The term “spiritus mundi” in the second stanza of W. B. Yeats’s “The Second Coming” means “spirit of the world” and refers to the collective spirit or consciousness of humanity.

Table of Contents

How would you define Spiritus Mundi and what does it do in the poem?

According to Yeats “Spiritus Mundi”, a Latin term that literally means, ‘world spirit’, is ‘a universal memory and a ‘muse’ of sorts that provides inspiration to the poet or writer‘. Yeats used the term to describe the collective soul of the universe containing the memories of all time.

What does Falcon symbolism in The Second Coming?

The falcon described in “The Second Coming” is symbolic of the human race, specifically in modern times, as it has become disconnected from its roots. When Yeats writes, “[t]he falcon can’t hear the falconer,” he means that humanity has lost touch with its original values.

What type of shape does spiritual Mundi have?

Surely, the speaker asserts, the world is near a revelation; “Surely the Second Coming is at hand.” No sooner does he think of “the Second Coming,” then he is troubled by “a vast image of the Spiritus Mundi, or the collective spirit of mankind: somewhere in the desert, a giant sphinx (“A shape with lion body and the …

What beast slouches toward Bethlehem?

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? William Butler Yeats, widely considered one of the greatest poets of the English language, received the 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature. His work was greatly influenced by the heritage and politics of Ireland.

What does the rough beast symbolize in The Second Coming?

The work, although seemingly taken quite seriously by Yeats’ scholars, is of little value in understanding either meaning in poetry or the meaning of the world, particularly in terms of historical events. … Of great significance in Yeats’ poem is the “rough beast,” apparently the Anti-Christ, who has not been born yet.

What does indignant desert birds mean?

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. In these lines he describes the sphinx’s expression and what it is doing. By calling its gaze “pitiless,” he doesn’t mean “evil” or “mean-spirited.” In fact, the sphinx really seems to have an inhuman expression that is as indifferent as nature itself.

What is Yeats claim about The Second Coming answer?

Yeats’s claim about the Second Coming is that it will not be a day of peace and salvation, but rather one of fear and reckoning. According to Yeats, it will be a day when nature is disturbed, when good people are apathetic, and when evil comes home to roost.

Why did Yeats write The Second Coming?

William Butler Yeats wrote “The Second Coming” in 1919, soon after the end of World War I, known at the time as “The Great War” because it was the biggest war yet fought and “The War to End All Wars” because it was so horrific that its participants dearly hoped it would be the last war.

How does Auden describe the day on which Yeats died?

Auden describes the day of Yeats’s death as ‘a dark cold day’, but this is objectively true, rather than mere pathetic fallacy or Romantic expression.

Article first time published on

What literary devices had WB Yeats used in Second Coming?

What does Mere anarchy mean?

Mere, when it came into English from Latin and OF, meant “pure, unmixed”, and was usually used as Yeats uses it here: mere anarchy means absolute anarchy, sheer anarchy, anarchy unmixed with order, “nothing less than” anarchy.

Why does the falcon not hear the falconer?

The lines “the falcon cannot hear the falconer” in “The Second Coming” represent how the ordinary people are no longer paying heed to the old social and political leaders, but are listening to the new movement leaders instead. Yeats believes this will be the downfall of society.

What draws the ceremony of innocence in the Second Coming?

It is for this reason that madness and disorder have “drowned” the “ceremony of innocence.” The idea of “drowning” helps to bring out that disorder and chaos have enveloped the hope of structure, the “ceremony of innocence.”

What does the falcon symbolize in the Second Coming?

The falcon (symbol) The falcon, separated from the falconer, is lost: without reason, without ruler, without larger cause. It is a symbol for a lost humanity, at the mercy of uncontrollable forces. The falcon, in short, is all of us, wandering around the earth, trying to find meaning.

What does the blood dimmed tide is loosed mean?

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere. The ceremony of innocence is drowned; These three lines describe a situation of violence and terror through phrases like “anarchy,” “blood-dimmed tide,” and “innocence [. . .] drowned.” (By the way, “mere” doesn’t mean “only” in this context; it means “total” or “pure.”)

What is the rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem?

The poem is alluding to the Book of Revelation. The “rough beast” is the Anti-Christ. The scene is set for the final showdown and the Second Coming.

Why is the Sphinx moving in the Second Coming?

The Sphinx As soon as he alludes to Christ, a “vast image” of a pagan religion appears to wander toward Bethlehem. The symbol here is of the end of a religion that, for Yeats, embodied hope and innocence.

What is Spiritus Mundi?

Spiritus Mundi is a Latin term that literally means, ”world spirit. ” In Spiritus Mundi, there is, according to William Butler Yeats, ”a universal memory and a ‘muse’ of sorts that provides inspiration to the poet or writer.

What is the best and the worst in the poem The Second Coming?

Yeats is referring to sides in the Irish political conflict, complaining that “the best” won’t commit to a full-out rebellion against the English, while the worst are loud and boisterous, but ineffective in their actual actions.

Is considered as the greatest works of WB Yeats?

Sailing to Byzantium uses a journey to Byzantium as a metaphor for a spiritual journey. It is considered one of the best works of Yeats and it is the most famous poem of his greatest poetry collection, The Tower.

How the poem in memory of W.B. Yeats is something more than a traditional elegy?

The poem, as its title indicates, is an elegy written to mourn the death of W.B. Yeats, but it is different from the conventional elegy. Traditionally, in an elegy, all nature is represented as mourning the death, here nature is represented as going on its course indifferent and unaffected.

Why we say Auden as modern poet discuss?

Both thematically and structurally, Auden’s poems show the very essence of modernism. The characteristics that are needed to consider him as a modern poet are all in profusely blended in his poems. … Auden is also modern in this respect. He has experimented with free verse, blank verse, the ballad metre etc.

Was WB Yeats Catholic?

Normally, Yeats would have been expected to identify with his Protestant tradition—which represented a powerful minority among Ireland’s predominantly Roman Catholic population—but he did not.

What does WB Yeats say for his daughter in prayer for my daughter?

W. B. Yeats in his ten-stanza poem, ‘A Prayer for my Daughter’ questions how best to raise his daughter. … He wants to give his daughter a life of beauty and innocence, safety, and security. He further wants her to be well- mannered and full of humility free from intellectual hatred and being strongly opinionated.

What kind of mythological creature is featured in the poem The Second Coming?

His seminal poetic work, The Second Coming, can be read in the light of the ancient Indian myth of Narasimha avatar, the hum-animal hybrid incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

How does the repetition of the phrase The Second Coming?

PART A: How does the repetition of the phrase “The Second Coming” in lines 10-11 contribute to the tone of the poem? The repetition emphasizes the speaker’s worry and contributes to the fearful tone.

Which author titled a novel on a quote from the second coming?

by W. B. YeatsWritten1919Media typePrintLines22Read onlineThe Second Coming at Wikisource

Was there another Troy for her to burn?

Was there another Troy for her to burn? In the above five concluding lines of ‘No Second Troy,’ the beautiful revolutionary lady Maud Gonne is seen in terms of destruction. Her beauty is said to be like a tightened bow. Her mind is made simple as a fire of nobleness.