Eliot's Themes of Death and Futility in the Poem Remind Your Self of The Hollow Men

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 futility. Eliot portrays life, war, royalty, religion and

death as futile in the poem. He also describes death and particularly

the passing of the Hollow men.

The title "the hollow men" portrays an image of death. Eliot is

suggesting through the title that when we die we become empty and

hollow and soul less. This is emphasized later in the first section "

remember us- if at all- not as lost violent souls", this suggests that

they don't have a soul. This itself gives a message about the futility

of life, when we die we don't have souls, were empty, that is the end,

we do not carry on living and this raises issues about the point of

life. This is later emphasized by the reference "In deaths dream

kingdom" dreams are not real, they are the stuff of fantasy and this

suggests that heaven is not real. Another way Eliot makes us think

life is futile is that we feel nothing for the hollow men, they are

emotionally detached from us and we don't care about them or their

lives and this suggests that know one in the distant future will even

know of our existence as many of us make no impression on the world .

This poem has obvious links to Guy Falkes attempt to assonate King

James from the first line "a penny for the guy" to the last line "not

with a bang but a whimper". The point of assonating king James was

because of Religion and also royalty and this has connotations to the

First World War, which happened recently before the writing of the

poem. Eliot obviously thought that the war was pointless, as did many

at the time, arguing between the royals was something that belonged in

the middle ages not the 20th century. Eliot draws comparison between

Guy Falkes attempt to overthrow king James, which most of us would