I have heard the languages of apocalypse, and

now I shall embrace the silence.

Neil Gaiman, The Sandman:
Endless Nights.
A classic is a book that has never finished
saying what it has to say.
Italo Calvino, The Uses of
Literature.

Apocalypse Please

The Bible has had a recurrent presence in art all over the world. Either considered as a sacred
text or a book of colourful imagery, its words have been used to epigraph, quote, allude, refer and
inspire several works of art that range from comic books to frescoes. What Michelangelos Piet,
Dalis Corpus Hypercubus and Emily Dickinsons To Know Just How He Suffered have in
common is how faithful they remain to the Bible, despite the artists own interpretation. There are
however other who use the Bibles mythology to unhinge it, melt it and then shape it into something
else altogether. Such is the case of John Miltons Paradise Lost, William Blakes The Marriage of
Heaven and Hell and Nikos Kazantzakis The Last Temptation of Christ, all of them diverging
evidently from the Bible, but still preserving their relationship with it.
With a title such as The Second Coming, one would expect a poem belonging to the former
set: the one thats faithful to the inspiring text maybe even hipotext in this case. The first few verses
can be read as an allusion or re-writing of the setting described in the Book of Revelation, but
then, something seems to be off. The Second Coming goes from the first category to the second
one and alludes to pagan mythology, making for itself a wholly different classification. It is a poem
inspired in the Bibles imagery, it is faithful to it, but in the end, it gives another meaning to whats
been written. Maybe.
William Butler Yeats was raised within a Protestant family and although his profound interest in
the occult conflicted perhaps with religion, it isnt crazy to assume that his life was permeated by
biblical imagery and folklore. Being so, a comparison between the Bible and The Second Coming
could arise, keeping in mind Yeats own esoteric ideas and the historical time contextualising the
poem.

Revelation 16:16.
Amageddon is the biblical place where wars would be fought at the end of the world and it is
sometimes considered as an exact location, and others as simply a different way to name the

apocalypse. The biblical end of the world is described as a long process rather than being radical and
devastating. As T.S. Eliot says, the world doesnt end with a bang, but with a whimper 1. A long and
suffering one. The partial destruction of the earth and humanity2 seems to be the counterpart of the
Genesis creation. It vilifies everything God said to be good: light, water, earth, animals and man.
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, / The blooddimmed tide is loosed (...). This first part of Yeats poem is an almost exact depiction of the picture
described by the Bible: And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood (...) 3, (...)
the third part of the sea became blood4. Furthermore, according to the Book of Revelation, the world
is submerged in a state of heresy and debauchery which unleashes Gods wrath upon the humanity:
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their
hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of
wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their
sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. 5
The apocalypse is divided, grosso modo, in four great parts: the first, the commotion of the
whole cosmos that antecedes the presence of the divine (such as the comet that appeared in the
firmament when Jesus was born, the supernatural darkness and the quake that shook the earth and
cracked the Temple of Jerusalem when Christ died) in great scale that will bring the initial destruction
of the world; the second, the instauration of the Devils reign and the adoration of false idols and
prophets that culminates with depravity; the third part is the Second Coming of Christ that unleashes
the anger of God and the Lamb and completely destroys Earth as we know it; and the last part is the
Final Judgement and the descent of New Jerusalem.
In 1919, when Yeats wrote The Second Coming, the aftermath of World War I was barely
beginning. The amount of lives that the war claimed was stratospheric and Europe was submerged in
a general sentiment of hopelessness, disenchantment and loss and society probably did feel like it
was the beginning of the end of the world. So, the first part of the poem can be read as how the
poetical voice perceived the world after such a thing as the Great War and it is easy to understand
why it would be compared or describe in terms of the apocalyptical world, the third phase of the
end. This description of a physical world is followed by a tone of prophetical epiphany: Surely some
revelation is at hand; / Surely the Second Coming is at hand that shines a little hope over the world.
1 ELIOT, T.S. The Hollow Men. vv. 97-98
2 Bible. Revelation 8:7-12
3 Ibidem 6:12
4 Ibidem 8:8
5 Ibidem 9:20-21

Surely some good must come after so much suffering, surely the third part of the apocalypse must be
supersede by the fourth. But instead, the tenor shifts and adopts an imagery pertaining to another
tradition that is not only pagan, but also extremely dual in nature.

Theogony ll. 326.

