Analysis of The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot
Eliot, a master of the written craft, carefully thought out each aspect of his 1925 poem "The Hollow Men." Many differences in interpretation exist for Eliot's complex poetry. One issue never debated is the extensive range of things to consider in his TS Eliot's writing. Because TS Eliot often intertwined his writing by having one piece relate to another "The Hollow Men" is sometimes considered a mere appendage to The Waste Land. "The Hollow Men," however, proves to have many offerings for a reader in and among itself.
The epigraph contains two pertinent references (http). First, "Mistah Kurtz -- he dead" is an allusion to Conrad's Heart of Darkness. In his novella, Conrad portrays the empty nature of men. Mistah Kurtz is a character that lacks a soul, thus, a true "Hollow Man." In the second quotation the epigraph alludes to England's November 5 tradition of Guy Fawkes Day. In 1605, Guy Fawkes unsuccessfully tried to blow up the parliament building. Eliot's quote "A penny for the old guy" is called out by children on this holiday who are attempting to buy fireworks in order to blow up straw figures of Fawkes.
Within the first stanza Eliot establishes the speaker, setting, theme and begins a rhythmic pattern that will hold true for four of the five sections of the poem. The speaker in the poem is not human, or at least prefers to be thought of as a scarecrow over a "…lost / Violent soul…" (lines 15-16). The powerful comparison between the worthlessness of "rats' feet over broken glass…" (line 9) to their "dry voices" (line 5) illustrates how meaningless they (the Hollow Men) truly are. Two lines detached from the first stanza contain a series of paradox...
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Miller, J. H. Poets of Reality: Six Twentieth-Century Writers. Harvard University Press,
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Smith, Grover. T.S. Eliot's Poetry and Plays: A Study in Sources and Meaning. Chicago:
University: Chicago Press, 1956. Online. Modern American Poetry. "On 'The
Hollow Men.'" July 7, 2001.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/hollow.htm
Spurr, David. Conflicts in Consciousness: T.S. Eliot's Poetry and Criticism. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press, 1984. Online. Modern American Poetry. "On 'The
Hollow Men.'" July 7, 2001.
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Williamson, George. A Reader's Guide to T.S. Eliot: A Poem-by-Poem Analysis. New
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Thomas Stearns Eliot was perhaps one of the most critical writers in the English language’s history. Youngest of seven children and born to the owner of a Brick Company, he wasn’t exactly bathed in poverty at all. Once he graduated from Harvard, he went on to found the Unitarian church of St. Luis. Soon after, Eliot became more serious about literature. As previously stated, his literature works were possibly some of the most famous in history. Dr. Tim McGee of Worland High School said that he would be the richest writer in history if he was still alive, and I have no choice but to believe him. In the past week many of his works have been observed in my English literature class. Of Thomas Stearns Eliot’s poems Preludes, The Journey of the Magi, The Hollow Men, The Waste Land, and Four Quartets, I personally find his poem The Hollow men to be the most relatable because of its musical allusions, use of inclusive language, and his opinion on society.
Eliot commentary on civilization and its lack of humanity and common good toward one another, which was a common idea as the full impact of World War One came to light. Death and suffering on such a scale were unheard of. The poem represents his idea that individuals are helpless and confused by the condition of the post-war world, perhaps brought about by society’s loss of compassion. The poem is written in fragments and is confusing to navigate which amplifies this point. Loneliness is a central theme and it is manifested in different ways. The idea that love and compassion are absent from life is delivered through series of conversation between lovers and friends. A couple sits in their home, surrounded by spectacular things, however, their lives seem incomplete and lonely. In the poem one calls out to their partner “Stay with me../ Speak to me. Why do you never speak? Speak./ What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? '/ I never know what you are thinking. Think.” (Eliot 111-115). They are never answered. A different couple, together on what appears to be a date only go through the motions of intimacy as the date evolves, “Exploring hands encounter no defense;/ His vanity requires no response,/ And makes a welcome of indifference.” (Eliot 240-242) In both these scenes a shallowness exists, even though they are with someone, they are alone. Additionally, The impression of individuals removing themselves or disconnecting from humanity
Fear is more than just a blend of mysterious emotions and feelings. Throughout history however, humanity has considered the sentiment of fear to be concept solely based on horrific and traumatic events. While this may be true to some extent, fear can be represented as the moment where an individual becomes aware of their conscience and suddenly becomes scared of becoming their worst nightmare. This perception filled with anxiety embodies the process by which frightening experiences promptly become familiar and recognizable. This idea is known as the uncanny.
In conclusion, after exploring the theme of this poem and reading it for myself, Eliot has created this persona, in industrialised England or somewhere else. A man of low self-esteem, you embark on his journey as he struggles with a rational fear of being rejected by a woman.
