(ANSWER THE QUESTION) T.S.

Eliot imparts an understanding of the dispirited,

Modern landscape through his poems. The uncertainty of direction in the Modern world is
introduced in “The Love-Song of J Alfred Prufrock” (1915) (Prufrock) through an insecure
speaker. “The Hollow Men” (1925) (THM) builds a growing sense of futility through
subversive allusions, used throughout his suite. Whilst acknowledging despair, Eliot
expresses hope for unity with the aid of traditional structures in “Journey of the Magi”
(1927) (Magi), written in light of his conversion to Anglo-Catholicism. (THESIS
STATEMENT)

(potential sentences based on whatever the argument is) Eliot uses abstractions
within the poetic form to invite wrestling with interpretation, ultimately championing
perseverance as central to navigating challenges of the human condition. Eliot’s skilful use of
abstractions within the poetic form amplify the….

“Prufrock” explores the lack of guidance available to the Modern individual due to their
distrust in tradition. Eliot disrupts the certainty and passion in 19th century dramatic
monologue tradition by crafting an uncertain speaker through the motif of unanswered
questioning, such as “should I then presume?/ And how should I begin?”. This subversion is
furthered through the jarring imagery of “a patient etherised upon a table,” ending on a flat
and unmelodic word. This patient symbolises Modernist attempts toward connection that
are “etherised” by the emphasis on individual interpretation. Modern readers are positioned
to connect with Prufrock’s alienation further through the zoomorphic depiction of the
“yellow fog” that “rubs its back upon window-panes”, imposing symbols of sickness and
obscurity on an emblem of clarity. The sirens in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ lure sailors into
movement - progress - when they are at sea. Eliot alludes to Homer’s epic in the closing lines
of his poem, “sea-girls wreathed….we drown” in which he subverts this intertextual allusion
as the Modern world disallows movement, instead leading individuals to “drown” in
uncertainty, detached from tradition. (LINK) In this poem, Eliot reveals that the Modern
focus on individual agency leads to isolation and a lack of fulfillment.

This sense of futility is echoed in“THM'', which captures the despondent war-stricken West
through an indiscernible speaker and allusions that only lead to failure in literature and
history. Eliot first alludes to the foiled Gunpowder Plot in the epigraph, “Mistah Kurtz-he
dead/A penny for the Old guy’, foregrounding the motif of failure throughout this poem.
Also, the egocentric Mistah Kurtz in ‘Heart of Darkness’ symbolises the hollow morality of
pursuing individual wants. Eliot captures the vacancy of the Modern landscape through the
shades in ‘Dante’s Inferno iii’ who parallel the Modern human who cannot progress: “Shape
without form, shade without colour/Paralysed…”. This repetition of “without” initialises
Eliot’s continued use of negation throughout this poem to further a sense of futility. He
negates the symbol of insight in the tautophrase, “eyes are not here/There are no eyes here”,
alluding to Beatrice, a figure of guidance for Dante in “Dante’s inferno”- inaccessible to
Modernists who reject traditional guidance. Unlike Prufrock who repeatedly questions, this
speaker repeats their utter despair thrice with a definite tone: “This is the way the world
ends/…” closing the poem with an unshakable air of failure. (LINK) Hence, Eliot
insightfully reveals that the Modern discrediting of traditional guidance detrimentally breeds
dejection and hopelessness for individuals.
In “Magi, Eliot’s cautious attitude toward conclusivity is joined by his growing hope for
communion when faith is placed upon traditional structures. Written in the same year of his
baptism, Eliot indicates that the Christian vision provides guidance and certainty - features
lacking in the Modern landscape - to its followers. Whereas speakers of Eliot’s previous
poems are alienated/indiscernible, the speaker of this poem is a Magi, whose faith and
humility (in contrast to Mistah Kurtz in “THM”) allow connection to his religious
community. This is expressed by the collective pronoun “at dawn we came to..” and the
refreshing symbol of enlightenment and hope in contrast to symbols of despair and futility in
previous poems. Much like Prufrock, Eliot maintains an awareness of the uncertainty
pervading Modernism through questioning, “Birth or Death?”. However, the Magi, with the
guidance of tradition, can envision a high modality answer: “There was a Birth, certainly”.
Eliot rejects an overly optimistic tone by understating the metaphor of an arrival at spiritual
communion, “Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory”. In conjunction with the
Magi anticipating the replacement of the Christian tradition with new lines of thinking, “I
should be glad of another death”, Eliot acknowledges the path toward fulfillment as unique
to every individual. This is reinforced by the title, which emphasises that this is only the
‘Journey of the Magi’. (LINK?)

(potential conc, change to suit question) In conclusion, Eliot skilfully captures the
Modern landscape within his poems to (...based on the question) The uncertainty within
“Prufrock” and nihilism in “THM” preface a spiritual yearning in the Modern landscape,
which is explored in “Magi”. He uses the expansionary space of poetry to affirm that the
human condition is rife with difficulty, but connection is possible.