yeats's apocalyptic poem "The Second Coming," written in 1919 and published in 1920 in Michael Robartes and the Dancer. The speaker represents Yeats's prophetic voice, directed at a universal audience — all of humanity. Created in the traumatic aftermath of World War I and during the Irish War of Independence, these lines reflect a civilization crumbling under its own violence. The phrase "blood-dimmed tide" brings to mind the mass slaughter of modern warfare, a wave of bloodshed that has engulfed the world. "The ceremony of innocence is drowned" implies that the rituals, values, and moral structures that once safeguarded civilized life — such as childhood, faith, and decency — have been overwhelmed and destroyed by that tide. Collectively, these lines express one of Yeats's key themes: the recurring destruction of historical periods, rooted in his mystical philosophy of gyres. They pose the poem's haunting central question — if the old order has vanished, what rough, monstrous new force will emerge to take its place? This passage remains one of the most frequently quoted reflections on modernity's moral crisis in English literature.

W. B. Yeats (poetic speaker / prophetic voice) · The Second Coming (1919; published 1920 in Michael Robartes and the Dancer) · Opening stanza of the poem, describing the collapse of civilization

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”

These two lines are from W. B. Yeats's powerful poem "The Second Coming" (1919, published 1920), delivered in the voice of the poet-prophet himself. Written in the chaotic aftermath of World War I and the Irish War of Independence, these lines reflect Yeats's grim view of a civilization in decline. Drawing on his mystical framework of historical cycles (detailed in A Vision), Yeats illustrates the collapse of the "gyre"—the spiraling order that keeps society intact. The paradox is striking: those with moral integrity and wisdom seem to have lost the motivation to act, while extremist, fanatical forces push forward with alarming fervor. These lines serve as a timeless warning about the political void that extremism fills when moderates become inactive. Thematically, they ground the poem's central dread—that the old order is crumbling and something monstrous ("a rough beast") is ready to take its place. This couplet has become one of the most quoted passages in modern literature, often cited when democratic institutions seem threatened by authoritarian fervor.

W. B. Yeats (poet-narrator) · The Second Coming (poem, stanza 1) · Description of the collapsing gyre and the state of civilization

“Surely some revelation is at hand;”

This line is spoken by the speaker of the poem — often seen as W. B. Yeats's own voice — in "The Second Coming" (1919, published 1920). It appears near the beginning of the poem, right after the well-known falcon-and-falconer image that depicts a world spiraling out of control. The speaker observes a civilization in decline — anarchy unleashed, the center failing to hold — and concludes that this chaos must herald something significant. The line conveys a tone of desperate, almost hopeful anticipation: surely this disorder points to a divine or prophetic turning point. Thematically, it captures Yeats's cyclical view of history (inspired by his mystical framework in A Vision), where one 2,000-year era is replaced by another through violent upheaval. The word "surely" is key — it reflects anxious reasoning rather than confident assertion, as if the speaker is attempting to impose meaning on catastrophe. This line sets up the poem's chilling pivot: the "revelation" that comes is not about Christian salvation but rather the slouching beast of a dark new age, flipping all messianic expectations on their head.

The Poet / Speaker (W. B. Yeats) · Stanza 1 · Opening meditation on civilizational collapse and cyclical history

“Surely the Second Coming is at hand.”

This line is from W. B. Yeats's visionary poem "The Second Coming" (1919, published 1920), delivered by the poem's lyric speaker—Yeats himself, adopting a prophetic voice. It appears near the middle of the poem, right after the speaker depicts a vast, sphinx-like figure emerging from the desert sands of Spiritus Mundi (the collective human imagination). Starting with the striking image of a falcon that can no longer hear its falconer—symbolizing civilization spiraling out of control—Yeats presents this declaration as a turning point: the chaos he observes must signal the apocalyptic return foretold in Christian tradition. However, the line is steeped in irony. What follows isn't Christ's return but a monstrous "rough beast" slouching toward Bethlehem. Thematically, this quote encapsulates Yeats's cyclical theory of history (inspired by his mystical system in A Vision): one 2,000-year era ends violently as another begins. The word "Surely" conveys a mix of desperate hope and dread, reflecting the poem's core tension between yearning for order and fear of what that new order might entail. It stands as one of modernism's most powerful expressions of historical anxiety.

