STRUCTURES OF POWER AND AUTHORITY IN W.B. YEATS' 'THE SECOND COMING' IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES

Abstract

"The Second Coming" a classic Irish poem written by William Butler Yeats, and published in 1920, it portrays disorder, disaster, Christianity, prophecy, and violence. In a biblical sense, it represents the destruction of man as well as of civilization, the coming of Christ as well as the emergence of the Anti-Christ. They symbolize human annihilation throughout civilization and the beast signifying Anti-Christ when Christ appears again. Regarding these modern social changes, this paper will concentrate on its imagery and symbolization of power and authority. It discovers the meanings of concepts with special reference to the disillusionment period after the First World War, it portrays the shattered relations in present times. Power and authority are two primary social issues in Yeats’ work analyzed in this research with the reference to “The Second Coming.” For it offers information on literature and its role within the contemporary society, hierarchy, and the concepts’ volatility. In analyzing power relations , this paper will apply   Structuralism where the poem’s power dynamics post-WWI can be linked to current social/political relations Therefore, modern power and authority remain products of conflict and contradiction, and therefore they require flexibility, capacity inclusion, and critique. Thus, the relational concept of authority advances the principles of participatory government, voice, and innovation at the margin and promotes peace, coexistence, and equitable solution to global challenges.