T.S. Eliot's renowned poem, 'The Hollow Men' (1925), delves into the recurring themes of religious uncertainty, despair, and a world in turmoil after the First World War. These themes are also present in Eliot's other works, such as 'The Waste Land' (1922). With only 98 lines, 'The Hollow Men' features some of Eliot's most famous verses, including the iconic line, "This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper" (97-98).
Born in America, T.S. Eliot was a prolific author, playwright, and essayist. He crafted 'The Hollow Men' as a short but powerful reflection on the human condition.
Compared to Eliot's longer works like 'The Waste Land' and 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock', 'The Hollow Men' is relatively short at 98 lines, divided into five unnamed sections.
The opening section introduces the speaker, who represents the "hollow men" and their empty, lifeless existence. The speaker likens them to scarecrows, empty vessels in a contradictory depiction of their spiritual decay. Their attempts at communication are dry and meaningless.
In this section, the speaker explores the fears of the hollow men. He dreams of eyes but cannot meet them, and in the realm of death, symbolized as a "dream kingdom" (20), the eyes shine upon a broken column. The speaker wishes to avoid this fate and would rather disguise himself as a scarecrow. The section ends with the speaker expressing fear of "that final meeting/In the twilight kingdom" (37-38).
The speaker describes the desolate world of the hollow men, ruled by death. He questions if the inhabitants of this land are also devoid of love and unable to express it. Their only hope lies in praying to broken stones.
The speaker reveals that this barren land was once a magnificent kingdom, now reduced to an empty, lifeless valley. The hollow men gather at the shore of an overflowing river, unable to speak as there is nothing left to say. They are all blind, with their only chance for salvation in the multi-petaled rose, referencing heaven as depicted in Dante's Paradiso.
In the final section, the hollow men sing a modified version of the nursery rhyme 'Here we go 'round the Mulberry bush'. Instead of a mulberry bush, they go around a prickly pear cactus, futilely trying to take action hindered by their own shadow. The speaker concludes with a quote from the Lord's Prayer, followed by fragmented lines that echo the hollow men's inability to create or fulfill desires. The poem ends with the famous lines "This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper" (97-98), portraying a bleak and underwhelming end.
What do you think of when you read those final lines? Do you agree with Eliot's depiction of the end of the world?
Eliot delves into the moral decay and societal disintegration in 'The Hollow Men', exploring themes of faithlessness and emptiness.
Written two years before Eliot's conversion to Anglicanism, it is evident that he saw a lack of faith in society. The hollow men in the poem have lost their faith and blindly pray to broken stones, representing false gods. Instead of practicing a proper faith, they follow false and untrue beliefs, contributing to their own decline. They have strayed from the true faith and now find themselves in a desolate wasteland, mere shadows of their former selves. The reference to the "Multifoliate rose" (64) in the poem alludes to the concept of heaven as depicted in Dante's Paradiso. However, the hollow men are unable to save themselves and must rely on the intervention of heavenly beings, which seems to never come.
In the final section of the poem, Eliot employs various allusions to prayer and the Bible. The line "For Thine is the Kingdom" (77) is a fragment of a speech by Christ in the Bible and also appears in the Lord's Prayer. In the previous three-line stanza, the speaker attempts to repeat this phrase but is unable to finish it. Something is blocking the speaker from uttering these holy words. This could be the "Shadow" mentioned throughout the section, which also prevents the speaker from praying. As a result, the speaker laments that the world will end "not with a bang but a whimper." The hollow men yearn for the restoration of their faith, but it seems like an impossible feat.
