Hollow Men

November 17, 2012, 3:40 pm

In part I of the poem, the hollow men were described as figures of straw. The description of the grass, wind, and rats creates the image of the hollow men being scarecrows on a field of grass. In the last stanza of this part, there emerges the reference to “eyes” which is repeated throughout the poem. At the end of the first part, the hollow men were described as “Violent souls” in “death’s other Kingdom”. I interpret this as the hollow men being souls of dead people roaming in the kingdom of the dead. This could be a possible reference to hell.

In part II of the poem, the symbol of the “eyes” appears again. Again like in the first part, there is reference to voices in the wind. This part of the poem talks about the “dream kingdom” which is also described as the “twilight kingdom”. In this kingdom, there is sunlight and stars. There is also reference to “rat’s coat, crowskin, [and] crossed staves” which are symbols usually used with negative connotations as rats and crows symbolize murder or death and staves signify war.

Part III of the poem describes the “dead land”. I see this land as a desert. I picture a flat land full of cactus and rocks that carry some sort of significance since “prayers” would be formed “to broken stone”.

Part IV of the story talks about the “valley of dying stars”. This valley is “sightless” meaning there is no light. Here, the hollow men “avoid speech” as this is a kingdom of thoughts and “hope only of empty men”.

In part V of the poem, there is some sort of rhyme talking about a “prickly pear”. The speaker also italicized “For Thine is the Kingdom” and “Life is very long” in the following stanzas. Not only that, but he also centered these words as if the were a title, but at the moment, I am unsure of the significance of this. The poem ends with another rhyme involving the world ending and how it will be a “whimper” instead of a “bang”. There is an image of a “shadow” falling. This part describes existence and the end of it.

Brian Chen

November 17, 2012, 3:40 pm

In part I of the poem, the hollow men were described as figures of straw. The description of the grass, wind, and rats creates the image of the hollow men being scarecrows on a field of grass. In the last stanza of this part, there emerges the reference to “eyes” which is repeated throughout the poem. At the end of the first part, the hollow men were described as “Violent souls” in “death’s other Kingdom”. I interpret this as the hollow men being souls of dead people roaming in the kingdom of the dead. This could be a possible reference to hell.

In part II of the poem, the symbol of the “eyes” appears again. Again like in the first part, there is reference to voices in the wind. This part of the poem talks about the “dream kingdom” which is also described as the “twilight kingdom”. In this kingdom, there is sunlight and stars. There is also reference to “rat’s coat, crowskin, [and] crossed staves” which are symbols usually used with negative connotations as rats and crows symbolize murder or death and staves signify war.

Part III of the poem describes the “dead land”. I see this land as a desert. I picture a flat land full of cactus and rocks that carry some sort of significance since “prayers” would be formed “to broken stone”.

Part IV of the story talks about the “valley of dying stars”. This valley is “sightless” meaning there is no light. Here, the hollow men “avoid speech” as this is a kingdom of thoughts and “hope only of empty men”.

In part V of the poem, there is some sort of rhyme talking about a “prickly pear”. The speaker also italicized “For Thine is the Kingdom” and “Life is very long” in the following stanzas. Not only that, but he also centered these words as if the were a title, but at the moment, I am unsure of the significance of this. The poem ends with another rhyme involving the world ending and how it will be a “whimper” instead of a “bang”. There is an image of a “shadow” falling. This part describes existence and the end of it.

November 18, 2012, 11:00 am

The imagery used in the poem is very dark as the poet uses words such as “meaningless”, “death”, and “shadow” to create a gloomy tone. The images portrayed in the poem, like “rat’s coat, crowskin, and crossed staves” adds to the tone as they may be used to symbolize chaos. The hollow men could be a reference towards uncivilized people. This poem was written is the view of an outsider’s observation of the people. These people are usually referenced to with “we” which could mean that they were seen as a group and generalizations were made by the observer. The lines “Shape without form, shade without colour,/ Paralysed force, gesture without motion;” are paradoxes used to imply the uncivilized nature of these people.

4:00 pm

In part I of the poem, the hollow men were described as figures of straw. The description of the grass, wind, and rats creates the image of the hollow men being scarecrows on a field of grass. In the last stanza of this part, there emerges the reference to “eyes” which is repeated throughout the poem. At the end of the first part, the hollow men were described as “Violent souls” in “death’s other Kingdom”. I interpret this as the hollow men being souls of dead people roaming in the kingdom of the dead. This could be a possible reference to hell.

In part II of the poem, the symbol of the “eyes” appears again. Again like in the first part, there is reference to voices in the wind. This part of the poem talks about the “dream kingdom” which is also described as the “twilight kingdom”. In this kingdom, there is sunlight and stars. There is also reference to “rat’s coat, crowskin, [and] crossed staves” which are symbols usually used with negative connotations as rats and crows symbolize murder or death and staves signify war.

Part III of the poem describes the “dead land”. I see this land as a desert. I picture a flat land full of cactus and rocks that carry some sort of significance since “prayers” would be formed “to broken stone”.

Part IV of the story talks about the “valley of dying stars”. This valley is “sightless” meaning there is no light. Here, the hollow men “avoid speech” as this is a king

“Headhunter” by Timothy Findley describes a scene that created an allusion to “Heart of Darkness”. The character, Kurtz, from “Heart of Darkness” came out of the book and he should be someone of significance since he invoked such fear into Lilah Kemp. Apparently, Lilah Kemp

had the power to bring characters out of books. From “Headhunter”, we can infer the setting of “Heart of Darkness” in a “botanic atmosphere” along the “Congo”. The significance of Kurtz may be that he is murderer since he was called the “headhunter” and the “harbinger of darkness”.

