NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... right to vote. The Portrait of a Lady, Aunt Helen, and Cousin Nancy are among various poems written by T. S.
Eliot that has themes dealing with women and their advancement in society. In the poem Cousin Nancy, Eliot writes: Miss Nancy Ellicott Strode across the hills and broke them, Rode across the hills and broke them -- The barren New England hills -- Riding to hounds Over the cow-pasture. Miss Nancy Ellicott smoked And danced all the modern dances; And her aunts were not quite sure how they felt about it, But they knew that it was modern. This poem fully demonstrates the impact of womens presence in the modern society.
It shows the confidence of the new profound woman and how the older generation, or her aunts, reacts to the new movement. His poems reflect on the women of that time period as they begin to explore their sexuality and intellect. He confirms their position in the world, especially at a time of great change. T. S. Eliot challenged tradition in society and then reinforced it.
Customs and traditions are said to be two main things that help a culture prosper. In his essay, Tradition and the Individual Talent, Eliot explores the role that tradition plays in humans, particularly writers. He declares that the dictionary meaning of tradition should be discouraged and that tradition is something earned rather than being passed down. Tradition is a matter of much wider significance. It cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour, Eliot writes. Eliot was also deeply concerned with the cultures moral emptiness and with ways for people to become more honest.
Unfortunately, by the time Eliot wrote on cultural issues, beginning in the 1930 s, we had lost so much of our inheritance that we no longer recognized our condition (Keep). In that case, Eliot had to find a way, through his writings, to explain the importance of having a culture. His poems The Hollow Men, A Cooking Egg and Mr. Eliot's Sunday Morning Service are prime examples of his concern for the ethical values of society. The aftermath of the war and the depression of the 1930 s caused hardship for the nations people and resulted in violence and ailment.
Eliot stressed that morals and assurance was passed down through cultures and that culture cannot be separated from religion (Keep). The imagery depicted in T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" evokes a sense of desolate hopelessness and lends to Eliot's generally cynical view of civilization during this period in history. A reaction of deep and profound disappointment in mankind around him is made evident in this stark work, first published in 1925. In this short piece, Eliot enumerates several deep faults he finds in his fellow man, including hypocrisy, apathy and indifference, and leaves the reader with a feeling of overwhelming emptiness.
An important feature of this poem is the fact that the narration of the poem is in first person. This establishes Eliot's and the readers (society's) relationship to the images and ideas presented. When the poem begins "We are the hollow men" rather than "They are... " or "You are... " the reader is immediately included in this description. This type of narration creates a sense of common "hollowness" and by the end of the poem, therefore, a sense of common responsibility and guilt. Eliot then mentions the dead, calling them "Those who have crossed... to death's other kingdom. " He repeatedly mentions their eyes.
He refers to them first as making their crossing into death with "direct eyes, " meaning that they faced death, unable to turn away. Eliot also states they have "eyes I dare not meet in dreams, " indicating that the narrator fears meeting such hollow and immoral people. Later in the poem, in part IV, Eliot returns to the eye imagery with "The eyes are not here/There are no eyes here. " The absence of eyes indicates Eliot's condemnation of indifference among those still living to the fate of the dead and emphasizes the absence of their souls, for the eyes are the windows to the soul. Without eyes they are without vision; the eyes, or the souls, are a key to moral strength and hope. Throughout this powerful poem, the fear of death is brought to surface among the hollow men. This fear is so pronounced because at final judgment, they may be rejected from eternal life because they have not lived good lives on earth.
To support this notion, Eliot includes the Lords prayer, but a deviated form. The hollow men are trying to pray this prayer, but are so devoid of spirituality that they dont remember the prayer nor can they properly recite it. The image of the scarecrow, or hollow man, in the field with crossed staves can also be seen as an evocation of the Christian image of Christ suffering on the cross. This reference reveals the hypocrisy of men who consider themselves followers of Christ but do nothing to express their so-called faith or to relieve suffering of men in their own time and place. The end of the poem comes by way of ironic completion as the nursery rhyme takes up its repetitive round, and terminates with the line that characterizes the evasive excuse: This is the way the world ends/ Not with a bang but a whimper.
Eliot's poetry connects to society by providing a window into individual thoughts and behaviors of his time period. This connection to society is exemplified in The Hollow Men. The overriding image of humankind as hollow men is powerful and depressing, but these are the exact feelings that Eliot most likely intended to convey. Eliot was very much intrigued with the kind of society people claimed to desire and how it was supposed to be achieved. Eliot wanted people to regain their spirituality and sense of worth and hoped to convert them by means of his poetry.
The Complete Poems and Plays. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc. , 1971. Keep, Christopher, Tim McLaughlin, and Robin Parmer. The Electronic Labyrinth. 1993.
Pearce, Roy Harvey. The Continuity of American Poetry. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1961. Reuben, Paul P.
Chapter 7: Early Twentieth Century-T. S. Eliot. PAL: Perspectives in American Literature -- A Research and Reference Guide. 7 June 2000. T. S.
Eliot. World Book Encyclopedia. World Book, Inc. 1985. pp. 185 - 186. web f / eliot /eliot. htm
Free research essays on topics related to: time period, t s eliot, hollow men, world book, end of the poem
Research essay sample on The Hollow Men Ts Eliot And Society
