As a result of the first agricultural revolution, humans were able to produce their own food as well as surpluses which meant that they no longer had to be nomadic people who followed food sources.
Due to the presence of the aforementioned surpluses, the society changed in that not everyone was required to work to produce food. Some of these people then became skilled workers known as artisans who could make goods and services that they could then sell to other villages.
This meant that trade did not just occur in villages but across them and led to a development in trade that brought prosperity to those involved thereby transforming small villages and towns to more complex societies.
It is an allusion The poem uses Christian imagery regarding the Apocalypse and Second Coming allegorically to describe the atmosphere of post-war Europe.
