HSC Module B: Band 6 Notes on T.S. Eliot’s Poetry

Module B is also called a ‘critical study of literature’. Hence, it is important to:

1.  Make personal and intellectual connections with the text. You must try to have your own ideas about what the composer is trying to convey. For Eliot’s poetry, many students only focus on its bleak and depressing aspects, yet it is extremely important to also perceive its subtle allusions to hope and salvation, especially in later works.

2.  Understand textual integrity – that means you must look at the texts as a cohesive unit, or as a whole. Focus on the connections in the prescribed suite of poetry – the scrutinising “eyes”, the monotony of modern life, decadence of social values, etc.

3.  Take note of the context and structure of each poem – although this is not module A, understanding the context of each poem allows you to comprehend the significance and artistry of Eliot’s poems. For example, without knowing anything about Modernism, how is it possible to appreciate how well Eliot captures the lethargy and decay in his era?

Context

Historical Context: The Early 1900s

Historically, Eliot’s poetry captures the turmoil of a generation transitioning from the Romantic era to the demoralised landscape of Modernism. Modernism became even more prominent after World War I, where the value of human life and civilisation was heavily questioned by the general public. This period in time was generally associated with subverting Victorian/Romantic ideals, secularity (deviance from religion), industrialism and technological advancement. In particular, technological advancements became synonymous to social upheaval for many in the late 1800s to early 1900s, for people feared their efficiency will change society too much for people to ever adjust to.

Literary Context:

History is often reflected in literature. During the Modernist era, composers became more experimental, often rebelling against well-established conventions to reflect reality more closely. Not only is this evident in the structure of Eliot’s poetry, it is also quite obvious in his titles (e.g. The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Preludes, Rhapsody on a Windy Night).

Personal Context

Traditionally, Eliot’s ‘early works’ include:

·     The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

·     Preludes

·     Rhapsody

And his ‘later’ works include:

·     The Hollow Men

·     Journey of the Magi

By ‘Journey of the Magi’, Eliot had become an Anglican, hence the heavy religious references.

Key themes

There are many themes in Eliot’s poetry, but try to avoid ones that are too vague/overdone.

For example, instead of writing a paragraph on ‘uncertainty’, make it more nuanced and specific, e.g. uncertainty because of paradigmatic shifts. That way, not only have you shown your personal understanding of his poetry, your essay will also stand out against essays which demonstrate only a superficial understanding of the poems.

Some prominent, yet interesting points you could write about in your essay include:

·     Paradigmatic shifts and uncertainty

·     Loss of spirituality and secularity

·     Superficiality and materialism

·     Loss of purpose and search for meaning

·     Physical setting of the Modernist landscape reflecting psychological/internal uncertainty

·     Possibility of redemption

Want to know more about these ideas? JP English provides text specific booklets written by state rankers which outlines the key ideas of each poems to guide students into developing their own nuanced arguments. Furthermore, we provide exemplars from ex-students who have achieved state ranks or 95+ English HSC marks so that students know exactly what is needed to ace Module B.

Special Structural/Stylistic features of each poem

Here are some features of Eliot’s poetry that I found particularly unique and intriguing. Of course, there are so many others, but here are some of the main ones.

The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock

·     The title itself is extremely ironic. ‘Love Song’ suggests intimacy and connection and yet this is completely subverted by Prufrock’s pedantic, ambiguous narrative of isolation and disconnection.

·     The various intertextual allusions towards the end of the poem.

o  “I know the voices dying with a dying fall” is from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

o  “I am Lazarus, come from the dead” is a biblical allusion to Lazarus whom Christ raised from the dead.

o  Prufrock rejects the idea that he is Prince Hamlet, a character whose tragedy could arguably be said to have borne out of his indecision.

·     The idea of Prufrock as a flaneur, a wanderer amidst the modern landscape.

Preludes

·     Again, the title is very ironic. The cohesive lyricism of the Romantic preludes is completely subverted by Eliot’s very disturbing portrait of sordid Modernist imageries.

·     The pronouns shift from section to section, examining the society from different perspectives.

Rhapsody on a Windy Night

·     Again, Eliot appropriates the episodic, free-flowing structure of Romantic Rhapsodies while inspiring the portrait of a fractured and denigrated world.

·     There’s also quite an evident struggle between nature (the feeble, voiceless moon) and humanity (the narrating streetlamp).

·     The recurring time motifs, “Twelve o’clock”, “Half past one”, “Half past two”, etc places emphasis on the regularity and indifference of time.

The Hollow Man

·     The various intertextual allusions in this poem:

o  It begins with an allusion to Joseph Conrad’s ‘Mistah Kurtz’, a sinister imperialist.

o  The epigram, ‘a penny for the Guy’, refers to the Gunpowder Plot and Guy Fawkes

o  “The twilight kingdom” is an allusion to Dante’s hell

o  “Here we go around the prickly pear” is an allusion to the nursery rhyme/children’s song “Here we go ‘round the mulberry bush”.

·     This is somewhat debatable, but it could be said that this poem depicts a world where religious entities and cosmic powers are apathetic to human suffering.

Journey of the Magi

·     Eliot’s recent conversion to Anglicanism inspired his intertextual reflection on traditional ideals of Christianity through appropriating the “Three Wise Men” in seeking Jesus.

·     The hedonistic materialism of “summer palaces on slopes” is quite evident in the early stanzas

·     In this poem, the search for meaning is both a spiritual and literal journey.

Tips

·     Read scholar articles – for Eliot, there are so many excellent articles out there. They help you articulate your ideas and inspire you to view the text from a different perspective. Just go on Google Scholar and type ‘Eliot poetry’. There are so many resources there!

·     Practice! – the only way to get better is through practice. Not only does JP English provide you with ample exercises, but they also provide weekly feedback so you can improve.