Eliot’s spiritual quest in The Journey of the Magi

834 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Examine the significance of the Journey of the Magi by T.S Eliot

The Journey of the Magi, by T. S. Eliot is a poem written in the modern period. In this poem, the author illustrates a journey, a cold one, in which three people travel to a specific destination and there seems to be a lot of agony and sufferance throughout their journey. Although there seems to be a lot of obstacles and challenges in the road for the travelers, they seem to have a mission, an objective, a place to reach. The word Magi used in the title of this poem refers to the three mages that traveled to meet baby Jesus in Bethlehem on the day of His birth. Even though it might be obvious that the author explains a story known by many (the story of Jesus), he discusses challenging topics such as life and death using a ton of allusions. Despite all the beautiful imagery used in this poem which makes it a memorable one, it is noticeable that behind all these allusions, the author gives a glance of his spiritual struggles and his own divine journey.
Eliot hides his thoughts in the first 10 lines by mentioning details of non-importance matter. The first five lines underline the rough weather that was at the time of “the journey”, the author subtly evoke a profound disgust of the Magi to keep traveling through the very extreme weather conditions. Lines 6 -7 list the challenges faced by the magi and the souvenir of better times, the author uses a lot of imagery to illustrate the severity of what the Magi what was happening at that time; he mentions how the animals were lying down with their foot hurting , which shows fatigue and discouragement to continue the journey. The three following lines 8-10 describe the imagery of a season which brings souvenirs of better places and deep regret. With the very detailed imagery used by Eliot...

... middle of paper ...

...t Jesus Christ; the journey represents the life of a person before and after meeting His Savior Jesus Christ. The author uses a lot of imagery to give his audience an idea of the endless sufferance before meeting Christ and when the destination (Christ) is reached there comes satisfaction, rest and peace.
Furthermore, Eliot goes even further in lines 32-36 he shows admiration for the journey because for him it was really important and because he knows how pleasing it was to meet Jesus, he even mentions Birth and Death. In the ending lines, he speaks about another perspective of Death, like Death is now worth it because of the journey of the Magi which represents his own journey meeting Jesus Christ. He expresses his fulfillment in Jesus in the last two lines when he says :
“With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death” (lines 42-23)

Show More
Related

  • Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout all texts discussed, there is a pervasive and unmistakable sense of journey in its unmeasurable and intangible form. The journeys undertaken, are not physically transformative ones but are journeys which usher in an emotional and spiritual alteration. They are all life changing anomaly’s that alter the course and outlook each individual has on their life. Indeed, through the exploitation of knowledge in both a positive and negative context, the canvassed texts accommodate the notion that journeys bear the greatest magnitude when they change your life in some fashion.

    Read More

  • John Eliot: Evangelization Through Civilization

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Puritans began to build their “City on a Hill,” they accepted it was their duty as Christians to evangelize the Indians thought to be the lost tribes of Israel similar to the biblical conversion of Jews prophesied in Revelation. However, in order to evangelize the Native Americans John Eliot believed the Indians had to become more “civilized” so as to be Christians and believe in God. He believed this civilization of Indians came in many different forms; one of which included changing one’s physical appearance.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of A Field Guide To Getting Lost

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    That journey means that every day is a new change or a new transformation of who she is, and where she is going. She also highlights the idea throughout the text that the journey is one that everyone must take in order to discover themselves. Thus, the essay or story is about self discovery at its most basic. Understanding this allows the reader to see the importance of curiosity, of asking questions, and of heading into the unknown without questioning the journey

    Read More

  • T.S. Elliot’s Personal Poem

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    T.S. Eliot had very philosophical and religious meanings behind this poem, and that helped me relate personally very well with this work of his. He used allusions to other poems, letting me make connections with works I have read before. He also used inclusive language and had the same opinion as me portrayed in this work. Based on these, T.S. Eliot has convinced me of his messages in this poem, as well as made this by far my favorite of his.

    Read More

  • T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land – Can We Learn From the Past ?

