Fragmentation and Despair in 'The Second Coming' by W.B. Yeats and 'In a Station of the Metro' by Ezra Pound

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Fragmentation and Despair in ‘The Second Coming’ by W.B. Yeats and ‘In a Station of the Metro’ by Ezra Pound

The poems ‘The Second Coming’ by William Butler Yeats and ‘In a Station of the Metro’ by Ezra Pound have a strong sense of fragmentation and despair in them. Fragmentation is one of the major features of modern poetry. Modern poets use fragmented images in their poems to give us the sense of fragmentation. Despair is another common feature of modern poetry. This essay will be focusing on how both the poems portray the qualities of fragmentation and despair, why W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound have used fragmentation and despair in these poems, and I also will discuss my thoughts regarding my choice of these two particular poems amongst the poems I have read so far this semester.

In the first stanza of the poem ‘The Second Coming’ Yeats has used fragmented images such as ‘the widening gyre’, ‘the falcon’, ‘the falconer’, ‘things fall apart’, ‘the center cannot hold’, anarchy is loosed upon the world, etc. These fragmented images suggest that nothing is good happening in the world. Also, this poem was written in 1919 towards the end of the First World War. Through these fragmented images, Yeats has portrayed the harsh truth about the fragmentation of the modern world after the First World War. Throughout the whole poem, there is a tone of despair. In the first two lines of the second stanza, Yeats hopes that surely some sort of religious intervention is going to happen. His hopes end very soon when an image comes out from ‘Spiritus Mundi’, telling him that before the coming of Jesus Christ there will be Antichrist. In this poem, Yeats has referred to Antichrist as the rough beast. Yeats suspects that he will make the fragmentation present in the world even worse. This is how this poem ends with a despairing note with no hope.

Fragmentation and despair are also present in the poem ‘In a Station of the Metro’ by Ezra Pound. This poem has only two lines. In this two-line poem, Pound has used fragmented images such as ‘faces in the crowd’, ‘petals’, and ‘wet black bough’. Instead of using people, Pound has termed people as ‘faces’. This gives a sense of fragmentation. Because in a crowded place like a station, the first thing we notice is faces. And these faces have been compared to petals. The fragmented image ‘wet black bough’ could be referring to the metro station, and the ‘faces’ of the people are like disconnected wet ‘petals’. Perhaps the ‘ =petals’ are from the same tree, which includes that the ‘faces’ of the station are all human. This is how Pound has shown us fragmentation with these fragmented images. There is also a sense of despair. The people in the station arent connected with each other. The expressions on peoples faces are blank. They aren’t present at the moment. They are just thinking about their destination. There is no familiarity or sympathy towards each other. This is how this poem gives us a general feeling of despair.

W.B. Yeats has used fragmentation and despair in the poem ‘The Second Coming’ to show us that humanity’s supposed image of progression and morality is an allusion. Humans are the ones sowing the seeds of their own destruction. He also shows us that humans are losing control over themselves. In the second line of the first stanza, he says: The falcon cannot hear the falconer. It indicates that human beings are losing control over the nature that is around them. Ezra Pound has used fragmentation and despair in the poem ‘In a Station of the Metro’ to show us the disconnection among people. He also shows us that the disconnection among people has created isolation in our modern life.

According to me, ‘The Second Coming’ by W.B. Yeats and ‘In a Station of the Metro’ by Ezra Pound vividly have the qualities of fragmentation and despair amongst the poems. I think both the poems have a tone of despair in them, and also both the poems contain different fragmented images. From these modern elements, I have got the idea of fragmentation and despair in these poems.

In conclusion, I can say that in the poem ‘The Second Coming’ W.B. Yeats has shown us why he is hopeless about the future. The roots behind his despair are easily visible to us through the fragmented images and the fragmentation of the modern world. In the two line poem ‘In a Station of the Metro’ Ezra Pound has shown us the disconnection among people in the modern world through the fragmentation and despair.

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