What does the last stanza mean to you? Is the poem really describing the end of the world, or do the lines merely express a belief held by the Hollow Men?
The last stanza suggests that the world is ending. Throughout the poem 'The Hollow Men', T.S Eliot describes a miserable world full of darkness. Eliot suggests that the world is fading "For Thine is. Life is. For Thine is". This suggests that life slowly fades instead of suddenly, this is backed up buy the last stanza "Not with a bang but with a whimper". However the last stanza could express a belief held by the Hollow Men because they are described in a way which makes them seem passive and pathetic just like the proletariat. In this sense it could be a way of describing the proletariat and their everyday lives, slow and drab. T.S Eliot writes in a way that makes the reader feel miserable so a lot of his poems including 'Whispers of Immortality' use depressive language. In 'The Hollow Men' he uses depressive language and a mellow tone, especially in the last stanza, to suggest the horrible lives of the Hollow Men.
No comments:
Post a Comment