“The Second Coming” – My interpretation
After reading about William Yeats I had to change my interpretation of this poem from what I initially thought of as a reference to his joy of the Second coming of Yahushua “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war (BibleGateway.com – (Revelation 19:11)) to now being a reference to warning of and his hatred of Yahushua. Why I’ve changed my way of interpreting this poem as such is because of the authors past history of delving into occultist endeavors and (what I believe to be) Satan inspired teachings and followings (the Kabbalah and Hinduism). I’m at least encouraged that the Author might have realized his errors and renounced his thinking’s from the inscription on his tombstone that read “Cast a cold Eye, On Life, On Death. Horseman.pass by!” (The Literature Network - Later Years (2)). I think this could be a “symbol” of him wanting the 4 horses/4 seals of Revelation 6:2-8 to pass him by. Although I don’t think all 4 horses are a bad thing, apparently he realized that judgments were on the way and didn’t want to have any part of it …..I think he changed his initial ways of thinking by the time he died and realized the truth and not the lies of the meaningful “Second Coming”. So presuming that “The Second Coming” is written more with a “thesis” of the attitude of the speaker being geared towards the “False
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One” and not the “True one” let’s delve into this “Blank Verse” poem and see what we find.
The first thing that sticks out to me in this poem is the mentioning of the “widening gyre” (1) which I see as a “symbol” used to reference “For then shall be great tribulation (widening), such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (BibleGateway.com – (Matthew 24:21)) and “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people (gyre)” (BibleGateway.com – (Daniel 9:24)).
Next I see “the falcon cannot hear the falconer” (2) and I see this as a “symbol” used to reference “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (BibleGateway.com – (Matthew 13:13)).
When I see “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out” (BibleGateway.com – (Revelation 12:7-9)) I easily can see “mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” (4) as being a “symbol” to that. I can then see “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned” (5 & 6) as being a “symbol” for “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood” (BibleGateway.com – (Revelation 12:15)).
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The poem continues to tell of “The Second Coming” being “at hand” “When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi” is in “sands of the desert” (10, 12 and 13). I feel that in biblical terms these “symbols” would be in reference to the scriptures “And I stood upon the sand of the sea (sands of the desert), and saw a beast rise up out of the sea” (BibleGateway.com – (Revelation 13:1)) and “he had power to give life unto the image