The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats
Greetings Lazy Scholars,
The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats is trotted out every time we go through hard times. However, it seems especially appropriate here in the USA in November of 2020. Yeats wrote this poem in 1919 during the last great pandemic of Spanish Flu and immediately following the tragic events of WWI. It is a pessimistic view of human nature and the fragile state of things in human existence whether it's 1919 or 2020. Will our "Centre" hold at this point in American history or will "Things fall apart"? I hope you enjoy my recitation of this famous poem. Thank you Mr. Yeats for this thought provoking gristle to chew on during this turbulent time in America.
-Milo
W.B. Yeats Wiki Bio:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Y...
The Second Coming:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...
The following images are provided courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago:
-George Inness/The Home of the Heron/1893, Jean Charles Cazin/Landscape/1895, Harald Sohlberg/Fisherman’s Cottage/1906, Adolphe Schreyer/Man with Lance Riding through the Snow/1880, George Inness/A Marine/1874, Joseph Mallord William Turner/Valley of Aosta: Snowstorm, Avalanche, and Thunderstorm/1836, Vincent van Gogh/Tetards (Pollards)/1884, Jasper Francis Cropsey/Blasted Tree/1850, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes /Winter Scene/1786, Winslow Homer/Coast of Maine/1893,Georges Michel/The Storm/1814, Charles François Daubigny /Crows in a Tree/1867, Odilon Redon/Sphinx/1883, Max Klinger/Castle by the Sea/1887, Johann Wilhelm Baur /Apocalyptic Vision with Sea Gods/n.d., Samuel William Reynolds the elder/The Falconer/1797, Odilon Redon/On the Backdrop of Our Nights God with His Knowing Finger Traces a Multiform Implacable Nightmare, plate 6 of 9/1890, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes/Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, plate 43 from Los Caprichos/1797
Yeats Photo:
DN-0071801, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum
Music: No. 8 Requiem by Esther Abrami licensed through YouTube Studio.
*NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED*