William Butler Yeats, a multi-talented individual, won the Nobel Prize in 1923. Born the son of a well-known Irish painter and religious skeptic, he had many influences in his life. Eventually, he converted to paganism from Christianity. He is to this day considered one of the greatest poets who ever lived. To understand the meaning of William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming," you must first understand the difference between Christianity and paganism. Yeats was raised as a Christian and turned to pagan mysticism later in his life. We can therefore find the subject of this poem by following his flow of thought through Christianity to the point at which he diverged from it. Christianity is based on the soul. The soul becomes healthy by moving away from the sin it inherits in the world. A healthy or virtuous soul is close to God through contact with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be considered the spirit of God on earth. Jesus Christ is thought to be the embodiment of the Holy Spirit, therefore the embodiment of virtue. In contrast, pagans worship the earth spirit as a god, believing it to be the ultimate force, which is neither good nor bad. The religion states that the most basic human tendencies that Christians would call sinful would be glorified as reflections of nature. These would include the pursuit of pleasure, luxury, or sexual gratification. Many modern pagans, especially those associated with Yeats, do not dispute Christianity's ideas about God but do not worship him. Early leaders of this movement, such as Alister Crowley, with whom Yeats was associated, considered themselves Satanists in this right as Christians equate the spirit of the world with the devil. Yeats was certainly a Christian at some point in his life and makes allusions to the Christian faith in “The Second Coming”, which would indicate that he gives it some credence, so we can assume that he adopted the Satanist point of view. the world turned to paganism, so did Yeats. The poem, although on the one hand a sincere description of the change that is taking place in humanity, is also a sincere illustration of its transition to paganism. The opening eight lines illustrate the conflict Yeats had seen throughout his life from a Christian perspective. visualization. They describe man turning away from God in a desperate tone, obviously not written by a pagan. At his cries... in the center of the card...... Alliteration “certainly some”, “sleep of stone”. The onomatopoeia is also on display “irritated”, “slouches”. The piece also includes some simile "empty and merciless as the sun" and the metaphor "sleep of stone". The tone is set at the beginning of the poem. It opens with a neutral tone; the unrealistic image makes the aperture disengaged. The impact of the first two lines is not given by the tone, but by their peculiarity and their images. The sense of devastation that pervades the poem is introduced in the second part, it is explicitly stated that "things fall apart", and this is further emphasized by the words "anarchy", "tide clouded by blood", "passionate intensity". However, the poem itself, which thus far deals with abstractions, lacks this passionate intensity. His tone could be described as anxious. In conclusion, "The Second Coming" is about William Butler Yeats's belief in paganism. He vividly describes this religion and compares it to Christianity in his poetry. This message, although hidden, can be discovered through careful analysis and patient reading. This poem is Yeats's way of telling people that the world will begin to turn to paganism and as he has already done by the time of writing this great work.