The Sphinxs very existence is confusing and contradictory. Its shape is never fixed, sometimes it
bears eagle wings, sometimes it doesnt; at times it is represented with a womans face, others it
features are completely androgynous; in some paintings and sculptures it is depicted with a womans
breasts and in some others with a lions. Its origin is violent and powerful, being the offspring of such
creatures as Chimera and Orthrus and sibling of the Lion of Nemea 6, and it is no wonder that the
Sphinx is such an important creature for both the Greek and the Egyptian civilisation. The creatures
nature is duality itself: by the Greeks it was named the destruction for Cadmeians 7, it was a monster
to be frightened of and that would ravenously eat you if one failed to answer its riddle. It was
considered to be merciless and treacherous. However, in Egyptian lore, it is considered a guardian to
keep watch over the temples and the passing between the world of the living and the dead. So, which
one is it? I believe in modern and western culture, this creature bears both aspects.
Whatever version of the Sphinx we choose, we cannot exclude the other, and so, both good and
bad are contained within the mythical creature and her nature is permeated by mystery and unsolved
enigmas. (...) Her face was that of a human woman in form at any rate, for the expression was far
from human. It was hard to tell whether this face was smiling or whether it expressed deep grief or
utter indifference. After looking at it for some time, Atreyu seemed to see abysmal wickedness and
cruelty, but a moment later he had to correct his impression, for he found only unruffled calm. 8 The
gaze of a sphinx is different from the gaze of any other creature. (...) A sphinx sees nothing. In a
sense she is blind. But her eyes send something out. And what do her eyes send out? All the riddles of
the universe.9 The mystery and ambiguity that the Sphinx incarnates is, I reckon, the core and key
point of the poem. It reveals that The Second Coming has not one meaning, but can be interpreted
in many ways.
Loyal to Yeats fascination of the occult, the words Spiritus Mundi stand out. It is said on the
Bible that the earth and sea will release their dead to be judged: And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every
6 Hesiod. Theogony. ll. 26-27
7 Ibidem ll. 26
8 ENDE, Michael. The Never Ending Story. Chapter 5.
9 Ibidem. Chapter 6.

man according to their works.10 According to the image created by the biblical text, the dead are
actual bodies pertaining to the realm of the physical, as opposed to what Yeats describes in his poem.
The Spiritus Mundi, the world of the spirits, has an occultist and phantasmagorical inclination.
Following the line of the poem, it is interesting that after the mention of the world of the spirits
succeeds the image of the creature that the Egyptians considered to represent the life that followed
death.
Another element pertaining to the Sphinx that stands to attention is the slowness with which it
moves. The way it is moving its slow thighs(...) is similar to how Geraldine walks (...) with steps
they passed / That strove to be, and were not, fast. 11 Now, Geraldine is another character that
represents great mystery and, like the Sphinx, although we know not if shes (its?) good or bad,
there is some evil apparently inherent in both of them. The pace with which they walk seems to be a
stalking one, hence the menace of how slowly the Sphinx moves. So, does evil move slowly or is it
just the leisurely pace of a peaceful creature that just doesnt care much about anything other than the
next riddle? This conflictive creature is followed by a being that leaves no room for dual
interpretations. It is, without a doubt, evil reincarnate. The beast.

1 John 2:18.
Antichrist is the one who denies the divinity of Christ, according to Johns first epistle. Who is a
liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 12
The Bible describes many antichrists that will arise from within us, human in nature but not a
creature of God. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,
even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us,
but they were not of us; 13 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (...)Whosoever transgresseth, and
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath
both the Father and the Son.14 However, there is The Antichrist who will not be a human being, but a
beast, as portrayed in the last book of the New Testament.

10 Bible. Revelation 20:13

11 COLERIDGE, Samuel Taylor. Christabel. Part I vv. 112-113
12 Bible. 1 John 2:22
13 Ibidem. 1 John 2:19-19
14 Ibidem. 2 John 1:7-9

On the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, the vision of a woman in labour is described to
be stalked by a red dragon. Shes said to be dressed with the sun, a crown of twelve stars over her
head and the moon at her feet. The similarity between this woman and the virgin (especially the
Virgen de Guadalupe) is too great to be a coincidence, and having this in mind, this chapter seems to
be describing the birth of another messiah: And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne. 15 Said messiah
would be hunted by a dragon which appears to be a greater version of the Genesis serpent.
So after the opening of seven seals that unleashes a lot of pain and death over the world and the
blowing of seven trumpets that brings forth destruction and plagues, the dragon is released upon the
world. After this, the Bible narrates a series of events that seem to be a travesty of the biblical
divinity. Two beasts arise, one from the earth and the other from the sea, and the dragon along with
the latter two form a sort of antitrinity, the dragon parodying the Father, the beast from the sea is a
caricature of the Son and the beast from the earth the evil equivalent of the Holy Spirit.
The dragon is Satan itself, the authority when it comes to sin, the origin of all which is evil. The
opposite parallelism between it and God is fairly obvious. It is the beasts that are an interesting
matter. The first beast, the one from the sea, is described to be mortally wounded one moment, but
then fully healed the next very similar to Christs victory over death and there was given unto
him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty
[and] two months. (...) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:
and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the
earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world16 much like Jesus did before being crucified, only instead of praising God,
the beast condemns Him. The second beast, the one born from the earth, (...) exerciseth all the power
of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first
beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the
means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast 17 just like the Holy Spirit
carried out miracles and prodigies to entice faith in Christ, the second beast the False Prophet
ensnares humanity into adoring the first beast and hence, the dragon. The Bible itself perverts its own
holiness and said perversion is present in Yeats poem.
On the Book of Revelation the perversion of the divine is eventually abolished and the Holy
Trinity restores the order of the world, but it seems to be different in The Second Coming. As
mentioned before on this essay, Yeats religious background was Protestant. There are many
differences between the Catholic and the Protestant Church, but one of them, and a pertinent one
15 Ibidem. Revelation 12:5
16 Ibidem. Revelation 13:5-8
17 Ibidem. Revelation 13:12-14

