“The Centre Cannot Hold: W. B. Yeats and the Poetics of Modern Disintegration”
Anarchy and Art: A Deep Dive into Yeats's Response to Crisis in "The Second Coming" and "On Being Asked for a War Poem"
Introduction: Poetry in a Time of Turmoil
This blog is written as part of a Thinking Activity assigned by Dr. Prof. Dilip Barad for the study of William Butler Yeats’s poetry. The purpose of this reflective piece is to critically engage with selected poems by Yeats, examining their thematic concerns, symbolic imagery, and philosophical implications. Rather than offering a summary, the blog attempts to ponder over key questions raised in the classroom discussion and to interpret Yeats’s poetic vision in relation to modern historical, political, and spiritual crises.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) stands as a pivotal figure in 20th-century literature, a poet whose work grappled with the profound transformations of his era. This article explores two of his powerful short poems, "On Being Asked for a War Poem" and "The Second Coming," as profound responses to the widespread crises of the early 20th century, including war, revolution, and pandemic. By examining their language, context, and layers of meaning, we can appreciate Yeats's masterful ability to distill immense historical anxiety into enduring art. This analysis serves as a study guide for students and enthusiasts of poetry seeking a deeper understanding of these canonical works.
1. The Poet's Silence: "On Being Asked for a War Poem" (1915)
Here are some videos and their analysis for discussion-
1.1. The Poem
I think it better that in times like these A poet’s mouth be silent, for in truth We have no gift to set a statesman right; He has had enough of meddling who can please A young girl in the indolence of her youth, Or an old man upon a winter’s night.
1.2. Analysis: An Ironic Refusal
The poem's intellectual force is generated by its central, performance-based irony. On the surface, the speaker argues that it is better for a poet to "be silent" during times of crisis. The reason given is straightforward: poets "have no gift to set a state's men right." In this context, "statesmen" are politicians who have already established a version of truth for the populace.
However, this argument is presented within a poem. This is an act of what might be termed "refusal as ascent"—the poet says "no" to writing a war poem by writing a poem. The very existence of the work contradicts its stated message. This highly ironical performance forces the reader to look beyond the surface to uncover a more critical, layered meaning about the role of art in a time of political conflict.
1.3. Poet vs. Statesman: The Conflict of Truth
The poem establishes a fundamental conflict between the poet and the politician. During wartime, statesmen present a specific, often nationalistic, version of what is "right" to the people. This "rightful statement" is a politically constructed truth designed to ensure national unity ("we should always think about how to keep nation first"), against which the poet's more complex, individual truth cannot compete in the public sphere.
This tension is sharpened by the ambiguity of the pronoun "he" in the line "He has had enough of meddling." This pronoun can be interpreted in two distinct ways, each offering a different layer to the poem's critique:
1. If "he" is the poet: The poet should stop interfering ("meddling") in political affairs and stick to his traditional role of pleasing the young ("a young girl") and the old ("an old man").
2. If "he" is the politician: The politician has already meddled enough to successfully win over both the young, whom we might characterize as 'unripe,' and the old, or 'matured,' rendering the poet's dissenting voice unheard and irrelevant.
1.4. Context: The Man Behind the Poem
The poem's biographical and historical context, drawn from the source material, illuminates its critical stance:
• The Request: The poem was Yeats's response to a request from fellow writers Henry James and Edith Wharton, who asked him to contribute a poem to The Book of the Homeless, an anthology intended to raise money for war refugees.
• Yeats's Stance: As a fervent Irish nationalist, Yeats was not happy with Britain's role in the First World War and had no desire to write a patriotic poem supporting the British cause. He expressed deep sympathy for the young German soldiers being killed in the conflict.
• Anti-War Sentiment: In a letter to his friend John Quinn, Yeats described the war as "merely the most expensive outbreak of insolence and stupidity the world has ever seen."
• Evolving Titles: The poem's journey to its final title reveals its political and personal dimensions. It was previously titled "To a friend who has asked me to sign his manifesto to the neutral nations" and, later, "A Reason for Keeping Silent."