In his poem "The Hollow Men," T.S. Eliot paints a bleak portrait of a society that has crumbled under the weight of its own faithlessness and materialism. The hollow men, symbolized by decaying stones and fading stars, represent the degradation of a once-great civilization. Desperate for meaning and purpose, they turn to false gods and prioritize material possessions over spiritual beliefs, ultimately leading to a dismal and unsatisfying conclusion.Throughout the poem, Eliot references religious traditions and mythology to further emphasize the society's downfall. In one instance, the hollow men stand on the banks of an overflowing river, unable to cross without the reappearance of eyes. This alludes to the Greek myth of crossing the River Styx after death, where one must offer a coin to the ferryman. The poem's epigraph, "penny for the Old Guy," also references this transaction, with the "penny" symbolizing a person's soul. The hollow men, with their depleted spiritual selves, are unable to cross because they have nothing to offer in the afterlife.In section V, Eliot incorporates direct quotations from the Bible in a different format, effectively creating a dialogue between two speakers. These fragments of verses mirror the fragmented society and the thoughts of the hollow men as they lose their sanity in the wasteland. It is evident that they are attempting to recite these verses, but their emptiness prevents them from doing so accurately. The second speaker declares that this purgatorial wasteland now belongs to the hollow men to rule.As explored further in the symbolism section, the hollow men refuse to make direct eye contact with one another, out of shame for their actions. Despite being aware of the heavenly afterlife, they are too consumed by their own guilt and emptiness to acknowledge the sins they have committed. This fear of facing their own hollowness only further perpetuates their spiritual decay.Published shortly after the devastation of World War I, the poem reflects Eliot's disillusionment with a society that could commit such atrocities and then try to return to normal life. Having witnessed the horrors of the war firsthand, Eliot uses the hollow men as a metaphor for the spiritual emptiness and decay of modern European society. The barren and desolate environment in which they reside mirrors the emptiness within them.In the poem, Europe is described as a land covered in "dry glass" and "broken glass," devoid of any signs of life. This desolation mirrors the barrenness and decay of the people who inhabit it, both Europeans and hollow men alike. Just as the hollow men have become empty, their words and actions meaningless, European society has also lost its agency and purpose in the wake of destruction and countless deaths.Eliot's paradoxical description of the hollow men as "stuffed men" with heads full of straw further highlights their spiritual emptiness. Despite their appearance of fullness and glamour, they lack any true substance. This echoes the society they represent, which may seem prosperous on the surface, but ultimately is just as hollow and lacking in substance. Overall, Eliot's "The Hollow Men" serves as a poignant commentary on the dangers of losing faith and prioritizing materialism over spiritual beliefs.
T.S. Eliot's 1925 poem "The Hollow Men" delves into the strange and sorrowful world of society post-World War I through the use of various symbols and themes. Spread across five sections, the 98-line poem presents a powerful commentary on the emptiness and lack of faith in a decaying world. Let's take a closer look at the symbols and themes in this significant Modernist piece.
Eliot's use of the title "The Hollow Men" serves as a potent metaphor for the people of post-war society. The poet compares them to the hollowness of a scarecrow, representing their spiritual emptiness and aimless existence in a barren world. This metaphor is reinforced throughout the poem by references to straw and scarecrows.
The epigraph of the poem, "Mistah Kurtz-he dead/A penny for the Old Guy," is a direct allusion to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. In this novel, the character Kurtz is described as "hollow to the core," mirroring the hollow men in Eliot's poem. Additionally, the second line references the British tradition of Guy Fawkes Night, where children ask for "a penny for the Guy" to create effigies that are then burned. This allusion is woven throughout the poem, emphasizing the emptiness and destruction of society.
Eliot also incorporates references to Dante's Inferno and Paradiso in the poem. The "Multifoliate rose" alludes to Dante's depiction of heaven as a rose with multiple petals, while the "tumid river" is likely a reference to both the River Acheron from Inferno and the River Styx from Greek mythology. This river symbolizes the state of limbo that the hollow men inhabit, neither fully alive nor dead, reflecting the purgatory of their existence.
Ultimately, "The Hollow Men" serves as a commentary on the moral emptiness and spiritual decay of society post-World War I. Through his use of symbols and themes, Eliot portrays a desolate world and a lost generation. However, there is a glimmer of hope in the form of the fading star and the possibility of the multifoliate rose. The fading star may represent the decline of society, but it is still visible, offering a sliver of hope for the future.
Key Points to Remember:
T.S. Eliot, a prominent Modernist poet, is widely known for his use of allusion, symbolism, and fragmented narratives in his works. One of his most famous poems, "The Hollow Men," reflects Eliot's disillusionment with society after World War I. The poem portrays the hollow men as a metaphor for a lost and morally bankrupt generation.
Eliot weaves various allusions throughout the poem, including ones to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Dante's Inferno and Paradiso, and the British tradition of Guy Fawkes Night. These references serve to emphasize the depth of Eliot's commentary on society and its decline.
Through the metaphor of the hollow scarecrow and the recurring imagery of straw, Eliot highlights the emptiness and lack of substance present in society. The hollow men, with their heads filled with straw, represent a spiritually and morally hollow existence, devoid of any true purpose or meaning.
However, amidst the bleak themes of the poem, there is a glimmer of hope. The fading star and the possibility of the multifoliate rose symbolize the potential for change and redemption in society. It is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is always a glimmer of hope and the possibility for renewal.
