Question

In at least two hundred words, discuss the phrase “The ceremony of innocence is drowned.” Explain what this phrase means and how it might apply to Things Fall Apart.

Answer 1

In the poem "The Second Coming"  written by William Yeats, the author explores Anarchy and chaotic scenarios where things fall apart and order can only be reestablished by the return of Jesus Christ on earth.

When the author uses the phrase "The ceremony of innocence is drowned" he refers to a set of circumstances of violence, brutality and horror caused by what he calls "a loose blood dimmed tide" which suffocates purity and freshness, describing a cataclysm; worthy of resemblance to biblical passages of events involving destruction on a catastrophic scale such as Noah’s flood, or the total and final destruction of the world, described in the book of Revelation as "The Apocalypse".

The poem seems to be the author's emotional release after the presumable trauma of World War I around that time in Europe, since it was written in 1919.

It's an evident appeal to a Christian concept in seek of spiritual refreshment as a cathartic method to purge his likely repressed emotions in the post-war environment.