Chapter 3 – The Second Coming Solutions & Q&A

Content Structure

1. About the author – William Butler Yeats
2. Summary of The Second Coming
3. Word meanings
4. Exercises solutions
5. Additional Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs)

1. About the author – William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was a famous Irish poet and writer, born on June 13, 1865. He loved nature, old Irish stories, and dreams, which often inspired his poems. He had a deep love for his family and a strong desire to see his country free. His poetry is known for its deep meaning, beauty, and powerful language. In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Yeats passed away on January 28, 1939, but he is still remembered as one of the greatest poets in the world, and his work continues to live in the hearts of people everywhere.

2. Summary of The Second Coming

In the poem, the poet describes a world covered in darkness, where everything feels messy and out of control. Many people seem confused and engage in harmful actions, while good and kind individuals remain silent and quietly continue their work. However, the bad people do not stop; they shout angrily and overpower the good, making the world feel even more unsafe and unbalanced. In the same time, the poet imagines a frightening dream of a strange creature in the desert, with the body of a lion and the head of a human, and eyes that are cold and full of anger. This powerful image helps us understand the deeper reason behind the world’s darkness and confusion. The poet then realizes that peaceful times began 2,000 years ago with the birth of Jesus, but now those days are coming to an end. He ends the poem with the idea that this strange creature is about to be born, and its arrival will bring fear and a great change to the world.

WB 11 all notes

3. Word meanings

Word	Meaning
Widening gyre	A big circle that keeps growing, showing things are out of control
Falcon	Hunting bird
Anarchy	A time when there are no rules, and everything is in confusion
Drowned	Lost in water
Conviction	Strong belief
Passionate intensity	Very strong and deep emotions
Revelation	A surprising truth that is suddenly shown or understood
Gaze blank	A look that shows no feeling or emotion
Pitiless	Cruel
Indignant	Feeling angry because something is unfair
Stony sleep	A long, deep sleep like stone
Vexed	Troubled or upset
Rocking cradle	Moving baby bed
Slouches	Walks slowly
Bethlehem	Birthplace of Jesus

WB 11 all notes

4. Exercises solutions

Choose the correct answer from the alternatives given :

1. What is the symbol of the ” rough beast” as mentioned in the poem?
a) A monster
b) A saviour
c) A revolution
d) An apocalypse

Ans: d) An apocalypse

2. “Things fall apart”… This suggests
a) All things are centralized
b) Everything is defused
c) All things are bound together
d) All things are shattered on the ground

Ans: d) All things are shattered on the ground

5. Additional Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs)

1. “Sands of the desert” shows:
(a) Barrenness of civilisation
(b) Beauty of desert
(c) Birth of Jesus Christ
(d) Arrival of spirtus Mundi

Ans: (a) Barrenness of civilisation

2. How are “the best” described?
(a) Strong and brave
(b) Happy and honesty
(c) Lacking belief or confidence
(d) Frightening and cruel

Ans: (c) Lacking belief or confidence

3. Which creatures show chaos?
(a) Lion and eagle
(b) Falcon and falconer
(c) Sphinx and lion
(d) Eagle and parrot

Ans: (b) Falcon and falconer

4. The “rough beast” is:
(a) Lion
(b) The sphinx
(c) The narrator
(d) The Anti-christ

Ans: (d) The Anti-christ

5. What moves slowly in the desert?
(a) The birds
(b) The honest people
(c) The strange beast
(d) The camel

Ans: (c) The strange beast

6. What returns at the end of the vision?
(a) Darkness
(b) Hope
(c) Joyful
(d) Cry

Ans: (a) Darkness

7. What does the “rocking cradle” symbolize?
(a) A young child
(b) The birth of a new age
(c) A hope dream
(d) The end of human life

Ans: (b) The birth of a new age

8. ‘Falconer’ means-
(a) Lawlessness
(b) Authority
(c) Order
(d) Violence

Ans: (b) Authority

9. How are the beast’s eyes described?
(a) Bright and dishonest
(b) Sleepy
(c) Cold and empty like the sun
(d) Full of dream

Ans: (c) Cold and empty like the sun

10. Why is the beast’s “gaze” called pitiless?
(a) It looks tired
(b) It shows no feeling or mercy
(c) It cries for help
(d) It’s looking for someone

Ans: (b) It shows no feeling or mercy

11. What do the “reeling birds” reflect?
(a) Peace in nature
(b) A hunting scene
(c) Chaos and fear
(d) A joyful freedom

Ans: (c) Chaos and fear

12. What disturbed this “stony sleep”?
(a) A peaceful song
(b) The cry of a newborn child
(c) A rocking cradle
(d) A lion’s roar

Ans: (c) A rocking cradle

13. “The falcon cannot hear the falconer” – what does this symbolize?
(a) Honesty
(b) kindness
(c) Confused
(d) Careful

Ans: (c) Confused

14. What happens when we hear “the Second Coming”?
(a) A vast image out of Spiritus Mundi troubles his sight
(b) The falcon cannot see the falconer
(c) The blood-dimmed tide is loosed
(d) Things fall apart

