Hello. Thank you so much for reading PS and I hope you've been enjoying the story! It's a bit slow for now but it should pick up soon! As usual, the poem has been typed in bold for an easy read. Also, one quick update: The sessions that are conducted by Romi are *actually* going to happen! For real! I will be at the helm of these gatherings which will be starting from Sunday, 15th March @ Trilogy Bookstore and Library, Lower Parel. You can register at http://www.teltrilogy.com/the-poetry-project/ or find the link on Poetic Sensibility's Facebook page. Thank you and happy reading!
Kiara tried relaxing back in her chair as she glanced at the sheet in her hands. They were reading 'The Second Coming' by W. B. Yeats. She was familiar with Yeats' other works but not this one. It should have been interesting but now that she had declared herself a modernist, she couldn't help but feel everyone's eye on her. She felt like curling up and never speaking to anyone again. How could she have been so stupid?! However, she just about managed to distract herself from all the self-destruction when Romi began reading.
"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."
Kiara was hardly surprised when Romi looked at her for paraphrasing these 4 lines. She had already guessed that 'gyre' was some kind of circle. Circular motifs were Yeats' signature move and he had used the word 'turning'. The falcon. Hmmm. Bird of prey. And it had been tamed by the falconer. However, it could no longer hear it's master. This was too easy, she thought.
"The falcon is flying above and away. It can no longer hear the falconer. As a tamed bird of prey, when no commands are issued, the bird will regress and go back to being wild. One can't help but compare it with humans. We humans are like a herd who should be issued orders and commands or we will be thrown into complete chaos. The centre, which is probably the government, is no longer intact. There is a huge vacuum in power so the public is confused," Kiara finished.
She had purposely not used the word 'anarchy'. In fact, she didn't like the word. It was so... blase. The word was always taken lightly and often mistaken for 'confusion' or 'lack of leadership'; both of which are wrong. An anarchist can be a leader. Anyone who promotes lawlessness is an anarchist. But then wasn't the poet an anarchist of poetry? The modernists had rejected religion or the traditions set by the poets of the previous generations. The modernists indeed were anarchist. So was she an anarchist too? Ha! Who was she kidding. An anarchist can never be as self-conscious and shy as she was. There wasn't even the teeniest bit of defiance in her.
"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."
Romi turned to look at Samay who replied, "So there is a lot of... disturbing imagery here. Blood dimmed tide implies a sea of bodies and-"
At this, Sarah rolled her eyes and said, "Oh Sam. Always such a poet."
Samay stuck out his tongue and continued, "Innocence is lost. So basically, there is no sense of virtue as far as mankind is concerned. There is heavy war metaphor business going on here. The people with best intentions all lack conviction. There is nothing to motivate or encourage them. On the other hand, those with the worst intentions are awfully passionate about their cause."
Romi then had something to add, "Look at the words "tide" and "drowned". It gives a very... Noah's ark atmosphere to the poem. Noah, however, was following the orders of God. It makes one wonder as to whose orders were being followed in this case." She then continued reading.
"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"
Romi then looked at Rishi. Kiara almost felt sorry for him. It was always him who ended up with the toughest lines for paraphrasing. However, he did make a brave attempt. And that was more than what she could ever be able to bring herself to do.
"I suppose it is referring to the orders issued that Romi just mentioned. Some kind of... revelation is going to be made soon. I don't know what 'the second coming' means but there is a vision. The vision is that of this 'Spiritus Mundi' which, again, I don't know the meaning of but it is definitely something disturbing.."
Romi smiled at him and explained, "'Spiritus Mundi' literally means the 'Spirit of the World'. The Second Coming is referred to in the Bible. Understand that Yeats was writing at the time of great political unrest therefore everyone turned to religion to find some kind of solace. In the Bible, 'the second coming' refers to the rebirth of Christ."
Surely it couldn't be that simple. God wouldn't just come at the 11th hour and save everyone. Kiara refused to believe that. Thankfully, it was Sarah who questioned it.
"So is Christ going to solve everything?"
Romi gave an enigmatic smile and said, "Let's find out...
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."
This time it was Sarah's turn. "So clearly he is talking about the Sphinx. I know a little bit about it. It's an archetypal symbol of a mythical beast that inspired the Egyptians, which, in turn, is probably inspiring Yeats. The shadows of the desert birds probably refer to the birds of prey circling up in the sky. This tends to happen when there is a corpse on the ground. In this case, there are corpses everywhere. By now I think it's pretty clear that this poem was written at the time of the World War."
"Yes," Romi began, "But see the words "gaze blank and pitiless". It means this mythical beast lacked empathy. It wasn't concerned with violence or hate crimes but nor was it particularly mean spirited. Let's continue...
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?"
She finally turned to Kabir. Kabir took a moment to read and then re-read these lines before he finally spoke. "Okay, so the vision of the spirit has gone and the child that is in this cradle has suddenly started having nightmares after being asleep for 20 centuries, which is roughly the time since the birth or 'the first coming' of Christ. This idea is probably reinforced with the Bethlehem reference?"
Romi nodded and said, "You're right. But your explanation is complete. The child in this case is the world. The nightmares faced by the world are the horrors of war. The vision is like some sort of foreboding. There are many evils to come. One can't help but wonder..."
When she paused for dramatic effect like that, Kiara's thoughts automatically drifted to Keshav. He did that too.
"...that the second coming is going to spread more evil than good. Does that answer your question, Sarah? God won't simply clean all the mess up."
At this point, Kiara couldn't help herself, "As well He shouldn't. We should clean our own mess."
Almost everyone except Rishi looked taken aback by this sudden statement. Rishi, on the other hand, looked at her and replied, "And what good will cleaning that mess achieve?"
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Poetic Sensibility
General FictionA round table. 5 poets. 1 teacher. May the muses be ever in your favour. Samay hates any kind of disruption in his life. He hates being curious about things because then he loses all common sense and has to sate his curiosity. But he can't stop hi...
