Preludes - TS Eliot Essay

The poem ‘Preludes’ portrays women in a very different light to ‘Prufrock’ and ‘Portrait of a Lady’. In ‘Preludes’ Eliot draws influence from Baudelaire who wrote about ‘the more sordid aspects of the modern metropolis,’ and it would seem that in ‘Preludes’ women can almost be included in these ‘sordid aspects.’ Eliot talks about a woman in the third stanza of the poem, and it would appear that the woman is a prostitute. Writing about a prostitute, he presents to us a more sordid side of women. In ‘Preludes’, Eliot’s view is almost degrading and at times Eliot presents an ashamed tone when he says “The thousand

By looking through a critical lens at T Stearns Eliot’s poetry in light of his 20th century, modernist context, much is revealed about his personal and the rapidly evolving societal beliefs of that era. Through his repeating motif of time and fragmentation throughout his poems, Eliot reveals the prevalent feelings of isolation while in society along with the need to hide one’s feelings and emotions in this degrading society. His exploration of the use of ambiguity and stream of consciousness by Eliot, which is a characteristic of modernist artists, allows his work to resound over decades while being interpreted and differently understood by every audience that encounters them.

Poetry can sometimes allow one to explore the unknown. However, in some works of poetry, one can realise that some known ideas or values remain relevant to current society. This is certainly applicable to T.S. Eliot’s poems, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Rhapsody on a Windy Night. Eliot’s manipulation of poetic techniques in both these poems allows the responder to realise that some ideas prevail in both modern and post-modern society. These poems explore the unknown phenomena of the obscurity regarding the purpose and meaning of life. This unknown phenomena causes the persona in both texts to resort to a sense of isolation or alienation. Eliot uses poetic techniques such as metaphors and personification to convey his ideas.

Little Tom was born to Joseph and Frances Cocke Pain on the 29th of January 1737, in the village of Thetford, in Norfolk county, England. Little did they know that in years to come he would change the course of History with his literary works. While most children in Thetford village were apprenticed as young as seven years old, Thomas learned how to read and write first- fostering his intelligence from a young age. His teachers noticed his natural tendencies towards learning and lent him literature. These books ignited a desire to visit the new world, as he later said: “My inclination

efferson Thomas, the youngest of seven children, was born in Little Rock to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Thomas. His parents named him after Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States. Thomas first attended Horace Mann High School, a segregated all-black school, where he was a track athlete. In 1957, he chose to volunteer to integrate all-white Little Rock Central High School for the 1957–58 school year as a sophomore.

T.S Eliot’s poem, “The winter evening settles down” is a short, simple to read poem with several different examples of imagery. Eliot uses descriptive words, for instance, “withered leaves”, “broken blinds”, and “lonely cab-horse” (lines 7-10). He paints an extremely bleak image of a town that seems to be deserted of people. The tone of the poem plays hand-in-hand with the imagery used. This town is an unpleasant place where it has seemed to be neglected for some years now. Eliot’s use of imagery takes the reader to this deserted, torpid place; however, at the same time, his goal is to bring the life back into this grim town.

His parents were Thomas

Thomas Hart Benton was born in on April 15, 1889 in Neosho, Missouri. He was named after his great-great-uncle. He was the oldest child of four children. His parents’ names were Elizabeth Wise Benton and Maecenas Eason Benton. Maecenas Benton gained fame as a painter of the American Scene. His father was a very successful lawyer and congressmen. Maecenas Eason Benton was born on January 29, 1848 in Dyersburg, Tennessee. He was a U.S. representative from Missouri. Elizabeth Wise Benton was born on July 1866 in Texas. They were very supportive of their son. Although his mother encouraged his artistic endeavors, but his father did not.

This arising tone of regret and distance is also formed by the speaker’s depiction of his father having “cracked hands that ached,” (1. 3) which further signifies the father’s struggle with the severe coldness. The concept of self-sacrifice is apparent in this portrayal of his father’s disregard to his own pain in order to provide warmth and light for his family’s home. The stirring of “banked fires blaze” (1. 5) within the house,

Eliot uses metaphor to relate accessible, physical entities and concepts to more abstract themes present in the poem. In

T.S. Eliot and Melvin Tolson use their poems, which reference political norms and utilize a diverse set of diction, in order to purvey socio-economic paradigms of the time period in which each author lived, which in turn, gave the audience a look into their lives. These two authors actively tried to change their environments by satirizing these paradigms and drawing attention to them in order to bring

George Eliot is from England and is known for her novels set in rural England. George grew up in England with her mother and father who were a strict Methodist family. George never really thought anything

Bach completed the first volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier in 1722 at the age of 37. The aim of the book was to write a prelude and fugue in all keys which are arranged in in an ascending chromatic scale in pairs of major and minor scales, for example, C major, C minor, C-sharp major, C-sharp minor etcetera, for those who wished to learn. Only seven of the 96 pieces have an explicit tempo marking, but BWV 861 is not one of them.

T.S. Eliot had tremendous amount of influences throughout his life, causing him to a have a unique style of writing, which had a profound impact and significance on 20th century literature.

In our daily lives, we are too busy to do the things that we always want to do. So, we live lives of boring repetition. However, we have become adjusted to it so almost none of us complain. T.S. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri and eventually moved to London, England. Extremely well educated, Eliot wrote many highly praised poems. For example, The Waste Land was assembled out of dramatic vignettes based on Eliot’s London life. Another poem, Preludes, talks about the daily lives of people where it starts off simple, but leads into something deeper than everyday life. Three reasons why I relate to Preludes by T.S. Eliot are evenings, mornings, and spiritually.