Critical Essay #3 – “The Hollow Men” by T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot is one of the greatest authors acclaimed for his literary works both in America and Great Britain. Eliot’s early writings, however, were his many critical essays and book reviews, written and published between 1916 and 1921. Eliot was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. (LONGMAN P.1287) He is also known as one of the most significant and influential critics of the twentieth century poets. (Longman) Several of Eliot’s poems are analytical by nature. Eliot’s poems and short stories allow the reader to interpret them as they wish. But many readers prefer to relate them to the events that occurred during that time in history. In In 1918, World War I ended all European powers that ruled for several years. America moved into a World Power position, thus removing all European dominations. Avant-garde artists of the modern period came into play. Among the most instrumental of all the avant-garde artists at this time was T. S. Eliot. The poem, “The Hollow Men” was written with Eliot’s delicate sensibility and admiration for those men who were not only on the battlefield but for those on the sea. This poem of Eliot’s at times is associated with everyday life and the everyday feelings of human beings while feeling worthless or at their wits end. Other readers analyze it as a poem expressing how the soldiers may have felt during World War I.
At the beginning of World War I, music was a propaganda used to inspire loyalty and a sense of patriotism. After the song “Over There” written by George M. Cohan, came out, many men, young and old signed up for the army to go overseas. Women at home played a different role while their husbands were in the war. This song had great...
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...tten by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, titled “In Flanders’s Field. It is recognized as the worlds’ most famous War Memorial Poem. These few lines support Eliot’s poetry of how the soldiers felt. ” We are the dead, Short days ago, we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved and now we lie in Flanders’s Field.” “If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep, though poppies grow.” Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915 (Placeholder1)
the last four lines of the poem are "probably the most quoted lines of any 20th-century poet writing in English." (Placeholder1) “This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.” (Eliot) The end is where we start from. And every phrase and sentence that is right (where every word is at home, taking its place to support the others,
Many soldiers who come back from the war need to express how they feel. Many do it in the way of writing. Many soldiers die in war, but the ones who come back are just as “dead.” Many cadets come back with shell shock, amputated arms and legs, and sometimes even their friends aren’t there with them. So during World War I, there was a burst of new art and writings come from the soldiers. Many express in the way of books, poems, short stories and art itself. Most soldiers are just trying to escape. A lot of these soldiers are trying to show what war is really like, and people respond. They finally might think war might not be the answer. This is why writers use imagery, irony and structure to protest war.
“Over There” is a song written by George M. Cohan in 1917. Nora Bayes, Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray, and Charles King were among many who recorded the song. It was written as a propaganda piece encouraging young American men to join the army to fight in World War I. The song was incredibly popular, selling over two million copies of sheet music and one million copies of recordings by the end of the war. Cohan, the writer, was eventually even awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his work on this song. The lyrics of the song are listed below:
What is the truth behind the song mentioned above that children sing so often during those days? Ironic how the soldiers who came home from the war not only brought life, for they came back alive, but also brought what will soon become the death of so many. It all started in March of the year 1918 in which at Fort Riley located in the state of Kansas, an Army private reported symptoms such as headache, fever, as well as sore throat. It seemed like mild symptoms but by noon the count of soldiers who were ill of the same symptoms totaled up to one-hundred.2 Doctors everywhere were puzzled about what might be causing this illness.
...ntation in 20th century war poetry undoubtedly shapes its type and purpose, be it for nationalistic propaganda or to prompt a global paradigm shift, the purpose can be seen to stem largely from the author’s involvement in combat or war life. Authors such as Owen Seaman, who have no first hand experience of the content of their poems, create patriotic propaganda in an attempt to keep young men enlisting, and others such as Rupert Brooke who exemplify blind optimism and nationalistic intentions in a romanticised view of what it would be to die.
Autobiographies, diaries, letters, official records, photographs and poems are examples of primary sources from World War One. The two primary sources analyzed in this essay are the poems, “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen and “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae. Primary sources are often personal, written from the limited perspective of a single individual. It is very difficult for the author to capture their own personal experience, while incorporating the involvement and effects of other events happening at the same time. Each piece of writing studied describes the author’s perception of the war. Both of the poems intend to show to grave reality of war, which often was not realized until the soldiers reach the frontlines. The poems were both written at battle within two years of each other. However, the stark difference between the two poems is astonishing. “Anthem for Doomed Youth” gives a much different impression than “In Flanders Field” despite the fact that both authors were in the same war and similar circumstances. The first two lines in “In Flanders Fields” “…the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row.” are an image o...
