The Second Coming Poem Analysis

William Butler Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming,” provides the reader with the mental image of a dark and desolate world on the brink of collapsing. The first line of the poem gives the reader an image of something spiraling out of control. In this case, we can just simply assume it is slowly accumulating storm. As time passes, the storm grows in strength and begins to wreak havoc upon the earth. This storm could represent the United States’ current economic problems and that it is progressively getting worse. However, the storm could represent anything negative and has the potential to expand. The United States is currently seventeen trillion dollars in debt and continues to rise at an alarming rate. The gyre spiraling or storm could be depicted as America’s debt. …show more content…
He reaffirms that the sphinx is a statue with the word stony and compares its long slumber to the one night of an infant sleeping. It could possibly that the sphinx watches the world over the centuries and wakes up to the end every time. Over time, the sphinx’s concern wanes and his gaze becomes indifferent. This might be a reference to previous phrases and the phrase “Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle” backs this up. Yeats finishes the poem with the sphinx finally waking up and heading towards a Bethlehem to be born. Bethlehem is the biblical birthplace of Jesus and this adds Christianity into the cycle of destruction and creation. The reason he finishes the poem with mention of religion is unknown.
In summation, Yeats’ poem is marvelously well done in describing the cycles that humanity faces. First portraying an abysmal world where anarchy rules over the innocence of man and making the future seem bleak. Only to provide hope and vaguely state that it is only natural of the universe to work that way. He tops off the poem with religion and this add the perfect amount of contradiction between the ceaseless gyre of the universe, Christianity, and ancient