This Blog-post is a response of thinking activity on 'W.B.Yeats's poems' given by our professor Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. To know more about this task, CLICK HERE.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was Pre-eminent Irish author of twentieth century literature. In December 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature(click this highlighted words), "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation"
- Pandemic Reading of 'The Second Coming':
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?
'The Second Coming' was published after first world war in 1920. The poem connected with War as well the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic. His wife Georgie Hyde-Lees was affected by virus and very closed to death. During her recovery from the influenza, he wrote this poem.
- Biographical Event:
The point to be proved that, is the particular poem or any work connected with pandemic or diseases and we should look upon the biographical event or the history of writer that, is there is any personal event which related to the work or is the particular work create by writer's own imagination or not.In Yeats's life, his wife Georgie Hyde-Lees was affected by virus and very closed to death. During her recovery from the influenza in 1918-19. That time many pregnant women were died during pandemic. Among 1,350 reported cases of influenza among pregnant women during the pandemic of 1918, the proportion of deaths was reported to be 27% (NCBI).
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.
Now, as our professor taught us that after find particular point, try to find lines which relatable with pandemic or disease. In this stanza, words like falcon, blood-dimmed tide is loosed perhaps described the large number of death caused by nature, like Covid-19.The ceremony of innocence also shows the death ceremony or we can say the ceremony of pandemic era. Lack conviction which might present the blind-faith of people during pandemic while the situation goes on out of control and the number of dying people increased cause of flu or pandemic.As Elizabeth Outka said in the interview,
"When you read it through the lens of the pandemic, this other poem begins to emerge. You could see the way such a poem could resonate with people who’ve experienced this pandemic. This atmosphere—things are falling apart; the center cannot hold—an atmosphere of “mere anarchy, loosed upon the world."(Click this paragraph to read full interview)
- Reread the poem 'War' poem by replacing the word 'war; with 'pandemic. Does it make any sense?
On Being Asked for a War 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.
This is another shortest but well-known poem by Yeats.However it written in 1915 just after one year of first world war which was a response of requesting to write a poem which composed on politics, by American novelists, Henry James and Edith Wharton (Clicked their names and visit Wikipedia page to know more) The whole poem is about politics, but if we can read as a pandemic, perhaps it will be little difficult.
- Pandemic reading:
The poem's title like this,'On Being Asked for a Pandemic Poem.' The poet might be write in the context of war poetry, but that was the time of great influenza which terribly affects on society as per as war. First two lines seems not perfect for pandemic reading because, perhaps poet or speaker says that he thinks, this time is better to silent, but in pandemic situation, one can be not silent. There is possibility about politically statements, on that time as a individual people, we might be aware about the situation, not have the silence on our mouth.
In last three lines, there is something possibility to read as pandemic, because as poet mentioned about youth has laziness toward protect themselves. And senior citizens has not strength to protect themselves against the virus or pandemic situation. At the conclude point, I can't found whole poem as a pandemic poem.
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