2. The Beast's Arrival: "The Second Coming" (1919)
2.1. The Poem
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
2.2. Analysis: Images of Collapse
The poem opens with a barrage of apocalyptic imagery. The "widening gyre" is a destructive spiral, like a cyclone, that symbolizes a complete loss of control and the onset of a cataclysmic event. Yeats masterfully builds on this image of collapse through a series of unforgettable lines:
• "The falcon cannot hear the falconer": This is a powerful metaphor for humanity (the falcon) becoming disconnected from its controlling center, be it God, reason, or moral authority (the falconer).
• "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world": Perhaps the most famous lines in 20th-century poetry, they have become the definitive literary expression of civilizational fracture.
• "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity": This is a stark observation on moral inversion. In a time of crisis, good people are paralyzed by doubt and inaction, while evil and destructive actors are energized by a fervent, dangerous certainty.
2.3. A Prophecy Subverted
The poem's title and central prophecy are a direct inversion of Christian eschatology. "The Second Coming" traditionally refers to the promised return of Jesus Christ to redeem the world. This expectation is rooted in hopeful imagery of a savior arriving with grace and a smiling face to restore order. Yeats takes this promise and twists it into a vision of horror.
The vision emerges not from divine revelation, but from Spiritus Mundi, a Latin term meaning "world spirit." According to Yeats's belief system, this is a universal memory or collective unconscious from which poets and visionaries draw their inspiration. What this Spiritus Mundi reveals is not a savior, but a terrifying "shape with lion body and the head of a man," possessing a "gaze blank and pitiless as the sun."
The poem culminates in a chilling, unanswered question: "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" By having this monstrous figure born in Bethlehem—the birthplace of Jesus—Yeats directly and powerfully subverts the original Christian prophecy, replacing a message of salvation with one of impending doom.
2.4. Contexts of Chaos: War, Revolution, and Pandemic
"The Second Coming" was influenced by a confluence of historical crises. For decades, criticism focused almost exclusively on two of these:
• Post-War Disillusionment: Written in January 1919, just months after the end of World War I, the poem captures the widespread sense that two thousand years of Christian civilization had crumbled into unprecedented violence and nihilism.
• Political Upheaval: Yeats was also dismayed by other contemporary events, including the ongoing Russian Revolution and the brewing Irish War of Independence, which began the very month the poem was composed.
However, recent scholarship, most notably Elizabeth Outka's Viral Modernism, has unearthed a forgotten trauma that fundamentally changes our understanding of the poem: the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. For years, it seemed the pandemic was "almost erased from the history of 20th century," yet in the weeks before writing the poem, Yeats's pregnant wife, Georgie Hyde-Lees, was gravely ill with the virus. This deeply personal and visceral lens reveals a new layer of meaning in the poem's imagery.
Poem Line/Image
Potential Connection to Spanish Flu
"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed"
A frequent effect of the flu was severe bleeding from the nose, mouth, and ears.
"The ceremony of innocence is drowned"
People, including his wife and unborn child, were effectively "drowning" in their beds as their lungs filled with fluid.
The "rough beast"
A terrific description of an invisible, amorphous threat like a virus, which causes delirium and horrifying hallucinations.
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3. Study and Engagement
3.1. Discussion Questions
1. How does Yeats use imagery to convey a sense of disintegration in “The Second Coming”?
In “The Second Coming,” Yeats employs violent, chaotic, and symbolic imagery to represent the breakdown of moral, political, and spiritual order in the modern world. The opening image of the “widening gyre” suggests a loss of control and coherence, as history spirals away from its stable centre. The falcon’s inability to hear the falconer symbolizes humanity’s disconnection from guiding values and authority.
Images such as “mere anarchy is loosed upon the world” and “the blood-dimmed tide is loosed” evoke a vision of widespread violence and ethical collapse, reflecting the trauma of World War I and revolutionary upheavals. The final apocalyptic image of a “rough beast” slouching toward Bethlehem replaces the Christian symbol of salvation with one of terror, reinforcing the idea that civilization is not progressing but disintegrating into something monstrous. Through these stark and prophetic images, Yeats conveys a world on the brink of collapse, where traditional structures have lost their meaning and power.
2. Do you agree with Yeats’s assertion in “On Being Asked for a War Poem” that poetry should remain apolitical? Why or why not?
