Imagery

A detailed Summary of Imagery

Imagery Depicted Through T.S. Elliot's "The Hollow Men"

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 poem, first published in 1925. In this short piece, Eliot lists several

deep faults he finds in his fellow human beings, including hypocrisy, insensability and

indifference. Overall Elliot 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 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 within this poem, along with Eliot himself.

This type of narration creates a sense

The presence of the cactus instead of the familiar mulberry keeps the reader in Eliot's

wear/Such deliberate disguises/Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves/In a field/Behaving as

associated not only with death, but also with the scarecrow and it's crossed support staves.

dead. Further into section IV he presents "The hope only/Of empty men" as being when

Section V of the poem begins with a variation of a children's rhyme, "Here we go round

other kingdom." These people are made real by Eliot's repeated mention of their eyes. He

creates a world of desolation. The idea of dryness is emphasized by the repeadted use of

Approximate Word count = 665
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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