ts eliot

standard intro

TS Eliot’s introspective oeuvre is a reflection upon the urban landscape and its implications on the human psyche. Influenced by the Modernist avant-garde style, the fragmented structure of Preludes and The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock captures the desolation and paralysis of modern man. This profound consciousness of human suffering parallels Eliot’s own psychological state and feelings of emptiness, inflamed by his struggle for spiritual fulfilment in an increasingly secular world as explored through The Hollow Men. The evocative nature of these poems establishes the inherent tension present in one’s desire for a sense of purpose when surrounded by futility; offering insight into the disillusionment of the Modern milieu.

preludes thesis

Preludes offers a despairing view of modern life by raising existential questions about the nature of self that stems from a homogenised society.

employing….vs

employing baudelaire’s flaneur voice → juxtaposes urban automation vs fragile identity

metropolitan environment characterised by…

"Withered leaves", "grimy scraps" = desolate

"Broken blinds" and "lighting..lamps (ALLITERATIVE IMAGERY)

implicit but unseen...

"muddy feet"
- identity replaced by SYNECDOCHES of "sordid" selves
- ALLUDES to absence of "consciousness" and authenticity due to monotonous existence

thematic motif of…

distorted persona → "Stretched tight across the skies"
- METAPHOR

… + assured.

laforgue + TAUTOLOGY "Assured of certain certainties"
- develops sardonic mockery of "vacant" world

prufrock thesis

Eliot critiques modernisation’s role in the perpetuation of the tortured psyche, paralysed by the 20th century’s banal and trivial social milieu through the characterisation of Prufrock.

epigraph

INTERTEXTUAL ALLUSION to Dante’s Inferno
- modern metropolis’ eternal psychological entrapment that constitutes hell

external vs internal prufrock

puts on “morning coat” → routine

PARENTHETICAL INTRUSIONS reveal insecurities about what “they (society) might say”

artificial universe

aware of artificiality → "Do I dare disturb the universe" → but submits to stasis
- bergsonian influence: conscious of temporal paralysis

structure

irregular rhyming scheme → undermines Romantic “Love Song“
- dissociation with modern existence

ocean

"Chambers of the sea"
- negative connotations SUBVERT image of ocean as freedom/life
- PARADOX: “we drown” in societal constructs upon waking from fatigued unconsciousness

purgatory

“window” MOTIF
- reinforces inescapable uncertainty
- liminal space → eternal purgatory

hollow men thesis

The Hollow Men explores Eliot’s thematic concern of the decaying nature of identity by capturing spiritual disillusionment within the modern zeitgeist.

first stanza

dilapidated IMAGERY → characteristic of Modernist nihilism and insight into Eliot’s faith struggles

tension between....

"Between the conception / And the creation"
- spiritual conflict between God's "Kingdom" and "the Shadow" of secularism

inconsistent structure

inconsistent METER → depleted RHYMING structure echoes PARADOXICAL “stuffed” “hollow men”

stars

"twinkling...stars" and Lord's Prayer = desire to regain faith
- stars = prominent christian MOTIF

undermined by stars’ "fading" and "dying" nature

ending

distorted nursery rhyme: “here we go round the prickly pear”

childish hope subverted by ANTITHETICAL conclusion: "The world ends...not with a bang but a whimper"

conclusion statement

Eliot’s allusionist oeuvre is a portrait of his empathy for the alienated denizens of desolate Post WWI modernity.