The Second Coming : Characters

Characters

Characters 

• The Speaker (Poetic Persona): He is the voice of the poem. He observes the world falling apart. He feels scared and confused. He talks about change, violence, and something terrible that is coming.
• The Rough Beast: This is a strange creature in the poem. It has a lion’s body and a man’s head. It moves slowly towards Bethlehem. It may represent a new, dangerous age or a dark force. “What rough beast… slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

• The Falcon: The falcon is a bird in the poem. It flies in wider and wider circles and cannot hear the falconer. This shows that the world is out of control. “The falcon cannot hear the falconer…”
• The Falconer: He is the one who controls the falcon. But in the poem, the falconer has lost control. He may stand for lost order, lost faith, or lost guidance.
• The Best and the Worst People: These are two groups mentioned in the poem. The best people have lost their strong beliefs. The worst people are full of anger and madness. This shows a world with no balance.
• The Sphinx (Hidden Symbol): The rough beast is like a sphinx, a creature from Egyptian myth. It stands for mystery, danger, and the unknown future.
• Jesus Christ (Implied): The poem talks about “The Second Coming.” In Christian belief, this means the return of Christ. But in the poem, instead of Christ, something dark is coming. So Christ is not directly present, but the poem compares the real Christ with a frightening new arrival.