Concetti Chiave
- "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot explores the emptiness and sterility of modern life, portraying it as a spiritual desert.
- The poem concludes with the famous line about the world's end, emphasizing a sense of desolation and meaninglessness in life and death.
- "The Four Quartets" consists of four poems named after significant places in Eliot's life, each related to the four elements or seasons.
- The structure of "The Four Quartets" mirrors "The Waste Land" through its use of free verse, literary references, and symbolism.
- The central theme is the tension between time and eternity, advocating for spiritual transcendence over material existence to overcome existential despair.
Thomas Eliot
The Hollow Men
Written in 1925 further develops Eliot’s conception of modern man’s inner emptiness, The short poem describes the dry, spiritually and emotionally sterile nature of modern life seen as a desert, the sense of desolation because life and death are meaningless (last lines of the poem: “This is the way the world ends not with a bang but a whimper”). It anticipates the themes and landscapes of Beckett’s works.
The Four Quartets
Written over a period of seven years, made up of four poems published separately at the beginning and then unified.
The structure of the poem is very similar to “The Waste Land” because of the use of free verse, references to other literatures, use of symbols and quotations.
The main theme of the poem is the relationship between time and eternity, conveyed through the image of our present civilization seen as death (silent funeral), emptiness, darkness as opposed to faith which is the only way to survive since even love and hope are limited in time and therefore imperfect.
Thus if we want to defeat Beckett’s useless waiting, we must choose the negative way that is to give up what is material and earthly and to follow the timeless life of the spirit.
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