The lyric speaker (W. B. Yeats) · Central turn of the poem, following the vision of the sphinx-like beast rising from the desert

“A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,”

This haunting line is from W. B. Yeats's visionary poem "The Second Coming" (1919, published 1920). The speaker, Yeats himself, takes on the role of a prophetic narrator who has just witnessed a terrifying apocalyptic vision. The line refers to the eyes of the "rough beast" — a sphinx-like creature emerging from the desert sands of Spiritus Mundi (the collective unconscious) and slouching toward Bethlehem. Its gaze is "blank and pitiless as the sun": not warm or life-giving, but indifferent, overwhelming, and merciless in its intensity. Thematically, this image captures Yeats's cyclical theory of history drawn from his mystical system in A Vision. The old Christian era is collapsing — "the centre cannot hold" — and what follows is not a benevolent Second Coming of Christ but something inhuman and amoral. The sun simile is deeply ironic: while the sun traditionally symbolizes divine reason and enlightenment, here it signifies only blinding, pitiless power. This line crystallizes the poem's central terror: that historical change is not progress but an indifferent, unstoppable force beyond human moral categories.

W. B. Yeats (narrator/prophetic voice) · Vision of the rough beast rising from the desert — the central apocalyptic image of the poem

“The darkness drops again; but now I know / That twenty centuries of stony sleep / Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,”

These lines come near the end of W. B. Yeats's visionary poem "The Second Coming" (written in 1919 and published in 1920 in Michael Robartes and the Dancer). The speaker is the poem's prophetic, unnamed narrator — effectively Yeats himself, expressing his mystical system of history outlined in A Vision. The passage follows the famous image of the rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem. After the falcon loses the falconer and anarchy spreads across the world, the narrator's trance-like vision darkens again, but not before a harsh revelation crystallizes: two thousand years of Christian civilization — represented by the "rocking cradle" of the infant Christ — have not brought peace but have instead stirred history into chaos. The "stony sleep" refers to the dormant counter-cycle of history (a new gyre), now violently awakened. Thematically, these lines capture Yeats's cyclical view of history: each significant era contains the seeds of its own destruction, and the birth of Christ, rather than being entirely redemptive, set in motion forces that now lead to chaos. The contrast of the gentle cradle with "nightmare" and "stony sleep" is Yeats's most chilling irony, suggesting that innocence and apocalypse are deeply intertwined.

The prophetic narrator (Yeats) · The Second Coming (stanza 2) · The narrator's vision darkens after beholding the rough beast

“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

These closing lines of W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" (written in 1919 and published in 1920) are delivered by the poem's speaker — Yeats himself, embodying a prophetic and visionary tone. The poem emerged in the wake of World War I and during the Irish War of Independence, which Yeats perceived as a moment of civilizational collapse. Drawing from his occult ideas of gyres (cyclical historical periods), Yeats envisions the end of the 2,000-year Christian era, with something monstrous ready to take its place. The "rough beast" represents a frightening anti-Christ figure — vast, inhuman, and unavoidable — that "slouches" (a word chosen for its ugliness and sense of menace) toward Bethlehem, turning the nativity story on its head. These lines are thematically significant as they encapsulate the poem's central fear: that historical change doesn't signify progress but rather recurrence, and that each civilization ultimately gives rise to its own destroyer. This image has struck a deep chord, becoming one of the most frequently quoted phrases in modern literature and political discourse, referenced whenever humanity appears to be teetering on the brink of a dark, uncontrollable transformation.