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.
“Over There” is a song written by George M. Cohan in 1917. Nora Bayes, Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray, Arthur Fields, and Charles King were among many who recorded the song. It was written as a propaganda piece encouraging young American men to join the army to fight in World War I. The song was incredibly popular, selling over two million copies of sheet music and one million copies of recordings by the end of the war. Cohan, the writer, was eventually even awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his work on this song.
Eliot, T.S. The wasteland. In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume II. Edited by Paul Lauter et al. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991: 1447-1463.
At a point in all mortal’s existence, there will be a moment when their soul is between two states of being, waiting to be judged. Without the fearlessness and faith to move on to the afterlife, they will spend eternity stuck in purgatory. When T. S. Eliot wrote “The Hollow Men,” he used symbolism, imagery, and repetition to share his insight to address the lack of courage and faith that plagues every human being.
Kenner, Hugh. T.S. Eliot: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1962.
The two poems about World War 1, ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke, and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ by Wilfred Owen, each present their views in different ways. World War one started in 1914 and ended after four years. There are two main responses from soldiers. The two approaches have been written each in these poems. Both have similarities and differences. They are conveyed in different ways that affect the reader more at some points and less than others.
There is said to be a thin line between the planning and the execution a sinister action, as the idea is what first drives the motion. This is the central theme of T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men,” in which the men depicted find themselves on the brink of hell, suffering not from their actions, but from their conspiracy to act.
The First World War was a darker time for Europe because there were a lot of mixed feelings involving the destruction and recreation of many old and new countries alike. Fear, death, and loss of loved ones hung in the air making this dark time confusing, especially for those surrounding the collapsing German economy. Though America was thriving from the sales and success in the World War I, Europe was worried and broken from the war. That is what sparked T.S Eliot, a Harvard educated poet to write three poems called: The Hollow Men, Portrait of a Woman, and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Though written in the same time, the author captured feelings throughout the different social standings and social climates to highlight the feelings floating through the European countries. Throughout his three poems Eliot uses his characters and imagery to capture the brokenness and lack of identity that surrounded this time period.
Faced with a world lacking variety, viewpoints, vibrancy, and virtue- a world without life- a fearful and insecure T.S. Eliot found himself the only one who realized all of civilization had been reduced to a single stereotype. Eliot (1888-1965) grew up as an outsider. Born with a double hernia, he was always distinguished from his peers, but translated his disability into a love of nature. He developed a respect for religion as well as an importance for the well-being of others from his grandfather at a young age, which reflected in his poetry later in life. After studying literature and philosophy at Harvard, Eliot took a trip to Paris, absorbing their vivid culture and art. After, he moved on to Oxford and married Vivien Haigh-Wood. Her compulsivity brought an immense amount of stress into his life, resulting in their abrupt separation. A series of writing-related jobs led Eliot to a career in banking and temporarily putting aside his poetry, but the publication of “The Waste Land” brought him a position at the publishing house of Faber and Gwyer. His next poem, called “The Hollow Men” reflected the same tone of desolation and grief as “The Waste Land.” Soon after, he made a momentous shift to Anglicanism that heavily influenced the rest of his work in a positive manner. Eliot went on to marry Valerie Fletcher, whom he was with until the end of his life, and win a Nobel Prize in literature. T.S. Eliot articulates his vast dissatisfaction with the intellectual desolation of society through narrators that share his firm cultural beliefs and quest to reinvigorate a barren civilization in order to overcome his own uncertainties and inspire a revolution of thought.
This poem is considered to be “one of the most difficult poems in a difficult literary period”. The Wasteland is a poem that is said to be one of his most influential works. At first glance, critics considered the poem to be too modern, but then opinions changed as they realized the poem reflected Eliot’s disillusionment with the moral decay of World War I in Europe. T. S. Eliot in The Wasteland combines theme, style, and symbolism to explore life and death. The Wasteland was written in 1922 and is a long poem divided into five sections.