Journey of the Magi by T. S. Eliot - Essay Example

Journey of the Magi by T. S. Eliot Introduction: Thomas S. Eliot's poem "Journey of the Magi" gives an interpretation of the trip made by the three wise men to see Jesus, when he was born. The title can thus be said to be clearly significant to the poem’s meaning, as it needs to be interpreted from a diverse. In essence, the poem talks of the journey that was made by the Magi in the Bible, which can be found in Matthew 2:1-12. The three wise men or also identified as kings were the Magi who followed the bright star. The term Magi reminds the readers of the nativity story, how the kings travelled to see baby Jesus and the religion. However, the main story found in the Bible, and one which is derived from the poem, are two different stories. In the beginning, of the poem, the excerpt from the first stanza is “a cold coming we had” (Eliot, 2012, line 1). This quote sets a scene for the rest of the first stanza, which depicts an image of winter and cold air for the reader. Then it continues by describing the misery experienced by camels, how the camel men complained and the unfriendly towns in which they travelled. However, the version in the Bible most certainly does not mention anything difficult or appalling about the journey made. As depicted from the poem, the journey was made in winter, riding on camels that were smelly. To comprehend this poem, one has to precisely understand Christ’s impact on the world (Eliot, 2005). Thesis Statement: the Journey of the Magi can be described as an analogy that compares the journey that was undertaken by Magus who made a visit to Jesus when he was born, with the author’s journey when converting to a Christian. Analysis: The poem is precisely depicting the journey of the poet; Eliot, from being an atheist to a Christian. In this analysis, it will be clear that as much as the poet tries to capture the Magi emotions he also wanted to reflect on his developments as a writer in Christian faith. There are two themes among others which are clearly depicted in this poem. There is the theme of rebirth and death which are clear indications of the similarity of the poet’s journey and that of the Magi. The poet compares the suffering of the Magi and the one during the birth of Jesus or the Christian religion to the death of other religions though most readers may view death and birth as two diverse things. The poem realizes that both of these themes are similar. As depicted in the poem “Birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like death, our death" (Eliot, 2012, lines 38-39). This indicates that Eliot had explored all the hard feelings of the three kings when they were accepting a new religion. Most significantly, they had to discard their faiths and all their beliefs as they believed they were in the wrong religion and no longer felt at peace as quoted in the poem; “But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation” (Eliot, 2012, line 40). In the first stanza, the main focus on criticism is solely on the journey as depicted in the first line “A cold coming we had of it” (Eliot, 2012, line 1) during “the worst time of the year (Eliot, 2012, line 2). The setting was symbolic as the three Magi talk of their past lives which were sorrowful and full of ease that they seemed to regret it. This is quoted in the poem “A hard time we had of it” (Eliot, 2012, line 16). In the poem, it shows that the exact feelings of the Magi, “…regretted…the silken girls bringing sherbet” (Eliot, 2012, lines 8-10). In a similar way as that of the Magi, the poet felt that he was physically and spiritually moving towards the life of accepting Christ and putting a ban as the Magi had on their sinful lives. The poet seems to have an opinion on the subject matter in the poem. This is evident from the third stanza where Eliot emphasizes on the Magi’s doubts on death and rebirth. This suggests that the Magi wanted another death in their lives so as to promote their spiritual renewal. The poet’s opinion is that the Magi wanted to be happy with another death. In line 43, the sentence multiplies in its implication; as a result, it reiterates the theme that is in the poem which indicates that the search for perfection in only a process that results to death. To some level, Eliot wishes for his own death so that the process that he is undergoing can come to an end. At another high level, the speaker wishes for Christ’s death because only in the death of Christ can the true satisfaction which the poet seeks, occur. The structure of Eliot’s poem is that it has no rhyming scheme to it and has three stanzas. The poem does not have any rhythm that can be noted; thereby it has to be read at a slow pace. Hence, it gives a feeling of gloominess and dullness. It is precisely written in free verses and has no rhyming words. The poem embodies Eliot’s three stanzas or the three stages of the sacrament. However, we might question why the poem is arranged in different stages. Instead of the poet starting the poem with the contrition and concluding with satisfaction, he takes another route. He opens his poem with contrition in the first stanza, proceeds in stanza two with satisfaction and concludes with confession in the last stanza. This only suggests that an individual’s soul, when making the journey toward the heavenly perfection and Christ may never rest in perfection, but has to be recurrently engaged in the process of being and becoming perfect. This brings to the reader’s attention that the poet depicts that not until an individual’s death, can the process finally hit the rock bottom. In other words, satisfaction is only attained when there is death, because in life an individual has to continue with the process of compensating his or her human weakness. Conclusion: Conclusively, in the poem brings the reader to the attention of the human spirit’s journey and attention for perfection. The message delivered is that every person is involved in different processes of perfection whether individually or as a group. The trick is that this goal is only attained through death. Eliot states this concluding point in the poem’s last four lines where it is evidently depicted “I should be glad of another death” (Eliot, 2012, lines 40-43). References: Eliot T.S. (2012) "Journey of the Magi” - Poetry Archive." Web. 18 Mar. 2012. . Eliot. T.S. (2005) Making of an American Poet, 1888-1922. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State UP, Print. Read More