Eliot, Thomas - Realtà tramite le metafore

ELIOT

“The Burial of the dead”

“Cruelest month” new cycle of nature, rebirth of nature. Cruelest because in a waste

land is impossible a rebirth. They are obliged to start a kind of rebirth is difficult for

someone who lived in the modern age. In a waste land rebirth is impossible. In spring

there are flowers and gentle rain. Chauser is a negative way. The past is not significant

for Eliot. “April Cruel” to represents a kind of responsibility. There are contrastive

images: what is produced and what is experienced. Lilacs represent sterility, they rule.

Dead could desolated. The image of life “City” is London. “waste land” different

quotation and languages. “Unreal city” evoking real condition of human beings.

Optimism politeness people walking on the street. Mentioned by Blake. People

crossing the London bridge. Fogs makes impossible the visual of buildings. City not

different from the city described by Dickens. You cannot distinguish style now. Unable

to have light in her eyes. No enthusiasm, no dignity. They are walking as if they are

dead. Nothing positive in existence. Exploitation, there are people alienated. They are

similar to dead people. Unreal city, sterility is everywhere is impossible to experience

bed life what it offers. In Eliot’s poem there’s a sort of climax, total fragmentation,

they are together but they feed lonely. Death is pervading life. There’re not effects of

the industrial revolution. There’s indifferent similar to the Eveline one. There’s the

point of view of Eliot. Boudelaire: spleen opposite state of the ideal. No possibility to

react (ideal). It’s impossible to wake up, no positive elements. No kind of solution.

Describe the situation of a city. April is described as a cruel month because there’s the

rebirth but for who live in London this rebirth is impossible. The mind of this people is

broken because of this first world war. London is the typical modern city. There are

some quotation from other authors who describe London. Sufferance and indifference.

Modern age is described as an age of sterility. “lilacs out of the dead land” this verse is

in contrast with April which is the month of rebirth. It’s a period of sterility because

people cannot react. The reason why this happens are: first world war and progress.

Psych analysis escapes that people cannot make something. It’s also a chaotic period.

“What the thunder said”

Desert land in which life is impossible, there’s no water. There’s no regeneration, there

are only rocks. London is a foggy city but now there’s the description of the attitude of

the inhabitants. “Sandy road” it’s a road near a mountains. There’s no water there’s

only rock. He is stressed the image of a land with mountains. Walking is difficult. The

absence of water is stressed in every verse. Water is a sort of energy for the rebirth

but it isn’t and this represents the impossibility to act. Nothing is possible anymore.

Life is paralyzed, it’s impossible. People cannot stop or think. He stressed the difficulty

in doing common things. “If there were only water we should stop and drink” he

insisted on the fact that nowhere on earth life is possible. The bloc in the brain of

everyman. Everything is dead, sterility is everywhere. A dramatic situation. He is

describing people in the worst way possible. A climax in the dramatic situation of

people. In this case no one helps the others. Sterility is stressed thanks to the auditory

image of the thunder, there’s no water. People are terrify by thunder because in mind

of people recall war, it’s representative of sufferance of people who are completely

lost. The poet is continuously wondering, life is not positive, it’s a negative experience

because there’s no possibility to understand what it is and people can not act. Nothing

exist anymore because there’s no the family. No love among people, they are obliged

to create groups but there’s no possibility. They are obliged to experience what is

negative.

II stanza: nothing is changing, water is absent. A monosyllabic sound who represent

the impossibility to live without water. Auditory image of water. Spring doesn’t exist

but there’s a burn summer. Hot weather which burn nature. The sound reproduce

sterility. “But there is no water” there are no opportunity in life. “Not the cicada”

representation of the hot summer.

“Journey of the Magi”

“The very dead of winter” middle of winter. Camels “galled” the sufferance of the

camels. The Magi are kings, wise men who are traveling. The first five verses

represents a description makes by one of the magi. A long journey so more difficulties.

This journey who they decided to do. They go on they are nor paralyzed. There’s no

the example of modern men but a positive example of the past. There’s the negative

aspect of a journey during the winter. They are pretending to go deeper and deeper,

they pretend to discover. This journey is the intention to start a real quest and

discover a new truth. It’s described a bad season as spring in “What the thunder

said”. Modern people as not the same determination. Magi are similar to the “old

masters” by Auden. A bad scenery in contrast with these wise and determinate men.

There’s a chance thanks to the figure of these men they are not lost. “Palaces”

represent the best place in which they live. It’s the representation of their own life

before the start of his journey. They represents modern men, it’s a journey similar to

the one of “The waste land”. They abandoned “summer palaces” for a difficult journey,

for a terrible experience. “The cities hostile” unfavorable and unfriendly, there’s the

impossibility to have a rest. They are destined to cope with all these difficulties. They

can arrive to the end of the journey. They have to go on. “Temperate volley” it’s a

valley in which they can smell the odor of vegetation. This valley is also temperate, it’s

better than the one described before. A place where start to be consider a friendly

condition. Reconquer a strong religious believe. There’s a chance in life. Symbols that

are evoking religious believe. There’s a chance in life. Symbols that are evoking

religious believe. “Horse galloped away” the idea of the passage of paganism.

Paganism can be defeated. There’s the possibility to defeat death that make modern

people blind people. Something positive could be find at the end. “In the meadow” a

place full of grass. “Then we come to a tavern” concreate image suggested. A religious

image. “Six Hands” hands of soldiers who crucify Christ. Evoke a kind of purification,

representation of a change in modern people. Eliot was able to reconquer it. These

wise man are conscious of purification, they had to go on, they have to experience the

journey to be saved. “Death” to start a rebirth or a “Birth” a natural rebirth. It’s

impossible to say what this journey represents. Apparently, they conclude that there

was a “Birth”. These verses represents the resurrection, star again in a positive way.

“agency” a rebirth is possible. Anytime we cope with a difficulty, we come on

something positive. An action as the solution is what is important to have another

mood. A positive mood can be useful to help people and reconquer dignity that they

lost.

“Refugee Blues” by Auden

A dramatic situation of the Second World War. Refuges are persecuted. Two person are

the protagonist, they escape from Germany. It’s a dialogue between the two. They

have not a place where stay. They are escaping from Germany. They have different

problems. Now they are in an American city in which there are rich and poor people.

Different groups of people, happy, satisfy, who have many difficulties, at the top there

is this couple who has not a place to stay. There are Jewish people. Jews represents a

risk for America.

II stanza: description of the city in which they live in Germany. The beautiful city is in

Germany, before they were happy there.

III stanza: passport compared to the tree. Tree can grows but passport can’t be fruit

because they have not an identity.

IV stanza: Without a document, they are dead and they can’t have a place to stay.

V stanza: committee offered them a chair but next year. They couldn’t wait the

decision of the committee. The condition is terrible and they have to survive day after

day.

VI stanza: they went on hearing the thunder rumbling and they are destinated to die.

Pets have a dignity but not Jews.

VII stanza: Jews are oppressed while fish are free. The comparison between Jews and

animal. Human have not the same dignity of pets.

IX stanza: the dream explain their desire to have a place to live but it’s simply a

dream.

X stanza: more dramatic than the previous. Personal tone of sufferance “you and me”

they are suffering. Personal tone of sufferance. Denouncing a condition that people

live during the modern age. Difficult life of the Jews, indifference on this people.

Dignity is what they want to conquer and it’s the consequence of living in peace.