Essay on Emptiness in The Hollow Men - 2815 Words

Emptiness in The Hollow Men After Eliot had published The Waste Land, he felt as though he had not been able to fully convey the sense of desperation and emptiness in that work. Beginning with Doris’s Dream Songs and Eyes I Last Saw in Tears, he explored these themes, eventually uniting all such poems in The Hollow Men. The end product is a work that, unlike The Waste Land and its ultimate chance for redemption, has only the indelible emptiness of the hollow men as its conclusion. The hollow men are those who, in life, did not act on their beliefs; they resisted any action at all, and as a result stagnate eternally in the Shadow, a land in between heaven and hell, completely isolated from both. Eliot’s allusions give a†¦show more content†¦The horror!) and in the words of another (Mistah Kurtz-- he dead), yet the reader knows all that is necessary from both statements: the unspeakable evil of Kurtz himself and the finality of his demise. In death for the hollow men, who are non-entities, however, the only certainty is that there is no certainty (Drew 96). The Hollow Men’s second epigraph, A penny for the Old Guy, applies more to the second half of the poem, with its links to Guy Fawkes’ Day in England. Fawkes is another Kurtz-like figure who acted on his beliefs, in this case in an attempt to bomb Parliament, or, in Eliot’s view, end the civilized world with a bang. A penny for the Old Guy may mean that credit is due for those who act, even for evil (in quotations because Fawkes’ Catholic beliefs guided him, another reason for the Catholic Eliot to choose him as a symbol), as well as alluding to the schoolchild’s practice of begging for pennies to buy his effigy. This effigy is the stuffed man of the first stanza; each year they are burned on November fifth in a childish imitation of Fawkes’ plan. In a similar way the hollow men are but imitations, shadows of real men such as Fawkes, and his ritual burning is a trivialization of his act. As PhilipShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of The Hollow Men by T .S. Eliot Essay1367 Words   |  6 Pagesof The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot Eliot, a master of the written craft, carefully thought out each aspect of his 1925 poem The Hollow Men. Many differences in interpretation exist for Eliots complex poetry. One issue never debated is the extensive range of things to consider in his TS Eliots writing. Because TS Eliot often intertwined his writing by having one piece relate to another The Hollow Men is sometimes considered a mere appendage to The Waste Land. The Hollow Men, howeverRead MoreThe Hollow Men Analysis1002 Words   |  5 PagesLiterary texts use various elements and methods to convey particular messages, positioning readers to take on the views of the author. The poem â€Å"The Hollow Men† by T.S Eliot addresses the failures of human courage and faith and his modernist style like most poets after him is an extremely expressive one, one with much of his poetry reflecting his own attitudes and beliefs about the importance of religious faith. Eliot’s manipulation of various literary conventi ons invites the readers to adopt hisRead MoreEssay on The Great Gatsby and The Hollow Men1134 Words   |  5 PagesGreat Gatsby is T.S. Eliots The Hollow Man.; The lines in the poem portray the story so vividly that it should have been an epigraph for the novel. The poems references to hollow and stuffed men, can describe different characters in The Great Gatsby. The hollowness of men represents ruthless barbarians with no respect for humans and no understanding of love. However, the stuffed men seem to be educated, wealthy, and respectful. 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He refers to the human race as being â€Å"hollow,† (1) and having a â€Å"headpiece filled with straw,† (4) which creates the feeling and theme of emptiness. Eliot also uses allusions, symbols, and repetition as powerful, and depressing poetic devices to make mankind seem hollow. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;TheRead MoreEliot And The Hollow Men1784 Words   |  8 PagesT.S. Eliot and â€Å"The Hollow Men† In the height of the modernist poetry movement, T.S. Eliot wrote his highly acclaimed poem, â€Å"The Hollow Men† (Constantakis 55). In his writing, he encompassed the culture and personal turmoil surrounding him (Constantakis 51). The effects of World War I lingered in society allowing for the existentialist philosophies of Nietzsche, Sartre, and Freud to seep into common thought (Constantakis 56). 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S. Eliot’s â€Å"The Hollow Men† is a dramatic monologue, free verse poem that consists of five parts that could be considered five separate poems. His use of â€Å"allegorically abstract text neverthelessRead More Discussing Heart Of Darkness, The Hollow Men, and Apocalypse Now1263 Words   |  6 PagesRelationship between Heart Of Darkness, The Hollow Men, and Apocalypse Now      Ã‚   The Hollow Men is a poem by T.S. Eliot who won the Nobel Prize in 1948 for all his great accomplishments. The Hollow Men is about the hollowness that all people have; while Heart of Darkness is a story of the darkness that all people have. The poem written by Eliot was greatly influenced by Conrad and Dante. Some people may even think that WWI also influenced it. It was written after World War I and could be describingRead MoreThe Hollow Men By. Eliot1246 Words   |  5 PagesReligion has always been, and will continue to be, a unique element within society. There are many different things one can put their faith into. The Hollow Men written by T.S. Eliot examines faith, or rather the deterioration of faith, within society. Conversely, My Son the Fanatic written by Hanif Kurishi considers the consequences of containing too much faith. Both works deem religion to be a necessary part of life in separate ways. Although these texts agree that faith must remain significant