Thomas Stearns Eliot and American Poetry - Essay Example

[Coarse PRELUDES T.S Eliot wrote the poem en d, “Preludes” during 1910 and 1911. By reading this poem, it comes to understanding that poet condemned the modernity and urban life through the poem, where the spirituality, affection and emotions have been vanished or faded somewhere in the lights of a modern city. It is an interesting poem that grabs the attention of the reader in which poet portrays the society as a wasteland where the people have become isolated with their meaningless routine cycle, and they hope that there is a divine source that is keeping an eye and protecting humankind. The title of the story ‘Prelude’ has a significant meaning that can be classified as an introduction to something in both general and musical sense. Thesis: Through this poem poet represents the characteristics of the modern society and introduces the monotonous view of the society that is destructing the peaceful environment and the traditional lifestyle of the human race particularly their norms and culture. In the first stanza of the poem, poet illustrates the portrayal of a common street of a modern city with an omniscient point of view, where the people have become cold of feelings and society has become desolated. The poet represents herself as an observer who is outside in the dusk of winter evening, where she is observing the appearance and the atmosphere of the street. According to the poem, the time is pinpointed at six o’ clock, and the observer is standing on the pavement of the street among the withered leaves (Osar). The people of the city reside in one roomed apartments and at this time they are busy in cooking their evening meal particularly steak. The poet uses the word ‘passageways’ that proposes that the houses of the city have turned into flat for rent. Although it also gives an idea that it is the part of the city that is badly maintained. In the second line of the stanza, ‘With smells of steaks in passageways’ suggests that the day is over, and the night is beginning. In the fourth line the use of ‘smoky days’ has contradiction that, it is either use to describe the smoky day or, the smoke is caused by cooking. Similarly, the word ‘burnt out’ is rather used to explain the exhaustion or tiredness of the people or either suggests that the steak have become overcooked. ‘Grimy scraps’ portrays the filth and messiness of the street where lots of newspapers are blowing around, and there are many empty spaces on the street with the lack of buildings. The word ‘broken’ is used to define window-blind whereas, ‘chimney pots’ refers as the building are three or four story houses rather than factories. The source of transportation is the cab horse. The darkness in the first stanza is followed by ‘the lighting of the lambs’ that gives the feeling of hope by which darkness can be minimized or vanished through the light. All through the stanza, the idea is cleared that how this modern era is affecting the human race on the name of civilized society that is also destructing the peaceful environment and traditional lifestyle accordingly. The second stanza depicts the fact that, it is a new morning and possibly a new start, but then it is realized that nothing has changed. Through the depiction of ‘faint stale smells of beer’, one can assume that it is the hangover or either it is a red light area of the city. In this stanza, ‘muddy feet’ suggests the poor neighborhood all around the street, while, the word ‘shades’ is used to describe that the secrets that lies in the heart of the town and use to be hidden in the daylight through normal behavior. The term ‘the thousands furnished rooms’ refers to the thousand one room apartments of the town where prostitutes serves. That gives an idea how this generation and society has been spoiled by raising up the modern society. In the next stanza, the first three lines portray the image of restless and impatient night by using ‘you’ repeatedly. This stanza constructs the reflection of the isolated or traumatized life that is all alike the first two stanzas. It is depicted by ‘The thousand sordid images of which your soul was constituted’ that the women who are the one from the thousand furnished rooms feels that she made the discovery of her life to be worthless. The whole society has a particular image about her just because she is from one of the thousand furnished rooms that particularly depicts that how much the society is ruined by the innovation or modernized approaches. All through the poem a failing of the society has been portrayed. In the fourth stanza, ‘soul stretched tight across the skies’, where the poet uses the word ‘stretch’ to show the agony and pain that is caused by restiveness. The use of ‘four and five and six o’clock’ infers the busy routine from which society goes through every day that also gives the illustration of the society that became meaningless since it stepped into the modern era. The ‘evening newspaper’ portrays the same routine of the people who travel in public transport in the evening and read the newspaper. It particularly describes that how cold and impersonal people have become. ‘Conscience of a blackened world’ refers that there is no hope left in the society to help us with, which discloses the poet’s conclusion and the ultimate statement. While in the final stanza the poet dismisses the source of hope and used harsh and savage tone that what people think for hope is some divine source that would save the humanity. The word ‘revolves’ refers to that the society is still experiencing the same process that is their isolated mechanic routine. While the very last line of the poem that is ‘gathering fuel in vacant lots is the terror filled statement of the poet which concludes that the society in this era is fragmented, corrupt and isolated in all senses including traditional lifestyle and environment consequently. According to the present circumstance there is no hope for a change in the society. By considering the facts and details of the poem, and it can be stated that as far as the world is developing and growing faster than ever so as a society is hopeless, exhausted, and desolate. People have become mechanical due to their meaningless everyday routine that has the lack of uniqueness. This is the harsh reality of the society that the reader discovers while reading this poem that the people believe on Divine source for hope and do not do any effort in order to attain change in the society. Reading of this poem gives an idea that no God or no one else can bring hope and change in the society until or unless the men itself bring its own effort. Work Cited Osar, Lee. T.S. Eliot and American Poetry. New York: University of Missouri Press, 1998. Print Read More