Ans: (c) The blood-dimmed tide is loosed

15. ‘When does “The Second Coming” talk about?
(a) During Second World War
(b) During First World War
(c) After Second World War
(d) After First World War

Ans: (b) During First World War

16. Who is weak in belief?
(a) The Christ
(b) The worst
(c) The beast
(d) The best

Ans: (d) The best

17. Where is the beast going?
(a) Bethlehem
(b) Sands of desert
(c) Moving shadows
(d) Spiritus Mundi

Ans: (a) Bethlehem

18. What can’t the falcon hear?
(a) The falconer
(b) The sphinx
(c) The gyre
(d) Spiritus Mundi

Ans: (a) The falconer

19. Where was the poem first published?
(a) The Dial
(b) The Modern poetry
(c) Modern Poetry collection
(d) Songs and sonnets

Ans: (a) The Dial

20. Which ceremony is drowned?
(a) Ceremony of joy
(b) Ceremony of blood
(c) Ceremony of innocence
(d) Ceremony of faith

Ans: (c) Ceremony of innocence

21. What does “gyre” mean?
(a) Progress of time
(b) Christianity
(c) Fate
(d) Movement of earth

Ans: (a) Progress of time

22. When was the poem written?
(a) World War I
(b) World War II
(c) Cold War of Europe
(d) Franco Prussian War

Ans: (a) World War I

23. What do the best people have?
(a) Courage
(b) Passionate intensity
(c) Conviction
(d) Ceremony of innocence

Ans: (c) Conviction

24. Who is Jesus Christ in Christianity?
(a) Son of God
(b) An influential force
(c) God
(d) Undefined power

Ans: (a) Son of God

25. Twenty centuries of sleep is called –
(a) Spiritus Mundi
(b) Nightmare
(c) Rocking Cradle
(d) Stony

Ans: (b) Nightmare

26. “…While all about it/Reel shadows…” – What are the shadows of?
(a) Sphinx
(b) Desert birds
(c) Lions
(d) Phantoms

Ans: (a) Sphinx

27. The head of the big image is a:
(a) Dragon
(b) Lion
(c) Man
(d) Tiger

Ans: (c) Man

28. How is the beast described?
(a) Rough
(b) Stony
(c) Vexed
(d) None of these

Ans: (a) Rough

29. Where is the huge image seen?
(a) Green forest
(b) Sands of desert
(c) Firmament
(d) Deep blue sea

Ans: (c) Firmament

30. The falconer is a symbol of:
(a) Biological teaching
(b) Anti-christ thought
(c) Common human being
(d) Teaching of Bible

Ans: (c) Common human being

31. In ‘rocking cadle’ the cadle is rocking due to –
(a) Without any reason
(b) Windfall
(c) Political upheaval
(d) Stormy weather

Ans: (c) Political upheaval

32. How does the creature move?
(a) Majestic
(b) Fast
(c) Superfast
(d) Slow

Ans: (a) Majestic

33. How long has the world been in stony sleep?
(a) Two thousand years
(b) Two hundred years
(c) Time infinite
(d) Twnenty two years

Ans: (a) Two thousand years

34. The beast looks:
(a) Timid and kind
(b) Kind and blank
(c) Merciless and blank
(d) Blank and fearful

Ans: (c) Merciless and blank

35. How does the vast image of Spiritus Mundi feel to the poet?
(a) Soothing
(b) Benevolent
(c) tiresome
(d) Troubling

Ans: (d) Troubling

36. The desert bird is a:
(a) Vulture
(b) Seagull
(c) Falcon
(d) Eagle

Ans: (a) Vulture

37. A lion body with human head is like a:
(a) Varaha
(b) Narasimha
(c) Anubis
(d) Sphinx

Ans: (d) Sphinx

38. The beast’s eyes are like:
(a) Lion
(b) Falcon
(c) Moon
(d) Sun

Ans: (c) Moon

39. Where is the second coming of Jesus mentioned?
(a) The book of Salvation
(b) The book of nature
(c) The book of revelation
(d) The Gospel Stories

Ans: (c) The book of revelation

40. “Widening gyre” means:
(a) A spiral
(b) A wide place
(c) A big circle
(d) A certain place which is getting wider day by day

Ans: (a) A spiral

41. The image of Spiritus Mundi is:
(a) Absurd
(b) Very big
9c) Tiny
(d) Broken

Ans: (a) Absurd

42. The falcon is a symbol of:
(a) Authority
(b) Lawfulness
(c) Anarchy
(d) Order of control

Ans: (c) Anarchy

43. People who lack belief are:
(a) Bad
(b) Old
(c) Interested
(d) Good

Ans: (a) Bad

44. The ‘Second coming’ reminds us the birth of –
(a) The Siva
(b) Avatars
(c) The Goddess kali
(d) The Jesus Christ

Ans: (d) The Jesus Christ

45. The gyre is moving:
(a) Not expanding at all
(b) Inward direction
(c) Getting contracted day by day
(d) Outward direction

Ans: (d) Outward direction