What Rough Beast?
In the traditionofBiblicalprophecy,WilliamButlerYeats’s“SecondComing”heraldstheendof an age.Thepoem’sbloodyimageryandmonstroustonealludetotheanarchywhichprecedesthe Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The speaker declares that “things [have fallen] apart” in this world(3);asaresult,judgmentmustcometousherinanewera.Indeed,Yeats’sallegorymirrors the apocalyptic prophecy of Revelation. Certainly, “[s]ome revelation is at hand” (9).Questions remain, however. What is this speaker’s revelation?Howdoesthedevelopmentofthisprophetic poem relate to the Second Coming, and is the “rough beast” (21) which “slouches towards Bethlehem” (22) Jesus Christ? Despite its Biblical allusions, a line-by-line exploration of this piece reveals the premise to be more alignedwitheasternmysticismandancientmythology,and the nature of the beast to be more anti-Christ thanChrist-like.Therefore,“TheSecondComing” isnotaChristianallegory,butaconglomerationofmythsindicativeofYeats’sesotericism.
Regarding form, “The Second Coming” is composed of 22 lines and two stanzas. Written in irregular blank verse, its lose metercouldbecharacterizedas“freeverse”(Caldwell). Whilethe poem does not reflect a traditional form, the second stanza does contain 14 lines, like a sonnet. And reminiscent of an Italian sonnet, the final two lines function as a turn, conjuring up the
dreadful, lasting image of the “rough beast” (21). If not traditional in form, the poem certainly establishespatternswhichspeaktoitscohesiveness.Fromthe“falcon”(2)tothe“indigentdesert birds” (17), and from the Sphinx-like creature to the rough beast (21), Yeats unifies the poem through corresponding images. Moreover, the fragmented form appropriately applies to a world where “things fall apart” (3). And, thus, the poem’s disjointedness becomes an omen, in itself, fortheloomingapocalypse.
With regard to subject matter and situation, “The Second Coming” is certainly consistent with the Biblical prophecy of Revelation. The opening lines introduce a world on the brink of destruction:
Turningandturninginthewideninggyre
Thefalconcannothearthefalconer:
Thingsfallapart;thecentrecannothold;
Mereanarchyisloosedupontheworld,(1-4)
The turning gyresgivethepoemitstorqueandmomentum.Thehighlyirregularlinesthatfollow reflect a crumbling, modern age of violence and degeneration. Afalcon,symbolicallycaughtup in the widening gyre, spirals up and away from its owner, growing faint and eventually disappearing. The world isliketwotopsspinningoutofcontrol:“thecentrecannothold”(3).As a result, lawlessness is released “upon the world” (4), and judgment follows. Here, an understandingofYeats’shistoricalworldviewandhisreferencetothegyreiscritical:
According to a note Yeats wrote for this poem, history is composed of two vast interlocking gyres, one inside the other, rotating in opposite directions, one expanding as the other contracts, around a common centre. Historical events are shaped by the turbulence created by their conflicting pulls: the end of an age, which always receives the revelation of the character of the next age, is representedbythecomingofonegyretoitsplaceofgreatestexpansionandofthe othertothatofitsgreatestcontraction.(Kirkpatrick)
In other words, conflict and turbulence cause history to recycle itself, each era yielding to the next,inaninfinitecycle.
Therefore, the first contrast between Yeats’s “Second Coming” and Biblical prophecy is the premise of historical progression. The Bible progresses on a linear timeline, with a finite beginning and end. On the other hand, Yeats’s cyclical view of history is more akin to eastern mysticism than to the Bible’s linear structure. Take Buddhism, for example. A person cycles through rebirths until finally reaching a state of nirvana or pure spiritual enlightenment. The
diagram below illustrates how the soul begins a new life through reincarnation, the former life givingwaytoanewlifeofheightenedspiritualawareness.
(Caswell)
This illustration is strikingly similar totherelationshipbetweenYeats’stwowideninggyres:one historical cycle leadstothenext.Andlikethemythofreincarnation,Yeatsbelieved“atmoments of balance . . . a civilization could achieve excellence” (Poetry Foundation). His poem,“The SecondComing,”capturestheverymomentofthatshift.
