W. B. Yeats: "The Second Coming" & 'Things Fall Apart' (Achebe) + ANSWERS

This advanced activity is designed to help students understand W. B. Yeats’ iconic yet rather difficult poem “The Second Coming”, with a particular focus on how it is linked to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The activity includes:

1. Context of Composition: An introduction to the context shared by both Achebe’s novel and Yeats’ poem. This includes information about how Achebe was inspired by the poem in the choice of both the epigraph at the beginning of the novel and in his choice of title.

2. Annotated Poem text: (“The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats) with annotations for difficult concepts, vocabulary, and terminology required to understand the poem.

3. Yeats’ Vision: A diagram and labeled, explaining how “The Second Coming” envisions Yeats’s cyclical, dual gyres of history (as outlined in his book Vision).

4. Comprehension, Close Reading & Analysis Questions for the poem

5. Food for thought and essay questions for additional in-depth reflection and to ensure higher-order thinking and writing skills are also catered to.

6. Analyzing Okonkwo’s Character: The Tragic Hero: This PowerPoint presentation (included here as a PDF to ensure cross-platform compatibility) provides a no-prep guide through teaching Yeats’ poem, and connecting it to an analysis of Okonkwo’s character as a classical tragic hero. The PPT includes:

• It introduces the poem “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats, Achebe’s source of inspiration for the title of the novel. The presentation includes a glossary of difficult terms for the poem and places it in the context of the novel, to facilitate a deeper understanding of the overall purpose of the novel as well as the wonderful poem by Yeats itself. Comprehension and close-reading questions accompany the poem.
• Linked to “The Second Coming” and its central message, the presentation introduces the concept of the tragic hero in literature and enables a detailed analysis of how Okonkwo (the novel’s protagonist) is, ultimately, a tragic hero.
• The PowerPoint includes a final form of assessment that you can optionally use to wrap up the unit about Okonkwo as a tragic hero.
• NB: I’ve opted for a minimalistic, no-fuss design to allow you to focus on the content rather than the flashy (but ultimately pointless) functions of a PowerPoint. I hope this allows you to seamlessly include the lesson into your study of the novel.

7. Teacher’s Guide + Answer Key - this provides a detailed answer key with model answers for all the activities - designed for teachers who are new to the novel, or veterans who wish to gain fresh insights.

Perfect for independent study and distance learning.

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