A Simple Guide to “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats – Summary, Meaning, Themes and Hindi Translation
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A simple and easy explanation of “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats. Includes poet’s biography, poem text, Hindi translation, 50 difficult word meanings, summary, theme, poetic devices, and complete analysis. Perfect for students.
The Second Coming – Full Explanation
About the Poet: W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) was one of the greatest Irish poets of the modern age. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 13 June 1865. His father, John Butler Yeats, was a painter, and his mother, Susan Mary Pollexfen, came from a family connected to Irish traditions. These influences helped Yeats develop a strong love for Irish culture, folklore, and mythology.
Yeats was one of the leaders of the Irish Literary Revival, a movement that worked to promote Irish literature and national identity. He also helped to establish the Abbey Theatre in 1904, which became Ireland’s national theatre. Many of his plays were performed there.
In 1923, Yeats received the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first Irish person to win this honor. The Nobel Committee praised his “inspired poetry,” which expressed the soul of a nation.
Yeats believed strongly in mysticism, spiritual visions, and the idea that history moves in cycles. These ideas appear in many of his poems, including “The Second Coming.” His writing changed over time—from soft and romantic in his early years to bold, symbolic, and powerful in his later years.
W. B. Yeats died on 28 January 1939, but his poetry continues to influence literature around the world.
About the Poem: The Second Coming
The title refers to the Christian idea of Christ’s Second Coming, when Christ is believed to return to bring peace. But in the poem, Yeats says that instead of Christ, a terrifying creature is coming—symbolizing chaos, violence, and the end of the old world order. The poem reflects Yeats’s belief that the moral and spiritual center of the world has collapsed.
Lines like “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” show the breakdown of society. The final image of a “rough beast” moving toward Bethlehem suggests that a new, destructive era is about to be born. Because of its powerful message and symbolic imagery, “The Second Coming” is considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century.
Text of the Poem: The Second Coming
(By W. B. Yeats)
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Hindi Translation of the Poem (Simple Hindi)
घूमता ही घूमता है बाज, फैलते हुए चक्र में,
बाज़ अपने मालिक की आवाज़ नहीं सुन पाता;
चीज़ें टूट रही हैं; केन्द्र नियंत्रण नहीं रख पा रहा;
साधारण अराजकता दुनिया में फैल गई है,
खून से भरी ज्वार फैल रही है, और हर जगह
निर्दोषता की रस्में डूब गई हैं;
सबसे अच्छे लोग विश्वास की कमी से भरे हैं, जबकि
सबसे बुरे लोग खतरनाक जोश से भरे हुए हैं।
निश्चित ही कोई दिव्य संकेत आने वाला है;
निश्चित ही दूसरा आगमन पास है।
दूसरा आगमन! ये शब्द निकलते ही
मेरी आँखों के सामने एक विशाल छवि उभरती है
जो आत्मिक दुनिया से आती है: कहीं रेगिस्तान की रेत में
एक आकृति है—शेर का शरीर और मनुष्य का सिर;
जिसकी नज़र खाली और सूरज जितनी कठोर है;
वह धीरे-धीरे चलता है, और उसके चारों ओर
क्रोधित रेगिस्तानी पक्षियों की परछाइयाँ घूम रही हैं।
फिर अंधेरा लौट आता है; पर अब मैं जानता हूँ
कि बीस सदियों की कठोर नींद
एक हिलती हुई पालने द्वारा दुःस्वप्न बन गई;
और कौन-सा खुरदुरा दानव, जिसका समय अब आ गया है,
बेतलेहम की ओर जन्म लेने को बढ़ रहा है?
50 Difficult Words From the Poem (With Meanings)
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Gyre | Circular motion; spiral |
| Falcon | Hunting bird |
| Falconer | Trainer of the falcon |
| Anarchy | Lawlessness |
| Loosed | Released, spread |
| Blood-dimmed | Filled with blood |
| Ceremony | Ritual |
| Innocence | Purity |
| Drowned | Completely lost |
| Conviction | Strong belief |
| Intensity | Strong force or passion |
| Revelation | Sudden truth |
| Spiritus Mundi | World spirit; universal memory |
| Vast | Very large |
| Gaze | Look |
| Pitiless | Without mercy |
| Indignant | Angry |
| Reel | To move unsteadily |
| Darkness drops | Darkness returns |
| Stony sleep | Deep and hard sleep |
| Vexed | Troubled |
| Nightmare | Terrible dream |
| Rough beast | Violent creature |
| Slouches | Moves slowly and heavily |
| Bethlehem | Birthplace of Jesus |
| Centre | Main controlling point |
| Mere | Only |
| Tide | Wave |
| Shape | Form or figure |
| Blank | Empty |
| Slow thighs | Slow movement of legs |
| Shadows | Dark figures |
| Desert | Dry land |
| Birds | A symbol of warning |
| Revelation | Divine message |
| Image | Vision |
| Spirit | Soul or power |
| Sands | Desert sands |
| Blank | Without feeling |
| Pitiless | Cruel |
| Indignant | Angry |
| Century | 100 years |
| Cradle | Baby’s bed |
| Rocking | Moving back and forth |
| Born | Come into life |
| Turning | Rotating |
| Hold | Control |
| World | Earth |
| Sleep | Unaware state |
Summary of the Poem
“The Second Coming” shows a world full of chaos. The poet says that the world is breaking apart—good people have no strength and bad people are filled with dangerous energy. He feels that a big change is coming, something powerful and frightening.
Yeats sees a vision from the “Spiritus Mundi”—a strange creature in the desert with a lion’s body and a human head. It has no mercy in its eyes. Birds circle around it as if warning the world.
Darkness returns, and the poet understands that the world has slept for 2,000 years since the birth of Christ. Now a new age, symbolized by a “rough beast,” is slowly coming toward Bethlehem to be born. It means a new violent era is arriving.
Theme of the Poem
-
Chaos and Disorder
The world is falling apart after war and violence. -
End of Old Order
The poet believes that the world is entering a new, dangerous age. -
Fear of the Future
The poem shows deep fear about what humanity will face next. -
Cycle of History
Yeats believed that history moves in cycles of destruction and rebirth. -
Loss of Innocence
Purity and goodness are destroyed in violent times.
Poetic Devices in the Poem
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Symbolism: Falcon, beast, gyre, desert, Bethlehem
-
Imagery: Blood-dimmed tide, desert bird shadows
-
Allusion: Biblical "Second Coming"
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Metaphor: “Things fall apart”
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Repetition: “Surely the Second Coming is at hand”
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Contrast: Best vs. worst people
-
Personification: “The centre cannot hold”
-
Alliteration: “Surely some revelation”
Analysis of the Poem
“The Second Coming” is not only a poem about religion. It is a poem about fear, change, and the breaking of old beliefs. Yeats lived through war, violence, and political collapse. He felt that the old world was dying and a new, frightening world was coming.
The falcon not hearing its master shows loss of control in society.
The “rough beast” represents a dark future, not a holy future. It is a symbol of fear, violence, and the unknown. Yeats uses strong images to show how humanity has lost direction.
The poem warns that when good people stay silent and bad people become powerful, the world enters a dangerous time. Yeats believed the world was entering such a period. His words still feel true in modern times because society still faces chaos and uncertainty.
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