Question

What structure does the poet employ in the first stanza of "The Second Coming"?

A) He gives examples that point to a problem of lost innocence in modern society.
B) He warns of an effect that results from avoiding traditional customs.
C) He compares and contrasts innocence and violence.
D) He argues that society promotes its problems.

Answer 1

I think it's A) He gives examples that point to a problem of lost innocence in modern society.

Answer 2

Answer: A) He gives examples that point to a problem of lost innocence in modern society.

Step-by-step explanation:

The first stanza of "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats is as follows:

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.

We can see innocence clearly mentioned as something being drowned while chaos takes over the world. This poem is interpreted as a prediction of horrifying acts by mankind, such as World War II and Nazism. According to the speaker, the world has lost its guidance, its center, and is now caving in. Only a Second Coming - biblical reference to the return of Jesus Christ, when everyone will be judged for their sins - will purify this Earth.