the second coming by Yeats

[ghoti]

do you know what are the paradoxes in the poem Second Coming ?

[ghoti]

why you do not reply!!!

iam waiting :)

[stlukesguild]

I might guess that no one has replied for the very simple reason that every thread you've started has been asking for help in doing your homework. There are a good many here that can certainly help you... but they are not likely to look kindly on the idea of doing your homework for you. If you are serious about getting help you would probably do far better by showing that you have read the assigned work (in this case, the poem in question is not that long), posting some of your own thoughts about the work in general and some of your ideas with regard to the question. If others see you are serious about learning for yourself and willing to put forth some labor and not simply turning to a literature site to do your work for you, then you might get some suggestions and pointers in the right direction. Until then... :wave:

[Varenne Rodin]

I might guess that no one has replied for the very simple reason that every thread you've started has been asking for help in doing your homework. There are a good many here that can certainly help you... but they are not likely to look kindly on the idea of doing your homework for you. If you are serious about getting help you would probably do far better by showing that you have read the assigned work (in this case, the poem in question is not that long), posting some of your own thoughts about the work in general and some of your ideas with regard to the question. If others see you are serious about learning for yourself and willing to put forth some labor and not simply turning to a literature site to do your work for you, then you might get some suggestions and pointers in the right direction. Until then... :wave:

Burn! Hahaha.

[Silas Thorne]

It's really rather harsh to say that, Ms Rodin. But ghoti, stop posting on the internet and read it. Really. :) It's a great poem.

[Varenne Rodin]

You're right, Mr. Thorne. I am awash in shame! Ghoti, I humbly beg your forgiveness. I truly wish you all of the best that life can offer.

;)

[ghoti]

you are mistaken. i did read and i did my homework and i has a midterm exam on it :)

and this is my essay on the paradox in second coming :

Oppositions in the “Second Coming”
In the poem, Yeats focuses on the paradoxical elements and on oppositions. The poem starts with the present situation and ends with the past of the place where the Christ is born. From the very beginning of the poem, he mentions the gyre which is symbol that has two opposites; the beginning of Christianity and the present time that is the rise of civilization. In present time there is an increase in the materialistic side and decrease of the spiritual values; so the gyre has a narrow movement where the spirituality falls down, and the materialism grows wider to the upper of the gyre. He speaks about the world at the beginning that is universal, but at the end he reaches the Bethlehem one place in the universe. The anarchy and blood-dimmed are opposed to innocence that is drowned. Also, he mentions the sphinx that has lion boy with human mind to represent the power, but this power is blank and “gaze”. So, there is a paradox, although there is a power, it is useless. The darkness and the pitiless of the desert are apposed to the sun because sun is direct source of life. Moreover, he said at the beginning that he is sure of the Second Coming, but at the end of the poem, he raises a question that contradicts of what he said earlier.



then my instructor said that what i wrote is oppositions Not paradox
and i am here to know what's the paradox in this poem because i get confused

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

This is my favorite poem and I've written several papers on it, but I've never really looked (or found) any paradoxes. Those you point out seem to be interesting, though my interpretation of the poem is different.

To me, the falcon represents humanity's grasp on, well, everything, really, and humanity is slowly losing that grasp, or its control (i.e., the falcon cannot hear the falconer). The spiral further represents the lack of this control, as it widens out, we lose it more and more. The spiral also represents the cyclical nature of things, which is a main theme of the poem (the current religious cycle is over, and a new one is beginning).