An Analysis Of The Hollow Men By T. S. Eliot

In the modernistic poem “The Hollow Men,” by T.S Eliot, the speakers believe that in the push for progress that man has lost something essential for living, chiefly his soul. These speakers seem to be confessing their fears and worries to the reader from their place in a decaying wasteland, indicating that without that soul nothing can live. Images of emptiness fill the first section, of eyes in the second, more emptiness in the third, judgment and salvation in the fourth, and images of innocence and darkness in the last. At the beginning of the poem there is an epigraph that sets the tone for the poem. The quote is “Mistah Kurtz- he dead” from Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness. Kurtz refers to the antagonist of the story who was the reflection or the Shadow of the protagonist and by stating that “he dead” is indicating that he is without a soul. The speakers of the poem, then claim that they are equivalent to Kurtz by stating in …show more content…
The speakers discuss “[t]hose who have crossed” and their eyes. Eyes are normally thought of as mirrors to the soul and maybe those “[w]ith direct eyes” are those not afraid of judgment. These people have also made it to “death’s other Kingdom.” Because these people are not afraid of judgment, this “other Kingdom” could be a reference to Heaven. The speakers want these people in a possible Heaven to remember them not as lost and violent, just empty and stuffed. In part two of “The Hollow Men,” the speakers admit to being afraid of the judgment passed by the “[e]yes I dare not meet in dreams.” These eyes are from “death’s dream kingdom” which could also be another reference to Heaven. According to the speakers, the eyes do not appear in that kingdom do not appears as eyes but as “sunlight,” “a tree swinging,” and “wind’s singing.” The speakers also states that is “more solemn / Than a fading star.” This lines could indicate that there is less judgment here than where they are