Yeats’s assertion that poetry should remain apolitical is both compelling and debatable. In “On Being Asked for a War Poem,” Yeats argues that a poet’s role is not to offer political instruction or propaganda but to speak from a place of moral and emotional integrity. His belief that “a poet’s mouth be silent” reflects a fear that poetry loses its artistic truth when it becomes an instrument of ideology.
However, one may partially disagree with this stance. While poetry should resist becoming mere propaganda, history demonstrates that politically engaged poetry—such as that of Wilfred Owen, Pablo Neruda, or Mahmoud Darwish—can powerfully articulate resistance, suffering, and truth. Poetry can remain aesthetically complex while still engaging with political realities. Thus, rather than being strictly apolitical, poetry should be ethically responsible, preserving artistic autonomy while bearing witness to human suffering.
3.2. Creative Activity
A Modernist-Inspired Poem
Title: Signal Lost
3.3. Analytical Exercise
Comparison of War in Yeats, Wilfred Owen, and Siegfried Sassoon
Yeats’s treatment of war in “On Being Asked for a War Poem” differs significantly from the approaches of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Yeats distances himself from the battlefield, adopting a reflective and philosophical stance. Rather than depicting combat, he emphasizes the poet’s moral dilemma and insists that poetry should not serve as political motivation or consolation.
In contrast, Wilfred Owen’s war poems, such as “Dulce et Decorum Est,” directly confront the physical and psychological horrors of war. Owen uses graphic imagery of gas attacks and dying soldiers to expose the falseness of patriotic ideals. His poetry is explicitly political in its rejection of nationalist propaganda and its demand for truth.
Similarly, Siegfried Sassoon’s poems like “The General” employ satire and irony to criticize military leadership and the senseless loss of life. Sassoon’s work is openly accusatory, targeting the structures of power that perpetuate war.
Thus, while Yeats views war from a symbolic and ethical distance, Owen and Sassoon engage with it as lived experience. Yeats reflects on the role of the poet, whereas Owen and Sassoon focus on the reality of the soldier. Together, these perspectives reveal the diversity of modern war poetry—from philosophical restraint to visceral protest.
4. Further Reading
Teacher Blog & Video Resources:
• W.H. Auden Poems - Dilip Barad's Blog
Critical Essays:
• "The Yeats Reader" edited by Richard J. Finneran
• "W.B. Yeats: The Major Works" edited by Edward Larrissy
• Scholarly articles on JSTOR, Project MUSE, and other academic databases.
Biographical and Historical Context:
• "W.B. Yeats: A Life" by R.F. Foster
• "A Vision" by W.B. Yeats
For "The Second Coming":
• "The Bible" (particularly the Book of Revelation)
• "The Great Code: The Bible and Literature" by Northrop Frye
For "On Being Asked for a War Poem":
• "The Collected Letters of W.B. Yeats" edited by John Kelly and Ronald Schuchard
• "Yeats and the Easter Rising" by Richard Ellmann
Conclusion
Read together, "On Being Asked for a War Poem" and "The Second Coming" reveal two sides of the same coin: the poet’s complex response to a world in crisis. The first poem offers a tight, ironic refusal to speak, demonstrating the poet’s constrained role in the face of political machinery. The second is an explosive, apocalyptic scream about civilizational collapse, showcasing the poet’s unleashed visionary power when confronting total anarchy. Though written over a century ago, both works demonstrate Yeats's extraordinary ability to capture profound historical anxiety, and their themes of political disillusionment, societal fracture, and the desperate search for meaning in chaos remain powerfully and hauntingly relevant today.
Works Cited
Deane, Seamus. “‘The Second Coming’: Coming Second; Coming in a Second.” Irish University Review, vol. 22, no. 1, 1992, pp. 92–100. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25484467.
Bradford, Curtis B. “Yeats at War: Poetic Strategies and Political Reconstruction.” Modern Philology, vol. 72, no. 3, 1975, pp. 251–264. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3679417.
Woods, Vincent. “On Being Asked to Write a Poem against the War.” The Poetry Ireland Review, no. 76, Spring–Summer 2003, pp. 38–41. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25580165.
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