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“The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats is an apocalyptic poem because the poem details an apocalyptic setting and great change is portrayed in the poem. The poem uses imagery in saying “[t]hings fall apart; the centre cannot hold” to set an apocalyptic setting. Many people view the apocalypse as a time where the world is falling apart. However, many people don’t realize that apocalypses signify times of great change. Eventually, the poem moves from a time where the world is being destroyed to the return of Christ in saying “[s]louches towards Bethlehem to be born[.]” This apocalyptic poem outlines a time of great change in the world after depicting the destruction to the world.

William Butler Yeats expresses his love for the girl in the poem “When You Are Old”. He mentioned that others may love the girl because of her beauty, but he loves her noble soul. Yeats is telling the girl his true feelings, even after she gets older, it remains the same. When the hypothesis of “when you are old” mentioned in the poem, from the words “grey and fall of sleep, and nodding by the fire”, we seem to be able to see the scene of the “aging” moment, which is so vivid and imaginable. Getting older is a process that everyone will experience. Although most people are unwilling to face it, this is an irresistible natural law. It can be seen that the Yeats’ love is beyond the time and the external beauty of the person.

In Gabriel’s perspective, the dead lived and the living is dead. When Gabriel compares his life to Gretta’s ex Michael, he comes to the realization that his life is fading and ‘dwindling’ as he ages, whereas Michael’s life remains strong though Gretta’s memory. Gabriel also realizes that he has not experienced what Gretta had in her past. In Gabriel’s speech, one of his messages is to sort of live in the moment and not in the past. In a way, by Gretta living in the past she is holding herself back. Could that be considered her being ‘dead’? In what glorious ways have people have passed to be considered to have lived?

Similarly to Chekhov, Wharton wants us to consider that we may not really know people as well as we think we do. In “Roman Fever,” Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley have known each other for many years and have been friends, but they realized that they don’t really know each other well. I think that their relationship had only been built on competition and commonalities. I think that because they didn’t know each other well, how they felt towards each other and the fact that they were both widows at the same time is what held their superficial friendship together. Mrs. Slade is jealous of Mrs. Ansley, and Mrs. Ansley pities Mrs. Slade. They obviously aren’t true friends and they only begin to realize it 25 years later.

Gretta is introduced as Gabriel’s wife and does not seem to have much substance to her character at first. As the story progresses, however, we get the sense of Gretta’s influence on Gabriel. Gabriel has believed that he has had power over Gretta. But as we find out, Gabriel’s power is not as strong as it seemed at first. Gretta’s youth love reveals her true perception of what love is and what it should be. It also reveals to Gabriel that he has not experienced true love and that his relationship with Gretta has been built off of lust rather than love.

Hurston gives value to these seemingly small things throughout the story to reveal the intricacies of a relationship. Each and every relationship is different. Every couple has their own inside jokes or games that they play which is unique to them. This is clearly seen within the story with Joe and Missie May’s weekend routine. Hurston’s detailed explanations regarding the couple’s relationship gives a human element that the reader can relate to. Hurston’s buildup of the relationship through these characterizations ends up giving a greater effect to the introduction of infidelity within the relationship.

In the beginning of the story, Gabriel is depicted as being superior to the rest of the characters. He carries himself as being more important than everyone else due to his position in society and his male gender. Gabriel uses his social class and his male “influence” as a way to justify his actions towards those who he perceives as being lesser than him. As the story progresses, Gabriel seems to lose his self-perceived authority in terms of his relationship with Gretta. Gretta’s past shifts Gabriel’s characterization as being in control to revealing Gabriel’s insecurities.

The Gilded Six-Bits comments on the betrayal and infidelity of Missie May against her husband, Joe. Throughout the story, it is portrayed that Missie May and Joe are in a happy, stable relationship, from their constant laughter and constant reassurance of their love. However, their happiness in the relationship was misleading as Missie May was found in bed with Slemmons. At first, Joe and Missie May don’t know how to act around each other, and Joe even comments on why he does not know why she is crying. They stop doing their Saturday morning traditions, and the coin, that Slemmons left behind, is still a symbol of the infidelity that Joe holds onto. As long as the coin stays, the memory of the betrayal are still engraved in their heads and they cannot move on. However, we see that with time, forgiveness and acceptance is possible in intimate relationships. In the end, Joe and Missie May go back to their normal Saturday morning routines, that symbolize the beginning of the forgiveness that can help their relationship go back to the way it was.

The muse’s tragedy is inspiring others while feeling like they are falling apart. Mary wanted to be seen as more than “Vincent Rendle’s Mrs. Anerton” (38) , she wanted to feel affection and love again. She was tired of being so helpful and considerate, but Rendle would not adhere or be attentive to her feelings. He “treated her [me] as one man treats another” (38). Rendle did not look past her as being a help to his writing and the voice behind his creative reasoning. The thing most tragic about this story is everyone thought that Mary was hiding Rendle and keeping him for herself. They also thought that she had found love once again, but that was not the case. Mary was struggling to find her true self and had to suffer in being in relations with someone who would not offer the emotional connection that he longed for. Mary was struggling, internally, but no one seemed to notice.