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Similarities Between Second Coming And 1914

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W.B Yeats wrote “Second Coming” which had reflected the effects of world war one and another war poet known as Welfred Owen wrote the poem ‘1914” which also discussed about the world war one which broke out in 1914. These poems had evoked the theme of fall of civilization and chaos in the world specially the European countries who were involved in the war. Both the Irish poets blamed the greed and irrational acts of the people whose immoral deeds had ensued in the inception of great destruction in the world. In the ‘Second coming’ Yeats had employed images of falcon and falconer to symbolize the fall of civilization which had leaded to a catastrophic war. And Owen had employed the symbolism of the season such as the “spring” and “winter” to show the conditions of the world due to the war. The major similarity between the Second coming and “1914” could be the poets view over the First World War and their hopes of seeing the world rejuvenating into peaceful and blissful one. …show more content…

During the war over 59 million troops were mobilized, 8 million died and 29 million were injured. (wilde, 2014). Both the poems had exhibited the effects of the destructive war.” War broke: and now the Winter of the world With perishing great darkness closes in”(1914). Here Owen was trying to convince that the war was like a winter which was cold and harsh affecting the world by making it dark. Dark here means destructive and terrifying which will deprive the happiness and prosperity of the world. ”The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere. The ceremony of innocence is drowned;” (Yeats. 1919). This statement also has a similar point of view as the in Owen’s “1914” the consequences of war was likely to be devastating as it snatched the peace and happiness from the people. Yeats had associated the war with bloodshed and downfall of

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