How Does Yeats Use Diction In The Second Coming

William Butler Yeats wrote the Second Coming after experiencing the horror of war. He was deeply traumatized by the viciousness of society. The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats depicts the destruction of society and the dismantling of its core. The author examines the chaotic state of modern society through intense diction. The author choice of words portrays a picture of a world that is in disarray and turmoil. The narrator states “Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.” The use of diction by using the phrase “mere anarchy” paints a picture of society in a state of disorder and lacking the central glue to keep the core of society tacked. The narrator also states “The blood-doomed tide is loosed and everywhere. The ceremony of innocence is drowned.” The choice of diction describe a time of violence and terror through phrases like "blood-dimmed tide," and "innocence drowned." The use of diction in almost every stanza of the poem leads to the creation of a rather chilling poem.

Allusion was a crucial literary element in the development of the poem with the most obvious form of allusion being in the title. The title “The Second Coming” references the return of Christ. The narrator states “Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?” alluded to when Christ was born in Bethlehem. The narrator also states “The falcon cannot hear the falconer”. Yeats was stating that society cannot hear their God because of the total dismay in the world. The phrase “widening gyre” likely refers to the 2,000 years since the birth of Christ. William Butler Yeats extensive use of allusions assists in conveying humanity’s