The Second Coming

William B Yeats "The Second Coming" ties in one of the world's oldest and longest topic wihtin the world of Christ and religion.  Everyone has heard of the story when the world will change completely and Christ wil return to finally bring peace to his world and those who trust and believe in him. "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold"  As the return of Christ aproaches it is said that the enitre world will be in destruciton and that is exactly what Yeats is describing in this poem.  He describes a nation that is at a loss full of negativity and signs that foreshadows a change that will leave everyone with a differnet view of the world and their beliefs
"Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the second Coming is at hand."  Yeats also paints a picture of a creature, " A shape with lion body and the head of man." The picture he's painting is that of the final battle between God and Satan that has been told from religious leader to religous leader.  This final battle will not only mark the final change of the people but also the victory of either good or evil but the question of how, when, and whom shall this leader be.  That ansewer comes in the last four lines
 That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
nd what rough beast. its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born

"The Second Coming" is here.