Student Question

Where are chaos, pessimism, and loss of faith depicted in "The Second Coming"?

Quick answer:

In "The Second Coming," chaos is depicted through the imagery of a world spinning out of control, as in "Turning and turning in the widening gyre." Pessimism is portrayed in the poem's conclusion, where the second coming is a "rough beast" slouching towards Bethlehem. Loss of faith is illustrated by the falcon's inability to hear the falconer, symbolizing a world disconnected from divine guidance.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Yeats' poem "The Second Coming" is a description of the state of the  world following World War I using apocalyptic imagery.  The poem is filled with images of chaos, pessimism, and loss of faith.  In the first few lines, Yeats describes a world in chaos, one that is spinning out of control.  It is

Turning and turning in the widening gyre . . .

Things, fall apart; the center cannot hold.

Here we get the idea of a spinning top whose wobbly axis cannot support its circling mass.  The world seems precariously near collapse, and

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

Loss of faith is also prevalent in the poem and is connected to the present chaos:

The falcon cannot hear the falconer . . .

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

In these lines, Yeats uses the metaphor of a falcon who cannot hear his trainer call him back home to describe a world that cannot hear god's voice.  As a result, the best of men have no strongly held beliefs, no strong moral principles,  and the worst of men are the ones who are passionate and intense.  In other words, the best have lost all faith while the worst are driven by fanaticism and irrationality.

The pessimism of the poem comes in the last few lines when Yeats describes the second coming.  The second coming is not a positive image; it is a "rough beast," slouching "towards Bethleham to be born."  The implication is that for the next twenty centuries, a new era will develop, and that this new era will be worse than the Christian era preceding it.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial