Yeats's "The Second Coming" employs powerful and unsettling imagery. Considering the poem's composition shortly after World War I, how might the "rough beast" slouching towards Bethlehem be interpreted as a symbolic representation of the era's anxieties?
1
It solely represents the threat of Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution.
2
It embodies the collapse of traditional European order and the rise of destructive ideologies, reflecting the widespread disillusionment following the war.
3
It is primarily a personal symbol of Yeats's own spiritual crisis and has limited connection to the historical context.
4
It symbolizes the decline of religious faith in the face of scientific advancements.