These lines are pretty interesting to me. As I read it, he is calling out everybody (varying nationalities) who comes up with excuses or sides regarding this war and what just happened. Vain is a very strong word that could have two meanings here. One, pretty much being summed up as useless. So their excuses are useless. The second interpretation of vain could be, narcissistic and both could be applicable here. They only change the meaning slightly but in my opinion are different interpretations of his message.

This simile stands out to me, as I have noticed it is the only simile in the entire poem. It emphasizes the vast "pitiless" the sun offers us, and makes it almost evil which I believe is contrary to our perception of the sun. Traditionally sun is associated with light, warmth, life, and happiness yet in this poem Yeats associates the sun with the mass destruction that is coming. Pitiless makes me think that the sun spares no one in it's destruction which really emphasizes the negative light this lion with a man's head is to bring. I think this simile is important to the poem as a whole as it contributes to the destruction this second coming will bring.

This line interests me as it is the first time the speaker starts questioning their actions. I had to read it a few times because I thought to add the same question after a question seemed weird. However, I read it again asking the question as if it were different tones or different people and it began to make a little more sense. I think this line is important because in the next three stanzas we see him questioning over and over "how should I presume?" and this is a prior to that. The speaker is setting himself up as he begins to question things closest to him such as his looks. Then as the poem continues the world gets bigger and he is wondering how he should continue going. I also think the rhyme scheme here is worth noting. As we see the first time he says "Do I dare?" it is followed by stair and hair which both rhyme. However, he asks again Do I dare/Disturb the universe? and I am left wondering why he chose to split this question up into two lines without rhyming dare again. I think its an interesting form.

This phrase struck me as interesting, the speaker is talking about going out with what I have gathered as his lover, yet the word etherized literally means to render something numb (typically something dead to be evaluated). To me, this is an interesting use of the word. My first thought was why are they rendered numb nearly lifeless? However, the more I thought and kept reading the more it made sense. As t he poem proceeds it becomes as though the speaker is wrestling with some sad emotions. He is restless and not content with the life he has, did he make the right decisions? Could things have been different? I think utilizing the word etherized sets up the reader to know the speaker is stagnant and unhappy in the life he introduces us to.