According to Yeats, a belief in a universal consciousness, called "Spiritus Mundi, " connects all intelligent people through their perception of common truths.

To what event does "Spiritus Mundi" refer in the second stanza of his poem, "The Second Coming"?

A. an expectation of a certain catastrophe signaling victory over evil

B. a common fear of an approaching annihilation by nuclear force

C. the inevitable reality of mass destruction by a common enemy

D. a dismal prospect of total devastation of the natural environment

The correct answer is C. The inevitable reality of mass destruction by a common enemy.

Explanation:

The Spiritus Mundi refers to a vision that the speaker of the poem has about the terrible destiny of people and the world. This vision features a sphinx (lion creature with a human head) that has spent 20 centuries in "stone sleep" and has awaken. In the second stanza of the poem this creature makes a spooky aparition: it is reeled by the "shadows of desert birds", and the speaker feels the darkness falling upon him. However, the speaker ignores the full identity of the creature. He/She is only certain that it is a "rough beast" that "shlouches towards Beethlem". This biblic refference implies that the sphinx is going to play the role of the second messiah (as Jesus is the first). Meaning, the creature is powerful and of divine origin (possibly the antichrist) yet it has dark intentions.