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The Themes Of Cultural And Spiritual Crisis

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The themes of “cultural and spiritual crisis" "fragmentation" by T.S Eliot
Modernism is a critical topic that has not only engulfed the contemporary literary discussion, but has attracted interest in the field of poetry. It therefore explains the critical relationship among modernism, culture and spiritual desires of the society. One of such attraction has not spared the contribution by Eliot. The poem by Eliot is characterized by a lot of themes that define and demonstrate elements of modernism. The nature of the art that was produced immediately following the First World War portrayed a lot of emotional aspect of crisis, a sense of hopeless, anger, fragmented society and chaos. From these facets of the period, Eliot chose to use it as a tool of constructing art working reflecting on modernism. One of the critical elements depicted in the poems by Eliot is cultural and spiritual crisis. Throughout the poems, we are in a position to embrace the fact that there is a close nature between culture and spirituality.
The subtitle in the poem refers to the Anglican burial service, “I- The Burial of the Dead”. This is an additional factor of gloomy atmosphere in the poem which is associated with grief.
Similarly, Eliot starts his poetry work by christening the month of April as “the cruelest month” (1). This is because the month creates an atmosphere that is composed of both the living and the dead. This is seen when Lilacs are compelled to rise out of the dead.

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