The Hollow Men

The Hollow Men

by T S Eliot

Mistah Kurtzhe dead.

A penny for the Old Guy

I

We are the hollow men

We are the stuffed men

Leaning together

Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!

Our dried voices, when

We whisper together

Are quiet and meaningless

As wind in dry grass

Or rats feet over broken glass

In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,

Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed

With direct eyes, to deaths other Kingdom

Remember us if at all not as lost

Violent souls, but only

As the hollow men

The stuffed men.

II

Eyes I dare not meet in dreams

In deaths dream kingdom

These do not appear:

There, the eyes are

Sunlight on a broken column

There, is a tree swinging

And voices are

In the winds singing

More distant and more solemn

Than a fading star.

Let me be no nearer

In deaths dream kingdom

Let me also wear

Such deliberate disguises

Rats coat, crowskin, crossed staves

In a field

Behaving as the wind behaves

No nearer

Not that final meeting

In the twilight kingdom

III

This is the dead land

This is cactus land

Here the stone images

Are raised, here they receive

The supplication of a dead mans hand

Under the twinkling of a faded star.

Is it like this

In deaths other kingdom

Waking alone

At the hour when we are

Trembling with tenderness

Lips that would kiss

Form prayers to broken stone.

IV

The eyes are not here

There are no eyes here

In this valley of dying stars

In this hollow valley

This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms

In this last of meeting places

We grope together

And avoid speech

Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

Sightless, unless

The eyes reappear

As the perpetual star

Multifoliate rose

Of deaths twilight kingdom

The hope only

Of empty men.

V

Here we go round the prickly pear

Prickly pear prickly pear

Here we go round the prickly pear

At five oclock in the morning.

Between the idea

And the reality

Between the motion

And the act

Falls the Shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

Between the conception

And the creation

Between the emotion

And the response

Falls the Shadow

Life is very long

Between the desire

And the spasm

Between the potency

And the existence

Between the essence

And the descent

Falls the Shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

For Thine is

Life is

For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends



Not with a bang but a whimper.

Glossary:

Alas expression of grief or pity.

Cellar a storage room of which more than half is below ground level.

Gesture movement of the body or limbs in order to convey an emotion or meaning.

Solemn serious; sad.

Supplication humble and serious prayer.

Grope search with ones hands without the use of ones sight.

Tumid swollen, bulging.

Perpetual very frequent; never-ending; permanent.

Multifoliate split into thin plates or leaves; decorated, coated with foil or leaf like patterns.

Conception idea; imagination; the fertilisation of a womans egg-cell.

Spasm sudden unintended muscle tightening.

Potency strength; power to intoxicate.

Essence basic or characteristic nature of a thing.

Descent a downward motion; a fall from a higher position to a lower one; ancestry.

Epigraph quotation or motto at the beginning of a chapter or poem.

Inter-textual linking between different works of literature.

Effigy a sculpture, model or any other representation of a person.

Satirical attacking any wickedness, folly or abuse through mockery or sarcasm.

Limbo (in some Christian belief) the place between heaven and hell where the souls of

those who have not been baptised go after death; an uncertain period of waiting.

Summary:

The poem, which is narrated by one of the hollow men, portrays Eliots concern for a society

and culture lacking in faith, morality and humanity. The society is pervaded by a sense of

alienation and the break down of communication both with each other and within their

own internal selves. This results in the hollow mens loss of purpose and identity.

The poem is written in fragments to highlight the chaos of modern existence. This

fragmentary structure is particularly evident in the final section where each sentence is cut

off. The poem also includes fragmented imagery which adds to the theme of fragmentation

and alienation. The poem also makes use of inter-textual reference.

Inter- textual Reference:

Each of the epigraphs in the poem has a link to a different work of literature (see epigraph

analysis). The main body of the poem makes reference to the work of the medieval poet

Dante and his epic poem Inferno . The mention of deaths kingdoms (dream, twilight,

other) refers to the different levels of hell and the afterlife that play an important role in

Dantes Inferno.

Interpretation:

Key:

Green important connotations.

Yellow inter-textual reference.

Epigraph:

The first line of the epigraph is an inter-textual reference to Joseph Conrads novella (short

novel) The Heart of Darkness. The important points to remember are that:

. Kurtz was a man who turned his back on western civilisation to live in wild Africa.

. Kurtz was a man of action and a lost, violent soul that performed horrific deeds.

. He is dead because of this.

The second line was a common saying among children on or just before Guy Fawkes Day.

Children would ask for money in order to buy old clothes and wood with which they would

build effigies of Guy Fawkes, the Old Guy. The important points to remember are that:

. Fawkes was a catholic revolutionist who attempted to blow up the British parliament

building.

. Fawkes was a man of action and a lost, violent soul.

. He is dead because of this.

. The burning of his effigies every Guy Fawkes Day is a reference to hell (people burn

in hell).