November 19, 2012 9:57pm

After listening to “The Hollow Men for Trumpet and Strings Orchestra”, I have come to a conclusion that there are many emotions portrayed in the musical interpretation of this poem. From listening to the music, I have realized there is not only one particular tone to the poem, but instead, various tones. Hearing T.S. Eliot read the poem out helped me interpret the pacing of the poem. At certain parts, he would read louder to add emphasis like on the phrase “shade without colour”. During the ending, he read the final four lines relatively quickly which gives off the a rushed tone as if he was anxious to end the poem. Though I read this poem countless times, I still question who the hollow men are. Who are the stuffed men? How can the hollow men also be the stuffed men? I think the hollow men are dummies and they are considered hollow because they do not have emotions or human qualities, but they are stuffed with straw.

November 20, 2012, 8:46 pm

After reading the first few passages of “Heart of Darkness” I have realized that Joseph Conrad is a describes many things in great detail. This creates vivid images. I found out that this story is going to be told differently than others. The analogy used is that typical stories would be similar to a nut and cracking it open would allow you to find the meaning, but “Heart of Darkness” is presented in a way that the reader is inside the kernel and the meaning of the story is outside. The characters were characterized based upon their occupation, but Marlow was the only one that had a description on his appearance instead. Aboard the yacht was a Lawyer, Accountant, the Director, Marlow, and “I”; (notice how the occupations were capitalized and there was no description of these people). Marlow was said to be resembling “an idol” and his description seemed to be like a religious figure, maybe buddha. It was very strange because aboard this ship, no one spoke as they waited for the tide to go out and all of a sudden, Marlow started telling his story.

November 22, 2012 9:06 pm

In the poem “The Hollow Men”, T.S. Elliot uses an impressionistic style to interpret the lack of spiritualism in modern life.

In part I, the people described in the poem are “hollow men”, but are also “stuffed men” because they lack spiritual belief, but they are physically alive. The speaker expresses the helplessness of these beings as they “whisper together / Are quiet and meaningless” and compares their words to “wind in dry grass”. The hollow men were defined as “lost / Violent souls” by those with “direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom”. The people with “direct eyes” are those who have went to heaven and they see the hollow men as lost souls as they cannot see the reality of their existence.

Part II describes the “dream kingdom”. It is here that the hollow men see “sunlight on a broken column” which are glimpses of heaven. The speaker describes the hollow man as being afraid to approach spiritual reality as they would wear “such deliberate disguises” to hide from the truth. The reference to “rat[s]” and “crowskin” imply that the hollow man acts like an animal and has no spiritual value. He behaves “as the wind behaves” meaning that he accepts a simple and easy life.

In Part III, the land of the hollow men are described as the “dead land” and the “cactus land”. The speaker creates an image of a desert to show the lack of spiritualism in the lives of the hollow men. There is the image of a “fading star” which represents the loss of spiritual values. The “prayers to broken stone” made by the hollow men represent the false worship of the hollow men on materialistic things.

Part IV of the poem shows the life of the hollow men during death where “there are no eyes”. The “dead land” has become a “hollow valley” and is the “broken jaw of our lost kingdoms” as this is the place where they wait to enter heaven. “In this last of meeting places” the hollow men “ grope together / And avoid speech” as there is darkness and they cannot see due to the lack of spiritual belief in their lives. Here they can only “hope” to enter “death’s twilight kingdom”, but they cannot because they are “empty” and lack spiritual reality. This part shows the frustration and the helplessness of the the hollow men.

Part V of the poem describe the result of the end of a hollow man’s life. Here, the reference to the “prickly pear” show that the hollow men are still in the dead land.The inability for the hollow men to act is shown by the lines:

“Beween the idea

And the reality

Between the motion

And the act
Falls the Shadow”.

These lines enforce the fact that they cannot enter heavy and are not able to act as they continue around the “prickly pear”. They try to console themselves by saying “life is very long”, but they will never live the eternal life in heaven as “this is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.” These final lines describe the life of a hollow men would end with a “whimper” as no one would hear their calls as their lives will be insignificant.

November 25, 2012 4:15pm

The significance of “The Hollow Men” is that it’s a poem that makes references to other significant events and describes views on religion and the afterlife. In the poem, references to “Julius Caesar” and “Heart of Darkness”, The Gunpowder Plot, and “The Divine Comedy” are found. The “violent souls” in this poem can be related to the previous references as they dealt with conspiracy and treason as well as loss of faith. There is subtext under the title that refers to “Mistah Kurtz” which is a character from “Heart of Darkness” which was a the epitome of a human being, but has become corrupt after his journey through the Congo. He became a savage and primal. This theme can be found throughout the poem as the “hollow men” were compared to beasts due to their lack of faith. References to “The Divine Comedy” can be found as this poem depicts the journey of the hollow men through the “death’s other kingdom[s]” which are heaven and hell and also the “hollow valley” which could be a purgatory. The straw figures of the hollow men references the effigies burned on Guy Fawkes day.

Part IV of the poem describes a purgatory found in the “The Divine Comedy”. This also relates “Julius Caesar” and The Gunpowder Plot as this is the “last of meeting places” where the hollow men would “grope together” as they conspired. The final lines of:

“This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper”

references “Julius Caesar”, “Heart of Darkness”, and The Gunpowder Plot. In  “Julius Caesar”,  Brutus and Cassius’s plan to rule falls apart. In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz’s last words were also, but a “whimper” though he was described as such a great being. In the Gunpowder Plot, there was no big explosion of the Parliament building. Instead, Guy Fawkes gave up the names of the co-conspirators as he fell along with everyone else that plotted this conspiracy.