StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Analytical response to a poem - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The Second Coming" (1919) by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) has been one of the most celebrated works of Modernist poetry and the poet efficiently makes use of the Christian imagery concerning the Apocalypse and the second coming of Christ in order to allegorically portray the atmosphere in post-war Europe…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.9% of users find it useful
Analytical response to a poem
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Analytical response to a poem"

Download file to see previous pages

The poet is successful in creating the nightmarish situation before the readers through the careful selection of images, symbols, allegories, diction, etc. and thereupon to indicate the situation of the world he lives in. "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" (Yeats, lines 3-6) According to the speaker of the poem, the best people in the world lack all conviction, whereas the worst "are full of passionate intensity.

" Therefore, a reflective analysis of the poem "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats, it becomes lucid that the poet employs harsh imagery, powerful language, and strong symbolism in order to warn readers of a world in a chaotic downfall and the approach of the birth of an antichrist in a new two thousand year cycle. This paper undertakes a profound investigation of the use of imagery, symbolism, and poetic language in the poem "The Second Coming" in order to determine the main themes as well as aesthetic characteristics of the poem.

The poem "The Second Coming" by WB Yeats belongs to the Modernist poetry and the poet has been effective in incorporating the various poetic techniques of the Modernist poetry. . "Turning / and turn / ing in / the widen / ing gyre // The fal / con can / not hear / the fal / coner" (Yeats, lines 1-2) Significantly, the rhymes of the poem are haphazard too and there are only coincidental rhymes in the poem, such as "man" and "sun", apart from the two opening couplets of the poem. Thus, the major rhymes of the poem include "gyre" and "falconer", "hold" and "world", and "man" and "sun".

The poem is written in two stanzas - the first one with eight lines and the second one with sixteen lines. In a reflective analysis of the imagery used by the poet in "The Second Coming", one recognizes that Yeats begins his prophetic poem with harsh and dark imagery which effectively conveys the message of the poet. The opening image of 'the widening gyre' which suggests the historical movement or trend started at the birth of Jesus Christ is figured as a falcon's towering and the images such as 'falcon', 'falconer', 'Mere anarchyloosed upon the world' etc indicates the kind of world that the poet lives in.

Similarly, other images like 'blood-dimmed tide', 'ceremony of innocence', 'passionate intensity', 'the Second Coming', 'vast image out of Spiritus Mundi, 'shape with lion body and the head of a man', 'indignant desert birds', 'stony sleep', 'rocking cradle', etc help the author in effectively conveying his points. Therefore, the stunning, violent, harsh and dark imagery used in the poem makes it greatly appealing to the readers and the author efficiently communicates to the readers through these images.

The use of strong and convincing symbolism has made significant contribution to the success of "The Second Coming" which is Yeats' most

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Analytical response to a poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Analytical response to a poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1528171-analytical-response-to-a-poem
(Analytical Response to a Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
Analytical Response to a Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1528171-analytical-response-to-a-poem.
“Analytical Response to a Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1528171-analytical-response-to-a-poem.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Analytical response to a poem

Virtue and Community in Beowulf Paper

Virtue and Community in Beowulf Paper Name Institution Virtue and Community in Beowulf Paper In order to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of the English classics, one requires studying mother tongue in reference to the original mode of speaking it.... hellip; A number of writers tried to bring English language to life by reciting examples of Early Modern, Middle, and Old English in their respective dialects....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Experiencing a Story, a Poem, a Play

Reading Response – Experiencing a story, a poem, a play [Author] [Institution] Introduction “Experiencing a story, a poem, a play” is a literary work that captured the interest of many as it talks about the way a story, a poem or a play is interpreted and connected to the reader's mind.... A critical response to the stories, poems and plays of fiction need full concentration.... In order to interpret and examine a story, poem or play the approach that the reader will use is the reader-response approach....
3 Pages (750 words) Term Paper

A literary analysis of two poems by Donne namely The Flea and The Sun Rising

Donne is acknowledged as a love poet, but this poem deals with love in an incongruous way given the fact that the speaker does not attach any importance to some preexisting relationship or chemistry with the woman he is attracted to.... Donne's take on love in this poem marked by complexity of thought and strange imagery leaves the readers amused and impressed even though it is playful and absurd.... The speaker in the poem never considers the woman's objections and simply reacts to them making her come across as a fool in denial....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Curriculum Map

Instructor Course December 6, 2013 Long Range Curriculum Mapping: Learners need both quality curriculum and quality instruction.... However, distinctive instruction in learning institutions has suffered from activity oriented and content oriented teaching.... hellip; In both situations, there are no clear concepts guiding the instruction and no plan for promoting the learning....
10 Pages (2500 words) Assignment

Lipoprotein Abnormalities Associated with Alzheimer Disease, Diabetes, Atherosclorosis

Lipoprotein abnormalities associated with Alzheimer's disease, Diabetes, and Atherosclerosis Institution: Name: Lipoprotein abnormalities associated with Alzheimer's disease, Diabetes, and Atherosclerosis The plasma lipoproteins are water soluble macromolecules that represent complexes of lipids, and one or more specific proteins referred to as apolipoproteins....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Can Twue Love Exist in the Universe of Heart of Darkness

The prompt chosen: Love.... Twue Love.... Can BF-GF, BF-BF, or GF-GF love exists in the universe of Heart of Darkness?... What could it mean, to Kurtz or his intended?... What might Marlow think of such love/ Compare these ideas with ideas of love in two other texts.... … Student's Name Instructor Course Submission Date The prompt chosen: Love....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Use of Suspicion of Grandiose Rhetoric on Poems

Likely, it is through the use of this particular type of language that they were able to establish the type of poem that classifies their written work.... Undoubtedly, the author of this paper wishes to identify the different approaches of language use that the authors of the said poem used to send their message to their target readers....
8 Pages (2000 words) Book Report/Review

Experiencing a Story, a Poem, a Play

“Experiencing a story, a poem, a play” is a literary work that captured the interest of many as it talks about the way a story, a poem or a play is interpreted and connected to the reader's mind.... As the text tells us that there are many situations in which the literary work is experienced, and the reader has to grasp the imagination Reading Response – Experiencing a story, a poem, a play Introduction “Experiencing a story, a poem, a play” is a literary work that captured the interest of many as it talks about the way a story, a poem or a play is interpreted and connected to the reader's mind....
3 Pages (750 words) Book Report/Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us