when it comes to this analysis, is the pragmatic thinking of the latter as opposed to the magical one of
the former. Not only is Yeats utilitarian by education, but he appears to be also rendered pessimistic
by the social situation in which Europe was submerged in 1919. How can there be salvation after so
much death? How could Christ come a second time when the world was so corrupted, so destructed?
Could the divine arrive among such evil? Apparently the poetical voice doesnt believe in the deus ex
machina ending that the Bible portrays, and so, The Second Coming doesnt end with a glorious
proclamation of the divine, but with a fatalistic question: And what rough beast, its hour come round
at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

If we go back to the Bible and read how the end of the world was foretold by Jesus, there is
despair to be had before finding bliss. Both Matthew (24:4-31) and Mark mention this in their
Gospels. Jesus himself describes the apocalypse and warns his disciples about false idols and
prophets. (...) Take heed lest any [man] deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am
[Christ;] and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not
troubled: for [such things] must needs be; but the end [shall] not [be] yet. For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall
be famines and troubles: these [are] the beginnings of sorrows. (...) But when ye shall see the
abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that
readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains (...) For [in] those days
shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this
time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved:
but for the elects sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. And then if any man shall
say to you, Lo, here [is] Christ; or, lo, [he is] there; believe [him] not: For false Christs and false
prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect.
But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. But in those days, after that tribulation, the
sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and
the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the
clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.18
So, yes, Jesus warns beforehand of the tribulations to be suffered before his Second Coming, he
mentions the false Christs and Prophets, but perhaps it takes too much faith to take his word for it, no
matter how much of a believer someone is. We know Yeats was not entirely convinced by the way the
Bible described life and so he founded his own theories on how the world worked based on the
occult. Maybe the poetical voice in The Second Coming is Yeats, maybe it is not. Whatever the
case, it isnt clear whether the birth of the beast is the absolute ending of the world or if it is
mentioned at the final lines of the poem only because it is the most immediate future. The aftermath
of the Great War was devastating and its not hard to assume that the idea of the world picking up
where it left before the war and mending itself fully was ludicrous. But now we know it did. We also
18 Bible. Mark 13:5-27

know that after things looked up, World War II devastated Europe once more. Again, things
recovered. Maybe the Central Powers form WWI were antichrists, maybe Hitler and Mussolini were
too. Maybe it is the last time and the apocalypse is near. Maybe a beast will be born in Bethlehem.
Maybe none of it is true. I dont know. And there is no way to really know until we face the actual
end.
What we do know is that death takes its toll in more ways than a decrease in population. Even
the living suffer some sort of death too, and after such a thing as the First World War an apocalyptic
poem could be the best reflection of how society perceived the world. Whether the birth of the beast
is the end and we all succumb into darkness or after its reign of terror comes justice and light only
time will tell. Whether The Second Coming simply states that the Antichrist is about to come or it
declares that the world will end in the hands of the beast, I believe it depends on the reader. Whether
the poem is about the actual apocalypse or just a portrayal of how the world felt back in 1919, its up
to the reader as well. Whether Yeats believed the Bibles account of the end or the other way around,
I guess wed have to ask him (in the Final Judgement, perhaps). However, it is interesting to mention
that twenty years after The Second Coming was written, a beast reared its head and slammed
Europe again with death and suffering. Maybe great poets are true Prophets as Ralph Waldo Emerson
said and as Walt Whitman considered himself.

Bibliography
--- King James Bible.
http://d23a3s5l1qjyz.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/King-James-Bible-KJV-Bible-PDF.pdf

--- ENDE, Michael. The Never Ending Story. Trad. Ralph Manheim.
http://www.fountainheadschools.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/the-neverending-story.pdf

---- COLERIDGE, Samuel Taylor. Christabel.

http://www.bartleby.com/41/420.html

--- Hesiod. Theogony.

https://www.msu.edu/~tyrrell/theogon.pdf

--- ELIOT, T.S. The Hollow Men.

http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/784/

I smell sex and candy - nirvana