The Second Coming

BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

Summary:

Yeats’s iconic poem “The Second Coming” (1920) reflects post-World War I disillusionment and a crumbling social order. Using Christian symbolism, he portrays a world spiraling into chaos—“things fall apart,” “centre cannot hold.” Yeats describes a prophetic vision stirred in Spiritus Mundi, where a mythic beast (lion-body, man-head) ominously approaches Bethlehem, signaling a new, uncertain epoch. The poem warns of a destructive force replacing old values, marking a moment of reckoning in human history.

Themes:
Chaos vs. order, historical cycles, prophetic vision, collapse of moral center, new age of spiritual terror.

सरांश :-

यह कविता प्रथम विश्वयुद्ध के बाद की मानवीय विडंबना और सामाजिक पतन को दर्शाती है। ईसाई प्रतीकवाद की मदद से येट्स कहते हैं कि पुराना तन्त्र विफल हो गया है: “थिंग्स फॉल अपार्ट,” “सेंटर कैनॉट होल्ड।” कविता एक रहस्यमय राक्षसी आकृति का वर्णन करती है — सिंहाकार शरीर, मानव सिर — जो “बेतलहम” की ओर धीरे‑धीरे बढ़ रही है, जिसका अर्थ है एक क्रूर युग का आगमन। येट्स चेतावनी देते हैं कि सत्ता और नैतिकता का नया रूप भयावह हो सकता है।

मुख्य विषय:
अव्यवस्था बनाम व्यवस्था, ऐतिहासिक चक्र, भविष्यवाणी, नैतिक पतन, नया युग।

Section 1: Factual Recall (Q1–Q10)

1. What does “The falcon cannot hear the falconer” suggest?
   a) Loss of connection with guiding authority ✅

2. “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” means:
   a) Social collapse and chaos ✅

3. “Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” signifies:
   a) Complete disorder ✅

4. The “blood-dimmed tide” refers to:
   b) Violent upheaval and war ✅

5. “The ceremony of innocence is drowned” implies:
   b) Purity lost to chaos ✅

6. Who lacks conviction in the poem?
   c) The best ✅

7. Who is “full of passionate intensity”?
   d) The worst ✅

8. “Surely some revelation” means:
   a) A significant event is imminent ✅

9. “Spiritus Mundi” refers to:
   c) A collective universal spirit ✅

10. The beast has the body of a _____ and head of a _____.
    a) Lion — Man ✅

Section 2: Inference & Interpretation (Q11–Q20)

11. The expanding “gyre” symbolizes:
    b) Historical cycles and decline ✅

12. The “rough beast” approaching Bethlehem represents:
    c) A menacing new age ✅

13. “Twenty centuries of stony sleep” refer to:
    b) The Christian era ✅

14. The “rocking cradle” implies:
    b) A terrifying rebirth ✅

15. The desert birds symbolize:
    c) Nature’s silent indictment ✅

16. The tone of the poem is:
    d) Apocalyptic and foreboding ✅

17. Yeats warns about the collapse of:
    c) Moral and political order ✅

18. The poem reflects Yeats’s belief in:
    a) Historical cycles ✅

19. The “Second Coming” alludes to:
    c) Biblical apocalypse ✅

20. Yeats’s prophetic vision is triggered by:
    a) The chaos all around ✅

Section 3: Vocabulary in Context (Q21–Q30)

21. “Gyre” means:
    b) Spiral or vortex ✅

22. “Loosed” means:
    a) Set free ✅

23. “Dimmed” means:
    b) Obscured ✅

24. “Ceremony” here means:
    b) Ritual of innocence ✅

25. “Revelation” means:
    a) Divine disclosure ✅

26. “Troubles my sight” means:
    c) Disturbs poet’s vision ✅

27. “Blank and pitiless” eyes indicate:
    b) Harsh indifference ✅

28. “Slouches” means:
    a) Moves awkwardly ✅

29. “Bethlehem” refers to:
    c) Christ’s birthplace ✅

30. “Spiritus Mundi” literally means:
    b) Spirits of the world ✅

Section 4: Assertion–Reasoning (Q31–Q40)

31. A: The poem is apocalyptic.
    R: It warns of a looming destructive era.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

32. A: The falcon falters.
    R: Chaos severs bond between authority and society.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

33. A: “Blood-dimmed tide” is symbolic.
    R: References violent historical upheavals.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

34. A: “Rough beast” implies creation.
    R: Symbolizes something destructive being born.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

35. A: Yeats rejects Christianity.
    R: He fears a new, cruel spiritual era.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

36. A: The setting is war-time.
    R: Poem reflects post WWI anxiety.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

37. A: The centre cannot hold.
    R: It means institutions are collapsing.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

38. A: The beast slouches towards Bethlehem.
    R: This is a hopeful sign.
    ❌ False, doesn’t explain

39. A: The falcon hears the falconer.
    R: Peace still exists.
    ❌ Both false

40. A: “Spiritus Mundi” is universal unconscious.
    R: It triggers apocalyptic vision.
    ✅ Both true, R explains A

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Section 5: Higher-Order Analysis (Q41–Q50)

41. The “Second Coming” implies:
    c) The birth of a new age ✅

42. The poem’s tone is:
    a) Dark and ominous ✅

43. Yeats views history as cycles of:
    b) Civilizational rise and fall ✅

44. The beast’s approach signals:
    d) Spiritual upheaval ✅

45. The “centre” losing hold signifies:
    a) Breakdown of moral/religious foundations ✅

46. The poem reflects post-WWI:
    b) Disillusionment ✅

47. The Bible imagery shows Yeats’s:
    c) Deep cultural roots ✅

48. The poem belongs to Modernist tradition because of:
    d) Fragmented imagery and bleak vision ✅

49. Yeats warns that humanity is nearing:
    a) A terrifying metamorphosis ✅

50. The final image suggests that:
    c) We face a new, darker epoch ✅

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