Lyric speaker (W. B. Yeats) · Closing couplet of the poem; the speaker's apocalyptic vision of a sphinx-like beast rising from the desert and moving toward Bethlehem

06·Study tools

Discussion questions, essay prompts, and quizzes for The Second Coming

Discussion questions2 items ·

  • Discussion Questions: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    Consider the following questions as you reflect on and discuss Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" (1919):

    1. Imagery & Tone: Yeats begins with the image of a falcon that "cannot hear the falconer." What does this image imply about the relationship between order and chaos in the poem? How does the tone evolve as the poem unfolds?
    1. The Gyre: Yeats employs the concept of the "gyre" (a widening spiral) as a key metaphor. What do you think the gyre signifies — historically, politically, or spiritually? How does this image mirror the world Yeats inhabited after World War I?
    1. "The centre cannot hold": This is one of the poem's most well-known lines. What "centre" do you think Yeats is alluding to? Can you relate this idea to any historical, social, or personal contexts — either past or present?
    1. The Rough Beast: Yeats portrays a mysterious creature — "its hour come round at last" — slouching toward Bethlehem. What do you believe this beast symbolizes? Why might Yeats have chosen intentionally vague, unsettling imagery instead of naming the threat directly?
    1. The "Second Coming" Allusion: The poem's title alludes to the Christian notion of Christ's return. How does Yeats challenge or complicate this religious expectation? What impact does this have on the reader?
    1. Relevance Today: "The Second Coming" is one of the most often quoted poems during times of political or social upheaval. Why do you think its language remains impactful? Can you identify a current event or situation that the poem might relate to?

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  • Discussion Questions: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    Engage with the following open-ended questions about Yeats's visionary poem. Be ready to back up your answers with specific evidence from the text.

    1. Imagery & Tone: Yeats begins with the image of a falcon that "cannot hear the falconer." What does this image imply about the relationship between order and chaos? How does the tone evolve as the poem unfolds?
    1. The "rough beast": At the poem's conclusion, Yeats depicts a "rough beast" slouching toward Bethlehem. What do you believe this creature represents? What feelings or concepts does Yeats want the reader to connect with it?
    1. Historical Context: Yeats wrote this poem in 1919, right after World War I and during the Irish War of Independence. How might this chaotic historical context have influenced the poem's central vision of societal breakdown?
    1. The Gyre: Yeats had a cyclical view of history that he termed "the gyre." How do the poem's structure and imagery reflect this idea that civilizations rise, decline, and are succeeded by something new—and possibly frightening?
    1. The Title: The term "the Second Coming" typically refers to the return of Christ in Christian theology. How does Yeats challenge or complicate this expectation? What impact does this challenge have on the reader?
    1. Relevance Today: The lines "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity" are often quoted in today's political discourse. Do you think this observation remains valid now? Can you think of current examples?

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Essay prompts2 items ·

  • Essay Prompt: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    Prompt:

    In W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" (1919), the speaker paints a vivid and apocalyptic picture to suggest that modern civilization is teetering on the edge of a catastrophic collapse and transformation. In a well-organized essay, argue how Yeats uses specific poetic devices—like symbolism, imagery, and tone—to express his main idea that humanity is entering a new, frightening historical era where traditional order and values have been irretrievably lost.

    Your essay should:

    • Present a clear, defensible thesis that goes beyond merely summarizing the poem
    • Analyze at least three specific moments or images from the poem as supporting evidence
    • Explain how Yeats's choices in poetry (word choice, structure, figurative language, etc.) strengthen his thematic argument
    • Take into account the historical and cultural context of the poem (post-WWI disillusionment, Yeats's cyclical theory of history) and how it influences meaning
    • Conclude by reflecting on the poem's enduring relevance: why does Yeats's depiction of chaos and transformation still resonate with modern readers?

    Suggested length: 4–6 paragraphs (approximately 600–900 words)

    Texts to reference: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats; students may also reference Yeats's A Vision for additional context if available.

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  • Essay Prompt: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    Prompt:

    In W. B. Yeats's poem "The Second Coming" (1919), the speaker employs striking apocalyptic imagery and the metaphor of a widening gyre to suggest that modern civilization is unraveling into chaos. Write a well-structured essay in which you argue how Yeats utilizes specific poetic devices — including imagery, diction, symbolism, and tone — to express his main idea that humanity is on the verge of a frightening and unavoidable historical change.

    Your essay should:

    • Present a clear, defendable thesis that addresses Yeats's primary argument and the craft choices he makes to reinforce it.
    • Analyze at least three specific poetic devices or structural choices from the poem, using direct textual evidence (quotations) to back up each point.
    • Reflect on how the poem's historical context (the disillusionment following World War I, the Irish War of Independence) influences its meaning.
    • Conclude by considering the poem's lasting significance: in what ways does Yeats's portrayal of societal collapse resonate with readers beyond his own time?

