T.S. Elliot’s Personal Poem

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.
To begin, Eliot’s poem The Hollow Men is relatable to me because of its allusions to other texts. Many of these are references too religious beliefs. As a weekly attendee of church, some of these allusions really hit home with me. Even though I have grown up Baptist, and it is in no way expected of me to know it because of that, I have known the Lord’s Prayer for too many years for me to keep track of. T.S. Eliot uses the ending of the Lord’s Prayer toward the end of his poem, the same line in lines77 and 91, both “For Thine is the Kingdom.” Following the second of these two recitations, he makes an interesting and meaningful argument without actually completing a sentence. He repeats the line again, however does not seem capable of finishing the statement, like something religious h...

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... is to say, we aren’t passionate enough to stick up for what we know is right. How does this relate to anything? This argument seems to be the same one Eliot is conveying in The Hollow Men. I agree very much so with this argument. I feel as though our society has diverged from maintaining some sort of faith and something to stand for because they are too concerned about being ridiculed, which also is Eliot’s intent in the poem.
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.