As “things fall apart” (3) in “The Second Coming,” violence and chaos also lead to God’s judgment in the Book of Revelation. FailingtoheedGod’swarnings,humansrefusetorepentof their murders, of their sorceries, of their fornication, and of their thefts (Revelation 9:21). Consequently, God promises to execute judgment upon them for their ungodly deeds. He then releases the four HorsemenoftheApocalypsetoconquertheworldwithdeadlyplagues,famine, and natural disasters. Thus, the speaker in “The Second Coming” and John the Revelator attributehumankind’ssufferingtosinandimmorality.
Thenextfourlinesofthe“TheSecondComing”furtherrevealthegorinessofaworldinchaos:
Theblood-dimmedtideisloosed,andeverywhere
Theceremonyofinnocenceisdrowned;
Thebestlackallconviction,whiletheworst
Arefullofpassionateintensity.(lines5-8)
The blood tide alludes to the “great winepress of the wrath of God” in Revelation 14. At this stage of God’s judgment, an angel thrusts a sharp cycle into the earth to reap the harvest of the innocent; as a result; the blood flows as high as a horse’s bridle, and the corrupt drown in their own blood (19-20). In the poem, “The ceremony of innocence drowned” (6), revealing that
virtue is no longer observed in the earth. Instead, humans embraceviolenceanddecay,allwhile rejecting God and the natural orderofthings.Inthishopelessstate,“thebest”losetheircodesof morality, and “the worst,” (6) while fullofpassion,rejectnaturalboundaries.Inthepoemandin Revelation, this state of corruption inevitably draws the end of an age. What follows are two devastatingapocalypticprophecies.
Inthenextfewlinesof“TheSecondComing,”thespeakerisinspiredtoprophecy:
Surelysomerevelationisathand;
SurelytheSecondComingisathand.
TheSecondComing!Hardlyarethosewordsout
Whenavastimageoutof Spritus Mundi
Troublesmysight:(9-13)
The speaker, given an opportunity to warn humanity about things to come, anticipates certain judgment. In lines 9-10, “The Second Coming” alludes to Jesus Christ’s triumphant return to earth in Revelation 19. Astride a white horse, and wearingavesturedippedinblood,atattooon his right thigh reads: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (13-16). He comes to destroy the wicked and to gather his believers to reign with him. Similarly, the speaker in “The Second Coming” discerns that an event as significant as Christ’s return is about to occur, an event so devastating and profoundthatitcouldonlymeanthecompletedestructionofonehistoricalcycle andthebirthofanewone.
The second contrast between “The Second Coming” and Bible prophecy can be found in lines 12-13, that is, prophetic inspiration. Both the speaker in “The Second Coming” and John the Revelator attribute their prophecies to a spiritual source. In Revelation 4, John claims that he “looked, and, behold,adoorwasopenedinheaven:andthefirstvoicewhich[he]heardwasasit were of a trumpet talking with [him]; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately[he]wasinthespirit:and,behold,athronewassetin heaven,andonesatonthethrone”(1-3). Indeed,thespiritofGodinterruptsJohnanddrawshim up to the heavenly throne. The speaker in “The Second Coming” is also interrupted by a spirit, but not from a divine source. He is troubled by the site of Spritus Mundi, or spirit oftheworld. Spritus Mundi refers to humankind’s collective spirit (Caldwell). Rooted ineasternmysticismis a belief in auniversalhumanconsciousness,averitable“repositoryandsourceforthemythsand imagination of everyone in the world” (Ruby). This speaker’s prophecy is inspired by the universal mind of humanity, while John the Revelator claims that his message comes directly from God. These prophecies are clearly from two distinct spiritual sources, with two distinct visions,yieldingtwodistinctprophecies.Ontheonehand,Godintendstopassfinaljudgmenton
the earth. On the other hand, Spiritus Mundi yearns be reborn into a higher level of consciousness.Tothatend,dreadfulbeastsappeartofacilitatethisjudgmentandrebirth.
The beasts in both prophecies are natural beings represented through mythical and Biblical symbolism.Thebeastin“TheSecondComing”risesoutofthedesert,whilethebeastof Revelationrisesoutofthesea.Considerthenextfourlinesof“TheSecondComing:”
...somewhereinthesandsofthedesert
Ashapewithlionbodyandtheheadofaman
Agazeblankandpitilessasthesun, Ismovingitsslowthighs...(13-16)
This creature, the Egyptian sphinx, symbolizes the sun god, Ra. Egyptians hailed him as the King of the Gods (Hill). Likewise, in Revelation13, John witnesses a beast’s arrival: “And I stood up the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven head and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” (1). Both beastsariseoutoftheearth,butthesphinxisdeified,whilethebeastofRevelationisdemonized.