So, 'The Hollow Man'; has many parallels that make it a perfect epigraph for The Great Gatsby. The three key aspects of the poem that relate it to The Great Gatsby were the hollow men, the stuffed men, and the paralyzed force. All three depict the society Gatsby lived in and the life he had to go through. The hollow and stuffed men showed the two types of people in Gatsby's society. The hollow men contain no inner spirit or love toward one another. However, the stuffed men consisted of bravery, self-control, and love. They were Tom, Daisy, Jay, and George, respectively. The poem categorizes where people fit in society. The final parallel is the paralyzed force including Owl Eyes and the billboard. Both had a frozen outlook on life and someone to look up to. In conclusion, Fitzgerald and Eliot created classics that will be analyzed for many years to come. However, no one will be able to make an epigraph for The Great Gatsby better than Eliot's 'The Hollow Man.';
T. S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” is a dramatic monologue, free verse poem that consists of five parts that could be considered five separate poems. His use of “allegorically abstract text nevertheless achieves a remarkable unity of effect in terms of voice, mood and imagery” (Morace 948). Before the poem starts, there are two epigraphs; “Mistah Kurtz – he dead. / A penny for the Old Guy” (lines 1-2). Eliot alludes to these two epigraphs because their themes are developed throughout his poem. “The first epigraph is from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” a story …that examines the hollowness and horror of lack of faith, spiritual paralysis, and despair” (Bloom 61), just like the “hollow men” in his poem. The second epigraph “refers to the celebration of Guy Fawkes Day in Britain” (Bloom 61). This is a day that celebrates Fawkes’ unsuccessful rebellion against King James I with his capture in the cellar of the Parliament building, where stored gun powder was supposed to blow up and kill King James I and his family. Once captured, he cowardly turned over his co-conspirators and they all were killed. It is “celebrated with bonfires, fireworks, the burning of scarecrows,
Eliot may well have chosen this passage for its eccentricities, and it succeeds in creating a powerful and provoking parody, as well as being a very good contrast to other parts of The Wasteland, poetically, including the very next part, which is more modern, and simple. It is also interesting that Eliot chose to almost blend the Shakespeare in with other more ordinary bits of literature - the passage begins with only slight changes to the words of Enobarbus’ speech, but soon becomes considerably different to the original Shakespeare.
Eliot's Themes of Death and Futility in the Poem Remind Your Self of The Hollow Men. One of the major themes explored by Eliot in the Hollow Men is that of death and the futility of life. Eliot portrays life, war, royalty, religion and. death as futile in the poem.
The early poetry of T. S. Eliot, poems such as "The Wasteland" or "The Love Song
...In "The Waste Land," Eliot delivers an indictment against the self-serving, irresponsibility of modern society, but not without giving us, particularly the youth a message of hope at the end of the Thames River. And in "Ash Wednesday," Eliot finally describes an example of the small, graceful images God gives us as oases in the Waste Land of modern culture. Eliot constantly refers back, in unconsciously, to his childhood responsibilities of the missionary in an unholy world. It is only through close, diligent reading of his poetry that we can come to understand his faithful message of hope.
Alfred Prufrock, ample details about the settings are described to reflect the speaker’s emotions. For instance, the first stanza paints the scene that an innocent and unconfident middle age man hesitates to propose to a woman. For one thing, the speaker of the poem is afraid that time will go wasted. On the other side, he feels powerless to the reality. Apparently, Eliot directly tells the reader the internal conflict of the speaker of the poem, who is greedy of love but fears for the responsibility that comes with it. What this setting in the poem reflects is the emptiness and weakness of folks in modern
The beginning of “The Hollow Men” by T.S Eliot relates to Heart of Darkness” with the first line; “Mistah Kurtz – he dead,” this first line could not only symbolize the death of Kurtz, but the death of intellect, aspirations, and thought. The part following this line depicts the uncivilized or the “hollow men”. The unciviliz...
...mpossible to overstate Eliot's influence or his importance to twentieth-century poetry. Through his essays and especially through his own poetic practice, he played a major role in establishing the modernist conception of poetry: learned, culturally allusive, ironic, impersonal in manner (but, in his case, packed with powerful reserves of private feeling), organized by associative rather than logical connections, and difficult at times to the point of obscurity. But, despite the brilliance and penetration of his best essays, Eliot could not have accomplished so wholesale a revolution by precept alone. First and last, it was through the example of his own superb poetry that he carried the day, and the poetry will survive undiminished as his critical influence waxes and wanes, and as the details of his career recede into literary history.
...lore life and death in his poetry. He portrays significant themes of disillusionment and restoration. Eliot believes in restoring the bad having new beginnings. In conclusion, Eliot revolutionizes poetry to a new level and is one of the most prestigious poets to this day.
T.S Eliot’s poem, The Waste Land, is written in the mood of society after World War I. By using these allusions, The Waste Land reflects on mythical, historical, and literary events. The poem displays the deep disillusionment felt during this time period. In the after math of the great war, in an industrialized society that lacks the traditional structure of authority and belief, in the soil that may not be conductive to new growth (Lewis). Eliot used various allusions that connected to the time period and the effect of the war on society in his poem. Aided by Eliot’s own notes and comments, scholars have been able to identify allusions to: the Book of Common Prayer, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles-Louis Philippe, James Thomas, Guillaume Appollinaire, Countess Marie Larsich, Wyndham Lewis, nine books of the Bible, John Donne, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Richard Wagner, Sappho, Catullus, Lord Byron, Joseph Campbell, Aldous Huxley, J.G. Frazer, Jessie L. Weston, W.B. Yeats, Shakespeare, Walter Pater, Charles Baudelair, Dente, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, and John Webster—all within the first section of 72 lines, about one allusion every two lines (Lewis). Using various allusions, Eliot was able to connect to the fact that he lived in a modern day waste land as a result of the destruction caused by World War I. Eliot used the allusions to show that death brings new beginnings and change, and love still flourishes.