The Second Coming? More Like The First Meeting

When Mr. Burke handed out "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats on the first day of school, I was at first completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the poem. Beginning with the first line, I was bombarded with strange words and references (How I made it to my senior year without hearing the word "gyre" befuddles me). Although I had some idea that the poem had to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in what capacity His return had been painted confused me. However, after a couple days in class deciphering the riddle I have attained a much stronger grasp on Yeats' composition. The key to understanding what he was saying was learning a bit about the time period Yeats wrote The Second Coming. Writing in the middle of World War I and a devastating Civil War in Ireland, Yeats saw violence surrounding him and wondered if God had decided to spite the world for its deeds against humanity at the time. Hopefully I can use this similar approach throughout the rest of the school year, as I predict that this is not the last I will see of challenging poetry in AP Literature.