    Suggested length: 4–6 paragraphs (approximately 600–900 words)

    Texts to reference: "The Second Coming" (W. B. Yeats, 1919)

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Quiz questions3 items ·

  • Quiz Question: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    What mythological beast does the speaker imagine rising in W. B. Yeats's "The Second Coming"?

    A) A phoenix B) A sphinx-like creature C) A dragon D) A centaur

    Correct Answer: B) A sphinx-like creature

    Explanation: In "The Second Coming," Yeats presents a vision of "a shape with a lion's body and the head of a man" — a figure resembling a sphinx — gradually moving toward Bethlehem, symbolizing the onset of a new and foreboding historical era.

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  • Quiz Question: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    What mythological beast does the speaker picture rising in W. B. Yeats's "The Second Coming"?

    A) A phoenix B) A sphinx C) A dragon D) A griffin

    Correct Answer: B) A sphinx

    Explanation: In "The Second Coming," Yeats depicts a vision of "A shape with lion body and the head of a man" — resembling a sphinx — slowly approaching Bethlehem, representing a new and foreboding era ready to be "born."

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  • Quiz Question: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    What mythical beast does the speaker imagine rising in W. B. Yeats's "The Second Coming"?

    • A) A phoenix
    • B) A sphinx-like creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man
    • C) A seven-headed dragon
    • D) A winged serpent

    Correct Answer: B

    Explanation: In "The Second Coming," Yeats presents a vision of "A shape with lion body and the head of a man, / A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun" — a sphinx-like figure awakened in the desert sands, representing a new and frightening era on the horizon.

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Teacher handout2 items ·

  • Teacher Handout: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    Mini-Lecture: Context & Background

    Author: William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Published: 1919 (first published in The Dial, 1920) Genre: Modernist Poetry / Lyric Poetry

    Yeats composed "The Second Coming" in the wake of World War I and during the Irish War of Independence. The poem expresses his profound concerns about the disintegration of Western civilization and is informed by his personal mythological framework as laid out in A Vision (1925), which posits that history progresses in cyclical 2,000-year "gyres" (spiraling cones).

    Key Vocabulary

    | Term | Definition | |---|---| | Gyre | A spiral or vortex; Yeats's symbol for the cyclical nature of history | | Falconer | The trainer of a falcon; represents order, control, or a divine presence | | Anarchy | A state of disorder and lawlessness | | Revelation | A divine disclosure; also refers to the biblical Book of Revelation | | Spiritus Mundi | Latin for "Spirit of the World"; Yeats's term for a collective universal memory or unconscious | | Slouches | Moves in a slow, heavy, threatening manner; a choice of words that evokes dread | | Bethlehem | The birthplace of Jesus Christ; symbolizes the end of the Christian era in Yeats's view |

    Poem Structure at a Glance

    • Stanza 1 (lines 1–8): Depicts chaos and societal breakdown; the falcon fails to hear the falconer; the center is unable to hold.
    • Stanza 2 (lines 9–22): A prophetic vision from the Spiritus Mundi; a frightening new force ("rough beast") arises to take the place of the Christian age.

    Scaffolded Reading Prompts

    Level 1 – Literal Comprehension

    1. What is happening to the falcon in the opening lines? Why is this concerning?
    2. What does the speaker say is being "loosed upon the world"?
    3. What image does the speaker perceive in the Spiritus Mundi?

    Level 2 – Interpretive Analysis

    1. What does the relationship between the falcon and falconer symbolize? What does it signify that the falcon "cannot hear the falconer"?
    2. How does Yeats use the phrase "the centre cannot hold" to characterize the condition of civilization?
    3. What does the "rough beast" slouching toward Bethlehem represent?

    Level 3 – Critical Evaluation

    1. Written in 1919, how does the poem reflect its historical context? In what ways does it seem timeless?
    2. How does Yeats challenge the traditional Christian idea of the "Second Coming"? What impact does this have on the reader?
    3. Is the speaker's tone one of despair, prophecy, or something else? Provide specific lines to support your interpretation.

