"The Second Coming" is a poem written by Irish poet

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

, first printed in ''

The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review and ...

'' in November

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

, and afterwards included in his

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

collection of verses '' Michael Robartes and the Dancer''. The poem uses Christian imagery regarding the

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

and

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...

to allegorically describe the atmosphere of post-war Europe. It is considered a major work of

modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases ...

and has been reprinted in several collections, including ''The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry''.

Historical context

The poem was written in 1919 in the aftermath of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the beginning of the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

in January 1919, that followed the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

in April 1916, at a time before the British Government decided to send in the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

to Ireland. Yeats used the phrase "the second birth" instead of "the Second Coming" in his first drafts. The poem is also connected to the 1918–1919 flu pandemic: In the weeks preceding Yeats's writing of the poem, his pregnant wife

Georgie Hyde-Lees Georgie Hyde-Lees (born Bertha Hyde-Lees, 1892 – 1968)

caught the virus and was very close to death. The highest death rates of the pandemic were among pregnant women—in some areas, they had up to a 70 percent death rate. While his wife was convalescing, he wrote "The Second Coming".

In popular culture

Phrases and lines from the poem are used in many works, in a variety of media, such as literature, motion pictures, television, and music. Examples of works which reference "The Second Coming" (titles, quotes, etc) include: *

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. (; born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; October 15, 1917 – February 28, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a s ...

's political manifesto '' The Vital Center: The Politics of Freedom'', a defense of political

centrism Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

opens with citing the Yeats poem. *

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

's novel ''

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'' (1958); *

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' platinum album "

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" (1999) *

Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won an ...

's essay collection ''

Slouching Towards Bethlehem ''Slouching Towards Bethlehem'' is a 1968 collection of essays by Joan Didion that mainly describes her experiences in California during the 1960s. It takes its title from the poem " The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats. The contents of this ...

'' (1968) and ''The Center Will Not Hold'', a

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

documentary (2017) *

Walker Percy Walker Percy, OSB (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990) was an American writer whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is noted for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans; his first, ''The Moviegoer'', won the Nat ...

’s novel '' The Second Coming'' (1980) *

Peter De Vries Peter De Vries (February 27, 1910 – September 28, 1993) was an American editor and novelist known for his satiric wit. He has been described by the philosopher Daniel Dennett as "probably the funniest writer on religion ever". Biography De ...

' novel ''Slouching Towards Kalamazoo'' (1983) *Robert B. Parker's novel '' The Widening Gyre'' (1983) *The 1996 non-fiction book '' Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline'' by

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Court ...

*The song "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" (which quotes or paraphrases almost all of the poem) by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

from her 1991 album ''

Night Ride Home ''Night Ride Home'' is the 14th album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1991. It was the last of four albums she recorded for Geffen Records. Songs on the album include "Cherokee Louise" about a childhood friend who suffe ...

'' *

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

in his preamble to the song "Sweet Jane" on the 1978 album '' Live: Take No Prisoners'' *The episode " Slouching Toward Bethlehem" (27 October 2002) of the television series ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'' *The 2003

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

game ''

Slouching Towards Bedlam ''Slouching Towards Bedlam'' is an interactive fiction game that won the first place in the 2003 Interactive Fiction Competition. It is a collaboration between American authors Daniel Ravipinto and Star Foster. ''Slouching Towards Bedlam'' was fin ...

'' *

Elyn Saks Elyn R. Saks is associate dean and Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California Gould Law School, an expert in mental health law, and a MacArthur Foundation Fel ...

' memoir ''The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness'' (2007) *The season 6 episode " The Second Coming" (20 May 2007) of the television series ''

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'', in which A.J. Soprano reads and quotes the poem while struggling with depression. He again quotes it in the series finale " Made In America". In the season 5 episode 'Cold Cuts' Dr.Melfi quotes it to Tony Soprano. *The episode " Revelations" (9 November 1994) of the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television series ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'' *

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's novel ''

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'' references the poem numerous times, with one character explicitly quoting lines from it *

Jonathan Alter Jonathan H. Alter (born October 6, 1957) is a liberal American journalist, best-selling author, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and television producer who was a columnist and senior editor for ''Newsweek'' magazine from 1983 until 2011. Alte ...

's political biography of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, ''The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies'' also cites Yeats' poem. *

Junkie XL Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing e ...

's soundtrack to ''

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'' features a song titled "The Center Will Not Hold, Twenty Centuries Of Stony Sleep", referencing the "second coming" of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

after his death in the film's prequel, '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'', and his subsequent resurrection in this film. *

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in ''Wall Street'' (1987) says: "So the falcon's heard the falconer, huh?" *''

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'' (1990) parodies the poem: "slouching hopefully towards Tadfield" *The title of the BBC podcast series Things Fell Apart by Jon Ronson *The episode " The Queen's Speech" (S02E07) of the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

series ''

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

References

External links

Text (as originally published)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Coming, The 1920 poems Poetry by W. B. Yeats Works originally published in The Dial