1. Published in ‘Michael Robartes and the Dancer’ (1921)
The Second Coming (1919)
Published in ‘Michael Robartes and the Dancer’ (1921)
Use the word cloud to explain what you understand about The Second Coming so far.

2. Task 1:
Read through the information on ‘The Second Coming’. Can you add three further sentences to your opening statement.
Importance of change to Yeats’ writing
Yeats adopting personas
Importance of gyres

3. Close Analysis
In your pairs, work through the sheet answering the questions and annotating your poem.
Be ready to feedback to the class

4. Choose your Task
How does Yeats portray his dissatisfaction with the modern world in stanza one? (look at the sense of chaos/immorality)
How does Yeats explore the idea of change in the poem? (look at the description of the people in stanza 1 and birds in stanza 2)
How does Yeats present an apocalyptic view of the future and what does this tell us about his attitude?
How does Yeats re-evaluate the notion of a ‘second coming’? (how is it very different to a Christian perspective?)

5. Model Paragraph: Question 1
Yeats gives visual and philosophical weight to the concept of things spiralling out of control and his dissatisfaction with the modern world. He invites the reader to consider how things are getting out of hand. The ‘centre cannot hold’; it’s being pulled apart by opposing forces and warring factions. This is rhetoric and emotive imagery that is both ‘gory’ and abstract. Images of bloody seas mingle with phrases like the ‘ceremony of innocence’, brutally simple statements such as ‘things fall apart’ are juxtaposed with more complex references to ‘anarchy’. The metaphor of the wayward falcon spinning out of control, away from its human master, also emphasises Yeats sense of helplessness in the wake of the devastating consequences of WWI and the Irish Troubles.

6. Silent Debate
Move around the room and read the interpretive statements of ‘The Second Coming’
Simply tick or cross if you strongly agree or disagree
Red = evidence from the poem
Blue = explanation how does the quote support the interpretation?
Purple = Can you oppose this view/offer an alternative?
C/B
B/A
A/A*