    Key Quotations to Annotate

    > "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." (lines 3–4)

    > "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity." (lines 7–8)

    > "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" (lines 21–22)

    Discussion Starter (Whole Class)

    Yeats proposes that history is cyclical—one era concludes and another, potentially darker one, begins. Do you share this perspective on history? Can you identify any contemporary examples that reflect the chaos Yeats describes?

    Extension Activity

    Investigate Yeats's idea of the gyre and A Vision. Create a simple diagram that illustrates how Yeats viewed history cycling between order and chaos. How does this diagram clarify the poem's imagery?

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  • Teacher Handout: "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

    Mini-Lecture: Context & Background

    W. B. Yeats (1865–1939) composed "The Second Coming" in 1919, right after World War I and during the Irish War of Independence. The poem first appeared in print in 1920. Yeats was significantly influenced by his mystical philosophy, which he elaborated on in A Vision (1925). This work introduced the idea of gyres — interlocking spirals that symbolize the cyclical nature of civilizations' rise and fall.

    Key Vocabulary

    | Term | Definition | |------|-----------| | Gyre | A spiral or vortex; in Yeats's philosophy, it represents the historical cycles of expansion and contraction over time | | Falcon / Falconer | The falcon (representing civilization or individuals) spiraling out of control, and the falconer (symbolizing God, order, or tradition) who can no longer regain control | | Anarchy | A state of chaos and lawlessness; the disintegration of social and moral structures | | Revelation | A divine revelation; in this context, it conveys a foreboding, apocalyptic vision rather than one of hope | | Spiritus Mundi | Latin for "Spirit of the World" — Yeats's term for a collective unconscious or universal memory that gives rise to prophetic images | | Slouches | Moves slowly and heavily in a threatening way — a deliberate choice by Yeats to convey a sense of danger | | Mere anarchy | Highlights the complete and utter chaos that is being unleashed | | The Second Coming | A Christian concept referring to the return of Christ; Yeats twists this idea to suggest the emergence of something dark and monstrous instead |

    Scaffolded Close-Reading Prompts

    Use the following questions to help students move from basic understanding to deeper analysis:

    Level 1 — Literal Comprehension

    1. What is happening with the falcon in the opening lines? Why is this concerning?
    2. What images does the speaker use to depict the world's condition in lines 3–8?
    3. What does the speaker observe in his vision (lines 12–17)? Summarize it in your own words.

    Level 2 — Interpretive Analysis

    1. How does Yeats utilize the image of the gyre to illustrate the collapse of civilization? What does it signify that the falcon "cannot hear the falconer"?
    2. What is ironic about the title "The Second Coming"? How does Yeats alter the conventional Christian interpretation?
    3. What do you believe the rough beast symbolizes? Take into account the historical context of 1919 in your response.

    Level 3 — Evaluative / Critical Thinking

    1. Yeats writes: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity." What does this indicate about the link between morality and power? Is this idea still relevant today?
    2. How does the poem's structure and form (loosely iambic with irregular rhyme) reflect its themes of chaos and disorder?
    3. Do you interpret the poem's conclusion as hopeless, or is there an element of ambiguity? Support your interpretation with evidence from the text.

    Poetic Devices to Identify

    Encourage students to find examples of the following in the poem:

    • Metaphor (the gyre, the falcon and falconer)
    • Allusion (biblical — Book of Revelation; the title itself)
    • Imagery (the desert sands, the sphinx-like beast)
    • Tone shift (from observation → vision → dread)
    • Rhetorical question (the closing lines)

    Discussion Starter (Whole Class)

    > "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"

    Pose the question to students: What does Yeats fear is being "born" into the world? How might a modern equivalent of this "rough beast" appear?

    Extension Activity

    Have students compare "The Second Coming" to one of the following:

    • Chinua Achebe's use of the poem as an epigraph in Things Fall Apart
    • Joan Didion's essay collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem
    • A current news event that seems to resonate with Yeats's vision of societal collapse

    Poem: "The Second Coming" — W. B. Yeats (1919/1920). Public domain.

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