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Analysis Of Sweeney Erect And Sweeney Among The Nightingales

Decent Essays

A social commentator, artistic critic, and artist, T.S. Eliot importantly chides modernist culture within his representation of the recurring character Sweeney, while also adhering to principles that he advances within his critical essays. Not only does Eliot merely describe the lust that he observes, but he, through Sweeney, interacts with, and consequently conveys its specific circumstances. Infusing mythological allusions into his depictions of such immoral situations, Eliot becomes an important medium for channeling the progression of such phenomena as sexual catastrophe into a modern setting. Criticizing the lechery and vulgarity which characterize the Modern Period, Eliot intentionally creates a two dimensional world in both “Sweeney Erect,” and “Sweeney Among the Nightingales” in order to more sufficiently caricaturize the decadence of the lust and animalism that pervade his culture.
An essential framing mechanism for both emphasizing the poem’s theme, and consequently providing social commentary, Eliot’s static, caricatured, portrayal of Sweeney augments his argument that sexual deviance and lust perpetrate sexual catastrophe. Considering the benefit of static characters within Ben Jonson’s poetry, Eliot notes that “Men may not talk in that way, but the spirit of envy does, and in the words of Jonson envy is a real and living person,” thus insinuating that the act of limiting his character to a mere manifestation of envy is a more cogent method of highlighting his theme than creating a dynamic role (63). By titling his poem “Sweeney Erect,” Eliot verifies his desire to establish a static mechanism for providing social commentary, as the title itself both posits that Sweeney resembles a primitive human ancestor, and elicits the image of sexuality through the word “erect,” ultimately characterizing his satirical figure before he is even introduced. Mirroring this sentiment, Eliot uses Sweeney as an embodiment of both primalism and sexual promiscuity, thereby developing his ultimate contention that concupiscence directly results in sexual catastrophe. Introducing this relationship in his poem “Sweeney Erect,” Eliot depicts Sweeney’s reaction to a prostitute who was suffering from epileptic shock, noting

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