Spiritual Imagery in The Root Doctor of Rock N Roll and The Second Coming

Introduction

Both Yeats and Quincy Troupe used spiritual imagery in their poetry. Both “The Root Doctor of Rock n Roll” and “The Second Coming” are full of spiritual imagery, but the main elements utilized were the sphinx, the apocalypse, the spiritual interconnectedness of all people, and the “Root Doctor” or supernatural healing power.

Yeats’s Spiritual Imagery

In William Butler Yeats’s “The Second Coming,” he employed an immense amount of spiritual imagery, most likely because this poem addresses the apocalypse, a deeply spiritual concept. The poem envisions the end of the 2000-year cycle of the reign of Christ, foreseeing the rule of the anti-Christ. Yeats describes a horrific scene where complete anarchy reigns, and the world as we know it is disintegrating.

Yeats writes, “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity” (Yeats, 1920, p. 884). This eloquently portrays the chaos he believed would ensue as the Christian age came to an end. It implies that all good people will lose hope, while the worst will be filled with “passionate intensity,” or extreme motivation. This frightening concept is a powerful piece of spiritual imagery. Additionally, he speaks of a vision from the “Spiritus Mundi,” or Great Memory, featuring a creature with “a shape with lion body and the head of a man, a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun” (Yeats, 1920, p. 884), commonly known as the Sphinx.

The Sphinx serves as compelling spiritual imagery, representing an apocalyptic entity with the intellect and cunning of a human and the raw ferocity and killer instinct of a lion. Yeats perceives this image not by being present but through a universal reservoir of symbolic images from the past. This universal spiritual concept is also explored in Quincy Troupe’s “Poem for the Root Doctor of Rock n Roll.”

Spiritual Interconnectedness in Both Poems

Both poems explore the notion of spiritual interconnectedness. Yeats’s approach is more universal, while Troupe’s is more personal, yet both discuss acquiring information from others through a spiritual storehouse. Troupe’s poem illustrates this when he says, “back to the magical hookup of your ancestors, their seamless souls threading your breath, their blood in your sluicing strut” (Troupe, 1989, p. 868). This suggests that his ancestors spiritually feed him his music, akin to how Yeats uses the Spiritus Mundi. Both poets access this great spiritual storehouse for inspiration: Yeats for the image of the destructive sphinx, and Troupe for his music.

The Role of the Root Doctor

Another piece of spiritual imagery is the Root Doctor. In hoodoo, this term describes the healer or shaman of a community, whose insight is highly valued. The poem’s title speaks volumes; by calling Chuck Berry the “Root Doctor of Rock n Roll,” Troupe implies that Berry is the healer or spiritual leader of the “Rock n Roll” religion. Consequently, his music possesses healing power, a belief Troupe holds dear. This is evident when he states, “the poetry of hoodoo down & you were the mojo hand of ju-ju crowing” (Troupe, 1989, p. 867). A mojo hand, a bag of spiritual items, protects individuals from evil and sickness, so labeling Chuck Berry as the mojo hand suggests he possesses supernatural healing powers.

Troupe also criticizes the “white devils,” or those who appropriated Chuck Berry’s music for profit. He uses spiritual imagery to depict them negatively, stating they “never duck-walked back in the alley with you & Bo Diddley, Little Richard & The Fatman from New Orleans” (Troupe, 1989, p. 868), indicating they missed the music’s roots and spiritual origins. This makes them malevolent, akin to devils, as Troupe describes them.

Conclusion

These authors, although worlds apart, utilized spiritual imagery in strikingly similar ways. What does this signify? Clearly, regardless of nationality, culture, or upbringing, spirituality is an innate characteristic in all human beings. This shared spiritual understanding transcends individual differences, illustrating the universal human experience through poetic expression.

References

Yeats, W. B. (1920). The Second Coming. The Tower. London: Macmillan.

Troupe, Q. (1989). Poem for the Root Doctor of Rock n Roll. In Choruses: Poems. Coffee House Press.