How does Yeats use his theory of the “gyre” to expostulate his ideas on history and why?
William Butler Yeats spent years creating his theory of the universe which he described in his book titled A Vision. The theory of history that Yeats conveyed in his book focuses on the a diagram made of two conical spirals that he called gyres, one inside the other, so that the widest part of one of the spirals rings around the narrowest part of the other spiral, and vice versa. Yeats believed that these gyres portrayed the motions natural within the historical process, and he divided each gyre into identifiable regions that represented specific historical periods. This theory developed from his lifetime interest in the occult and mystical. This theory is not of any permanent significance except for how it affected his poetry, which is of great importance.
Yeats uses this theory in his poem titled “The Second Coming”. In this poem Yeats intends to describe the current historical moment in......
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