I just have to begin this blog post with oh.my.goodness. I love poetry, and this piece by T S Eliot provides a great reminder as to why. The Hollow Men, quite a haunting piece, is chalk full of imagery. Each fragment of imagery pulls in a component to the overall work; however, the poem highlights the focus of its message through underlying themes rather than explicit statements. I think the best part about this poem is that at any point throughout, a part of the imagery can be taken and analyzed, but each part also contributes to the piece as a whole.
One specific stanza that stands out to me is
"Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer--"
The words death and its dream kingdom are quite contrasting which makes me think of how strongly the author imparts on this idea of an ideal creation for death to thrive on. In this, he highlights on the falseness of outward appearances where the truth is hidden underneath his formation of figurative barriers, "the rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves." Furthermore, this creates a transition to exposing how we behave "as the wind behaves" where whatever gets picked up in a field by the wind goes wherever the wind takes it. I believe that similarly, in this world, many people "behave as the wind behaves." They just go along to wherever everyone else is going. This stanza further emphasizes how fake we are on the outside. I believe it goes hand-in-hand with the title of the poem where there may appear to be a shell of a person but underneath is just mere emptiness.
The Great Gatsby and The Hollow Men share many interesting parallels. Aside from sharing almost identical themes and similar tones through the idea that with a loss of hopes and dreams comes along a replacement of false materialism, these two works share a very similar symbolism. The eyes surrounding the imagery from The Hollow Men remind me of TJ Eckelburg's from The Great Gatsby. They even share a common purpose, watching over the slow disappearance of dreams thus also enhancing the overall cynical tone of both pieces. However, T S Eliot paints an even grimmer picture with a place so desolate that even the symbolic over-watching eyes cannot appear.
One specific stanza that stands out to me is
"Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer--"
The words death and its dream kingdom are quite contrasting which makes me think of how strongly the author imparts on this idea of an ideal creation for death to thrive on. In this, he highlights on the falseness of outward appearances where the truth is hidden underneath his formation of figurative barriers, "the rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves." Furthermore, this creates a transition to exposing how we behave "as the wind behaves" where whatever gets picked up in a field by the wind goes wherever the wind takes it. I believe that similarly, in this world, many people "behave as the wind behaves." They just go along to wherever everyone else is going. This stanza further emphasizes how fake we are on the outside. I believe it goes hand-in-hand with the title of the poem where there may appear to be a shell of a person but underneath is just mere emptiness.
The Great Gatsby and The Hollow Men share many interesting parallels. Aside from sharing almost identical themes and similar tones through the idea that with a loss of hopes and dreams comes along a replacement of false materialism, these two works share a very similar symbolism. The eyes surrounding the imagery from The Hollow Men remind me of TJ Eckelburg's from The Great Gatsby. They even share a common purpose, watching over the slow disappearance of dreams thus also enhancing the overall cynical tone of both pieces. However, T S Eliot paints an even grimmer picture with a place so desolate that even the symbolic over-watching eyes cannot appear.