Today, over two billion Christians comprise the world’s largest religion. Each and every Christian believes in the “Second Coming,” the idea that Jesus Christ will return to judge humanity at the end of the world. By presenting their unique perspectives of the “Second Coming,” both William Yeats and Dannie Abse incorporate Christ-like imagery into their poems, validating their vision of mankind’s demise. Employing barbaric, ritualistic imagery and aggressive diction, Yeats expresses a brutal end to humanity resulting in a ferocious yet optimistic rebirth into a “New Age.” Meanwhile, Dannie Abse utilizes uneasy diction and tense imagery to portray his vision: humanity is a victim to industry and technology. In William Yeats’ “The Second Coming,” Yeats conveys a series of violent events the world faces which leads the world to its destruction and eventually to a dark revival into its “New Age.” Yeats depicts…show more content… However, “surely some revelation is at hand;” Yeats bring an optimistic tone “to the table,” a shift from the previous depiction of “anarchy” and “blood-dimmed tide[s].” Continuing the dark yet optimistic tone, Yeats embraces ritualistic imagery to portray “a rough beast” with “a shape [of a] lion body and head of a man” to illustrate that this “New Age” will bring some hope. Yeats describes the “rough beast” as a sphinx which symbolizes strength and courage according to Ancient Egypt tales. By incorporating sphinx-like imagery, Yeats articulates that resilience and fortitude will overcome “the twenty centuries of stony sleep.” Similarly, Yeats parallels the world’s inevitable destruction
