During World War I, many poems were written about the horrors heard and experienced first-hand. Some poets, like William Butler Yeats, did not experience the war firsthand, but nevertheless chose to write about it; others, like Wilfred Owen, participated in the terrible war and were driven by their memories to begin writing (Academy of American Poets). Both were part of the modernist movement, of which Yeats is often considered one of the founders. Modernism was a movement that went beyond literature and poetry, while offering a new freedom to war poets, because it allowed them to express themselves in a modernist way, with free forms and a margin of criticism on the modern world ( Matterson). William Butler Yeats's "The Second Coming" is an example of modernist war poetry typical of the movement, as the work critiques the horrors of war in a new artistic way. This poem paints a depressing picture of a world collapsing due to anarchy, until even the Sphinx awakens from its seemingly eternal slumber, as seen here: [T]wenty centuries of sleep of stone were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, and what rough beast, its hour has come at last, Slumped towards Bethlehem to be born? ("The Second Coming" 19-22)The Second Coming appears to be a reference to the return of Jesus Christ at the end of time, although it is not Christ himself who returns after two millennia but a monstrous creature made of stone. This vision of war is adapted to the modernist era. First of all, this poem is written without structure. There is no real counter, nor does it follow the rules of a predetermined form. Although the poem rhymes, it was written loosely in whatever way the poet saw fit. Secondly, this poem... middle of paper... uh more than ever before, and yet people were not ready to face the reality of this fate. The bigger the world became, the bigger the wars would be. This meant that the protest was necessary. Although modernist poetry had its origins in the 1890s, war was its later fuel. Yeats and Owen were able to demonstrate this. “Wilfred Owen.” Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, nd Web. March 02, 2014.Matterson, Stephen. “Modernism of the 1890s-1940s”. PBS. PBS, 2007. The web. March 2, 2014. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/modernism.htmlOwen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum est.” War poetry. Saxon Books, nd Web. March 01, 2014.Rahn, Josh. "Modernism." - Literary periods and movements. The Literary Network, 2011. Web. 01 March 2014. Yeats, William Butler. “The Second Coming.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, nd Web. March 1 2014.