eats' style is quite prayerful- his voice at first resembles an aged person who is seeking comfort as he reaches his final days on Earth. At the end of the poem, Yeats' voice has become one of assurance and anticipation. This change in voice is quite effective in developing the idea that living is a circular event, and death is certainly not a final destination. Furthermore, this belief is consistent with the Celtic conviction that death must come before birth in the circle of life because there must be room for new growth before it can occur. The meter and rhyme scheme of Yeats' poem are similarly structured to coincide with the belief that life is an unending cycle. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, in pairs of rhyming couplets, and the first rhyming couplet rhymes with the final couplet as well. In returning to the original rhyme, Yeats' reinforces the belief that life will continue in a non-terminal circle. The theme of Yeats' poem deals with the anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ, a very Christian viewpoint. However, in his writing Yeats incorporates an important part of his heritage: the Druids, an ancient order of priests that played a pivotal part in the growth of Christianity in Ireland. "In Druid vapour and make the torches dim; / Till vain frenzy awoke and he died; and him / Who met Fand walking among flaming dew / By a grey shore where the wind never blew." Yeats' language in this passage is especially important because it suggests some kind of religious ceremony. ("vapour," "flaming dew," "frenzy," "grey shore") The Druids observed a series of Holy days, or "fire festivals," throughout the year on twelve-week intervals. These days were believed to be the best time for sacrifices and divinations. The passage from The Secret Rose points specifically to Samhain, the Druid Feast of the Dead. The Druids believed that on this Holy day, the boundary between earth and the "otherworld" was very weak,...
