What is Yeats' views on history and civilization in the poem "The Second Coming". Or, What does "The Second Coming" refer to in Yeats's poem "The Second Coming"?

What is Yeats' views on history and civilization in the poem "The Second Coming".

Or,

What does "The Second Coming" refer to in Yeats's poem "The Second Coming"?

Ans. Yeats in his own words was one of the last romantic poets. His early poetry is richly colored and adorned with symbol and metaphor. As well as being the last great romantic poet, Yeats was also a great modern poet, an authentic voice of the early 20th century. Unlike other poets of his age, he met the challenge of the new age and learned to write better poetry. The romantic verses of his youth is replaced in his old age by his use of images and symbols. To give objective validity to subjective images, he used many techniques. Like romantic poet Shelley, he repeats the same symbol throughout his poems — symbols of one poem illuminates another poem and at the same time they reveal a new or contradictory aspects. Yeats writes about the reality of human mind. We trace different stages in Yeats' development as a poet — romantic, patriotic and mystic. Yeats' poetry revolves around his love for Ireland. He got the ideal beauty from Irish beauty, Maud Gonne with whom he was deeply in love. His failure in his affair with Maud Gonne led him to patriotism. His poems like Easter 1916, and the second coming reveal his patriotic zeal and views on history and civilization.

Like the poem Easter 1916, this poem is also concerned with a birth. This time the birth of a new era is symbolized by the rough beast. Yeats expound his idea of Gyre in the opening line of the poem to describe the circular motion of civilization like a spiraling vortex. The Gyre is one of the principal symbols in Yeats' idea of history and civilization. It constitutes Yeats the describes essence the of his widening understanding of Gyre's of movement, personality, and culture implies and the history. Beginning of the interlocking Gyre. (In historical terms Gyre means that as he imagines the end of one era an ending accompanied by catastrophe and chaos he imagines the ushering of a new era).

The revelation is the Second Coming which is going through violence, not through usual return of Christ on earth. Yeats describes the beginning Of a "civilization or ante-civilization" founded on terrifying violence in the after math of First World War. Yeats gives an imaginative vision of the breakdown of civilization which is the central idea of this poem. Therefore, „The Second Coming" has been used as a phrase by Yeats to convey his idea. The poet records how things fall apart and centre cannot hold. He senses the beginning of a revelation and considers himself to be the medium for the "vast image" that emerges out of "Spiritus mundi". He imagines that the Christian era will come to an end by the year 2000 and after that a new civilization will begin.

Yeats views history in terms of great events—"what has been shall be again" is Yeats's views of history. In the Second Coming he hopes the Christian civilization will last 2000 years and after this a new civilization will begin. Good people will have conviction but the bad will have intensity. The birth of Christ is contrasted with the monster. The poem is prophetic in vision and the meaning of Yeats' vision is that the birth of a new civilization is going to be through great violence. Yeats believed with conviction on the individual and gave him the attribute of God himself. In this sense, this poem is anti-Christian. Yeats equates creative individual to the creator. The individual will is similar to divine will. He thinks that the Christian era will soon come to an end. In fact, Yeats sets up joy, purity, integrity of the soul against the destruction of the Christian era. Therefore, 'The Second Coming' reveals Yeats' idea of supernatural revelation. The poet says:

"Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the second coming is at hand".

Yeats is a true patriotic poet of Ireland. He owes to Ireland and Ireland owes to him. The Irish history, religion and politics have become the focal points in Yeats' verse. Yeats in all his works wrote about Ireland and Irish personalities. His poems will remain as great works of art which will survive life. His monumental works will inspire man for all time to come. He gave an artistic shape to the historical events of Ireland. Yeats' poem epitomises Irish history.