Thursday, February 7 The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats

1936

Jesse Owens challenged the Nazi myths of white superiority by winning four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin.




1823 Ira Aldridge begins his very successful acting career in Europe; later he willl debut as Othello in London

Coming up: carbon footprint vocabulary quiz Monday, Februry 11
Handed out on Monday, Feb 4..copy below

In class: we will read William Butler Yeats ' poem The Second Coming as a class, after which you will respond the analyticl, text-based questions.  

Discussion question:
What was happening in the world between 1914 to 1920?

During World War I the 369^th Infantry from Harlem, an all-black military unit, acquired the name “Harlem Hellfighters.” 

the Second Coming 1:30

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was an Irish poet and an important 20th century figure in literature. The Second Coming is the Christian idea that Jesus will someday return to earth. The following poem imagines the Second Coming as apocalyptic in order to describe the atmosphere of Europe after World War I. 

 As you read, take note on Yeats' use of diction and imagery, and consider his likely purpose for imagining the post-war era in this way.

1 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,

[5]

5 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;

[10]

10 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,

[15]

15 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

[20]

20 Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,   

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,   

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

1. Which of the following best explains the first 2 lines and their contribution to the central themes of the poem?

A.    The first 2 lines describe a falcon "turning and turning," similar to the earth's rotation, suggesting that time in cyclical and humanity is stuck in this loop.

B.    The first 2 lines describe a falcon circling in the air, free of its master, suggesting that humanity (as the falconer) can no longer control the wild nor the environment (as it was ravaged by the destruction of WWI).

C.    The first 2 lines describe a falcon circling into a "widening gyre," suggesting that with the first global war the world has become a bigger, scarier place.

D.    The first 2 lines describe a falcon circling into a "widening gyre," unable to find its master, suggesting that humanity is lost, like the world has fallen out of its natural revolution into chaos (such as with the destruction of WWI).

1. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?
1. “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” (Lines 3-4)
2. “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere” (Line 5)
3. “The ceremony of innocence is drowned” (Line 6)
4. “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.” (Lines 7-8)
1. For what purpose or effect did the poet likely include the imagery in lines 5-6?)
2. 1. The imagery contributes to the tone of regret, for like a flood released, the violence of global warfare cannot be contained.
   2. The imagery reminds the reader of the casualties of WWI, and therefore mainly has an effect of pathos (i.e. making the reader feel for said casualties).
   3. The imagery has biblical and apocalyptic associations, emphasizing similar imagery in the poem and contributing to the general sense of violence and chaos.
   4. The imagery refers to the biblical flood and Noah’s ark, suggesting that this shift to global violence and chaos may actually be part of redemption.
3. 
   
   PART A: How does the repetition of the phrase “The Second Coming” in lines 10-11 contribute to the tone of the poem?
   1. The repetition emphasizes the speaker’s cynicism and contributes to the depressed tone.
   2. The repetition emphasizes the speaker’s worry and contributes to the fearful tone.
   3. The repetition highlights the speaker’s pleased tone, as he or she is eager for apocalypse.
   4. The repetition reveals the speaker’s mockery of those who claim it is the end of the world and thus contributes to the inflated, dramatic tone.
4. 
   PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?
   1. "Turning and turning in the widening gyre" (Line 1)
   2. "the worst / Are full of passionate intensity" (Lines 7-8)
   3. "Surely some revelation is at hand" (Line 9)
   4. "a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi / Troubles my sight" (Lines 12-13) important to the poem as a whole?
5. How is the image of the “shape with lion body and the head of a man” (Line 14) important to the whole?
6. ************************************************************************************************************8