Therefore, the third contrast between Yeats’s “Second Coming” and Biblical prophecy becomes clear: the beast is analogous with God in the poem, but not so in Revelation. In Egyptian mythology, Ra is worshipped as the Father of All Things (Hill). Whatismore,hedies every eveningandisreborneverymorning(Hill).Clearly,thisreincarnationmythcoincideswith Yeats’scyclicalviewofhistory Hence,thebeast’sslowmovingthighs(16)approachtoviolently force humankind to the next gyre. The beast of Revelation, on the other hand, is the enemy of God: “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:6). This particular beast does not intend to usher in a new age; he purposestowreakmisery,pain,anddeathupontheearthbefore histimerunsout,beforeGod’sjudgmentfallsuponhim.
As the prophecies continue, the next five lines of “The Second Coming” reveal the quietness beforethebeast’sintrusion: .
.whileallaboutit
Reelshadowsoftheindignantdesertbirds.
Thedarknessdropsagain:butnowIknow
Thattwentycenturiesofstonysleep
Werevexedtonightmarebyarockingcradle,(16-20)
After sleeping for two-thousand years, a horrible dream stirs the sun god. He hasbeenconjured up to usher in the birth of a new age, hence, the “rocking cradle.” His silent lumber towards humanity piques the appetites of the desert buzzards, which eagerly anticipate the carnage that will be left behind. However, the beast of Revelation doesnotplayaroleinusheringinthenext dispensation. Jesus returns from heaven—he does not arise from the earth—to destroy allofhis enemies, including the beast. In Revelation10,scavengerbirdsareinvitedtogatherforthegreat desert battle of Armageddon—to feast on the flesh of evil kings, nations, captains, and mighty men: “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that flyinthemidstofheaven,Comeandgatheryourselvestogetheruntothesupperofthe great God” (17). Thus, the war of Armageddon marks the end of time, after which, Christ will reignindefinitely.
Therefore, the final contrast between Yeats’s “The Second Coming” and Biblical prophecy regardstheidentityofthebeasthimself.Thelasttwolinesofthepoemclarifythedistinction:
Andwhatroughbeast,itshourcomeroundatlast, SlouchestowardBethlehemtobeborn.(21-22)
The fact that the beast’s hour has come “round” brings Yeats’s poem full circle. In response to worldly, chaotic bloodthirstiness, a beast has been conjured up, this time, by the spirit of the world. With fear and desperation, Spritus Mundi longsforthe“civilisationthatmustslowlytake its place” (Kirkpatrick). Yeats reveals this esoteric mystery through the symbol of the sun god, Ra, who rises like a stony sphinx outofthedesert.SlumpingtowardsBethlehem,hebringswith himnotonlyanewgyre,butalsoanewtypeofconversion,anewbirthofhumanenlightenment, a new type of spirituality, independent of Biblical prophecy and Jesus Christ. How befitting to choose tobeborninthecityofChrist’sbirth—towitnesstheendofthecycleheseekstodevour Without a doubt, the beastof“TheSecondComing”representstheendoftheChristianage.And so,ifheisnotanti-Christinfact,heiscertainlyanti-Christinnature.
WorksCited
Caldwell,Tracy.“WilliamButlerYeats:‘TheSecondComing.’” Literary Contexts in Poetry and Short Stories (2006):1-6. GALILEO. Web.1April2013.
Caswell,Thomas. Infinity Symbol.OswegoCitySchoolDistrictRegentsExamPrep Center.NY,NewYork.1991.
Hill,J.“Ra.” Ancient Egypt Online. 2010Web.1April 2013.
Holy Bible. King James Version. GrandRapids,MI:Zondervan,2002.
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Yeats,WilliamButler.“TheSecondComing.” The Poetry Foundation.Web.31
March 2013.Yeats found that within each two-thousand-year era, emblematic moments occurred atthemidpointsofthethousand-yearhalves.Atthesemomentsofbalance,hebelieved, a civilization could achieve special excellence, and Yeats cited as examples the splendor of Athensat500B.C.,ByzantiumatA.D.500,andtheItalianRenaissanceatA.D.1500.