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    These memories become his "key" to awken the rest of us who are still pretending. The reader is left with two choices at the end of the poem. S/he can either forget about the poem, and go back to living in a waste land, or s/he can stop repressing pain and feeling and leave the waste land. Eliot ends the poem with a man (maybe himself?) sitting on a shore, "[f]ishing, with the arid plain behind me" and asking, "Shall I at least set my lands in order?" (425-36) The man here, by facing his pain, has left the waste land, and is able to move ahead.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Gift Of The Magi

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    The “Gift of the Magi”, by O. Henry, is a short story that unfolds in an unanticipated and remarkable way that gently tugs the reader in which makes them want to continue reading. The story is about two characters named Della and Jim. For Christmas, Della cuts her hair to sell for money to buy Jim a chain for his watch while Jim sells his watch to buy Della some fancy combs. They both couldn’t use each other's gifts properly by reason of them sacrificing what they loved likewise finding delight in giving - what is foolish in the head, may be wise for the heart.

    Read More

  • Journeys in Frost and Eliot's Literature

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...hoices, Eliot shows the opposite outcome of depression and regret from a lifetime of indecision. Whether it is a far-away land of fantastical beings, the woods down the street, or perhaps the nearest city, a journey will always yield a different experience, and indecision is just as much a decision as any other. Choosing to remain inactive in a world that calls for action is to choose to grow old and have nothing of substance to look back on, since nothing was ever done.

    Read More

  • The Heros Journey In The Hero's Journey

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and

    Read More

  • John Bunyan’s Pilgrime's Progress

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people wonder what it would be like to go from a dangerous city where they live and journey to a plentiful heaven. This storyline is portrayed in John Bunyan’s allegorical book, Pilgrim’s Progress. This fascinating story describes the life of Christian, a married man living in the City of Destruction, who longs to travel to the Celestial City. As Christian struggles to stay on the right, though more difficult path, I fight to focus in school and not pay attention to distracting ideas. I also fight to get strong enough in dance to become a professional dancer, just as Christian has to climb the Hill of Difficulty to get to the Palace Beautiful. In order for Christian to arrive at the Celestial City without wasting away his life, he must be patient. In the same way, I must be patient to reach my life goal. Just as Christian struggled to get through his obstacles in his life, I must get stronger to dance, focus in school, and be patient in order to reach my life goal of becoming a faithful and patient person of God.

    Read More

  • Elliot Richards' Bedazzled

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    Goethe is breaking away from the period of enlightenment, a period of reason that thinks these experiences can be great in moderation. In “Bedazzled,” it is seen through the movie how Eliot learns that most things are good in moderation. This movie encompasses many of these literary movements in its portrayal of Eliot’s adventure.

    Read More

  • Self-Discovery In The Odyssey And Dante's Inferno

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    These timeless tales relate a message that readers throughout the ages can understand and relate to. While each of these tales is not exactly alike, they do share a common core of events. Some event and or character flaw necessitates a journey of some kind, whether it is an actual physical journey or a metaphorical one. The hardships and obstacles encountered on said journey lead to spiritual growth and build character. Rarely does a person find himself unchanged once the journey is over.

    Read More

  • The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Metaphors in The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    The two roads presented in this poem represent difficult decisions we are faced with in life. He uses the relationship between the paths and real life decisions throughout the whole poem. This is an example of extended metaphor, which is used to help the readers understand the analogy between the two. The man in the poem said: “long I stood” (3), which lets us know the decision was not made instantly. It was hard for the man to make a final judgment.

    Read More

  • Choruses from the Rock by T.S. Eliot

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to understand T.S. Eliot’s poem, Choruses from “The Rock,” one must first understand Eliot’s views on contemporary theology and spirituality. He felt as if people were moving away from the Church and were losing their religion in favor of more secular worship. The following passage from Eliot’s poem can summarize his entire argument that he makes in Choruses from “The Rock”.

    Read More

  • Journey Of The Magi

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    This Christmas poem is about the Epiphany and was created the very year of Eliot’s conversion to Christianity (Fleisner, 66). Therefore the theme of religion is an important one if we are to analyse the poem correctly. In the book of Ephesians in the Bible, Paul describes the rebirth of the world upon Christ’s death, emphasising the Ephesians’ new life (2:4-5). This theme of death and rebirth is present in the poem Journey of the Magi, which, I will argue, is structurally and internally divided into three stages; corresponding to the Sacrament of Penance: contrition (guilt), confession and satisfaction.

    Read More

More about Eliot’s spiritual quest in The Journey of the Magi

Open Document