The End Times Scrutinized Against Sigmund Freud

A common theme in literature, regardless of the time period it was written in, is to create works of biblical allegory or to use biblical illusion to make a point either for or against religion. Many stories take on practical subjects, applicable to everyday life, but others choose to address the more fantastic elements. One of these works is, “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats. In this poem Yeats outlines a portion of the Christian belief in the end times prophesy based on the book of Revelation. Yeats, the “Technician’s Technician”, uses the tone of the poem, along with other literary elements, to carefully bring to life the emotion of the events which were prophesied (Orr). Yeats makes use of all three components in the Freudian Psyche, ID, Super Ego and Ego in order to accurately portray the personalities of all the characters present in the story, the antagonist, the protagonist and the secondary characters, namely the current population of the earth which is divided into two segments, Christians and non-Christians.

The narrator’s point of view is a very important element of this poem. It is narrated from the Christian perspective. We know because it says, “Surely the second coming is at hand” (Yeats 124). If the narrator is not a Christian, he would have no reason to believe that the events which have transpired up until this point in the story are leading up to the second coming of Christ. He would first have to believe in the first coming of Christ and then recognize the relation between the events taking place in the world and a study of the end times prophesy in order to make this statement. The point of view really plays an important role in the tone of this poem as well. The tone is fearful, but not desperate because the narrator, as a Christian need not fear for his eternity due to his salvation through Christ and is actually intrigued by the events. Adam Kirsch agrees that, “Yeats is afraid of this second Coming, but also fascinated by it” (Kirsch).This is apparent even when, “anarchy is loosed upon the world”, the narrator is hopeful because, “revelation is at hand” (Yeats 124). He recognizes based on his understanding of the prophesy that the rapture, the second coming of Christ is near and that is when he will be delivered from the world up to heaven to be with the Father.

The antagonist, the main cause of fear is the beast of the earth. The poem says that the beast came out of the “sands of the desert” (Yeats 124). The beast is an illusion to the beast in the bible. “Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth” (New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition, Rev. 13.11). The beast may also be an illusion to a mythological creature of the same nature. It is a beast “with lion body and the head of a man”, a Manticore (Yeats 124). In mythology, a Manticore is a said to be a ruthless man-killer. According to Revelation, this beast will “cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition, Rev. 13.15). The image referred to in this quote is another beast which came out of the sea prior to this one and required worship of himself from the entire world, arguably the Anti-Christ (MacArthur 2018). The poem also has an illusion to the life of Christ when it says, “That twenty centuries of stony sleep were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle” (Yeats 124). This is saying that the beast was released after two thousand years from the “Spiritus Mundo”, the spirit world (Yeats). The irritation of this seclusion from the world has led to his complete lack of pity for mankind. The “rocking cradle” is a metaphor for Christ. According to Jewish traditions, men would not even begin their ministry until they were thirty (Yeats 124). Christ began his ministry at thirty as well and then was crucified three years later. So Christ was perceivably a mere infant in his ministry even at the time of his death. The metaphor of Christ proves further the illusion to the book of Revelation as is by the power of Christ that the beast had been contained, just as was prophesied.

Freud’s ID is exhibited where it says, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity” (Yeats 123). Those with who have a moral standard, struggle with the desire for immoral things. Consciously they are moral, but fall away from their moral convictions. Yeats refers to them as the best, arguably Christians, and then contrasts the best with the worst, non-Christians full of passion and full of all types of vile immorality. The best and worst are not only the morally best and worst, but groupings of the morally best and the morally worst, assuming that between the best and worst there are multiple levels of morality/immorality. Unconsciously, the best are at least partially immoral and the worst are at least partially moral. From a biblical perspective, this is mans unconscious sinful nature contrasted with the conscious decision to do what is right based of their faith in God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition, Rom. 3.23). No one is moral by nature, rather it is something to be acquired and so there is further explanation for the varying level of morality among Christians which was recognized by Yeats.
The superego, the “primitive mental role” (Hinshelwood), is represented by the narrator, the protagonist, who denotes that, “revelation is at hand” and that “the Second Coming is at hand” (Yeats 124). This isn’t a critical calculation rather it is the unconscious reaction to circumstances contrasted with an inbuilt knowledge which would be attained only by a solid biblical foundation and a sound understanding of the end times prophesy.

The ego is represented by the antagonist, the “rough beast” who comes forth from the “Spiritus Mundi”, the spirit world (Yeats 124). The second half of the poem describes the beast and his intentional actions. It says that he moves slowly through the desert and he “slouches toward Bethlehem” (Yeats 124). A thorough understanding of the book of Revelation shows that the beast is there to revive the first beast and force the people into submission, all because of the authority which was given him, not the directive. “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.” (New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition, Rev. 13.12). His behavior is clearly intentional, premeditated and inexorable.

The poem, “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats certainly addresses accurately the subject of biblical illusion attempted by so many authors and he accomplished this from a Christian perspective. Yeats chose to address the fantastic elements of the return of Christ using many different literary elements as well as the three components of the Freudian Psyche portraying accurate accounts of the personalities represented in the portion of the end times prophesy.

Works Cited

Hinshelwood, R D. “Group Therapy as Psychic Containing. ” International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 58.3 (2008): 283-302. ProQuest Psychology Journals. ProQuest. 5 Aug. 2008

Kirsch, Adam. “To Hold in a Single Thought Reality and Justice. ” The Virginia Quarterly Review 83.3 (2007): 165-XIII. Humanities Module. ProQuest. 5 Aug. 2008

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas Nelson Inc. 2008.

New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition. Thomas Nelson Inc., 1995

Orr, David. “Vendler’s Yeats. ” New York Times Book Review 11 May 2008: BR.33. ProQuest National Newspapers Core. ProQuest. 5 Aug. 2008

Yeats, William Butler. “The Second Coming”. The Mercury Reader. Ed. Natalie Danner. Time, Inc. 123-1234