Line:

1. We represents western civilisation. Hollow suggests the moral emptiness of

western civilisation.

2. Stuffed refers back to the effigies of Guy Fawkes.

3. Their lack of moral substance is so pervasive that the hollow men cannot keep

themselves upright; they support each other simply to remain standing.

4. The head is sometimes thought to be the centre of existence in the human body.

That it is now a headpiece (an inanimate object) dehumanises the hollow men. That

it is filled with straw suggests that their lives are filled with worthlessness. Alas!

shows sorrow or dismay.

5. Something dry lacks life/nourishment/moisture and is consequently seen as dead or

barren. Dried suggests that the hollow men live a meaningless life and that their

voices are dry suggests that they can scarcely speak for themselves.

6. That the hollow men can only whisper again suggest their lack of moral substance

(see line 3).

7. This lines support the previous two lines. The repetition of the ss at the end of this

line and the next two mimics both the sound of whispering and the sound of wind in

dry grass (see lines 6 and 8).

8. Repetition of dry to emphasise the long, boring and unchanging state of the hollow

mens lives . This line is a simile that uses imagery to enforce the point of the

previous lines.

9. Rats are vermin and suggest disease or filth. This is symbolic of the hollow men who

suffer in the filth and decay of their lack of moral substance. The glass can be

interpreted as the glass of a broken wine bottle. (see line 10). This line continues the

simile but presents an alternate image that serves similar purpose.

10. Repetition of dry (see line 8). The cellar was a place to store wine due to the

appropriate temperature underground. That it is dry suggests that the cellar has no

wine. Wine is a symbol in Christianity thus suggesting the absence of religion and

moral uprightness in western civilisation.

11. The next two lines are a description of the hollow men. Both lines serve to convey

the meaningless life of the hollow men as each half line communicates something

impossible . The first half of this line refers to their lack of substance, the second to

their lack of emotion.

12. The first half of this line refers to their inability to act, the second to their lack of

expression.

13. The hollow men refer to those who have passed on, whether to hell or heaven is not

said directly but interpretation is mostly favourable to those in heaven.

14. Direct suggests purpose or meaning. Eyes are the window to the soul. Thus the

continual reference to those with direct eyes refers to the men who had a purpose

in their life and thus pass on to heaven or hell (deaths other Kingdom).

15. Those who have passed on would hardly remember the hollow men but if they did it

would not be as lost...

16. violent souls, but only...

17. as souls too empty of meaning and moral to pass on, who...

18. are fit for nothing but to be burned like the effigies of Guy Fawkes.

19. The hollow men cannot measure up to the souls that have passed on. To meet eyes

with someone is to recognise them as equals. Eyes again referring to the soul and

spirituality. The line also suggests that the hollow men are threatened by the

strangeness of those that have passed on; they have what the hollow men do not;

substance.

20. A reference to a level of hell from Dantes Inferno.

21. Those who have passed on do not come back.

22. Where the souls (eyes) of those who have passed on go...

23. they have hope (sunlight). They are the remnant of a meaningful civilisation (the

broken column).

24. This line and the next two are a description of the upper levels of Dantes afterlife.

The lines convey the peace, gentleness,...

25. meaningfulness and...

26. splendour of heaven.

27. Heaven is more serious and more difficult to reach...

28. than a dying star. The star is a symbol of hope, redemption and light. The hollow

mens hopes of passing on are fading. The star can also be interpreted as a symbol of

the virgin Mary and Jesus which would suggest that Christian values are fading in

western civilisation.

29. The hollow men appear to fear passing on and now wish to be no nearer...

30. to continuing on to the next life.

31. They will even...

32. deliberately disguise themselves from those who have already gone on.

33. They disguise themselves in rats coat, the rat again a symbol of disease, crowskin,

the crow a symbol of death, and crossed staves, like a scarecrow or the effigies of

Fawkes.

34. A reference again to scarecrows.

35. A reference to Dantes substanceless spirits, much like the hollow men, who were so

empty that the wind carried them away.

36. The hollow men emphasise their fear of passing on.

37. They would not face God and the souls of those that have passed on...

38. in the next life. Twilight suggesting a lack of light (hope).

39. The hollow men describe the state of limbo that they find themselves in.

40. Cactus have thorns suggesting the harshness. It also links back to dry in the first

stanza as cactuses are desert plants. Desert symbolising the dry and lifeless.

41. Stone suggests the cold and lifeless. These lines talk about heathen stone idols...

42. and how they are made...

43. and worshipped in this place of limbo. This shows the lack of Christian value in

western society.

44. Twinkle suggests that the hollow mens hope of passing on is flickering and in

danger of going out.

45. The hollow men question if there is a similarity between this life...

46. and the afterlife. That this is done without a ? suggests the monotony of life for

the hollow men and a lack of completion as they are stuck in limbo.

47. A description of life is now given as experienced by the hollow men. They found

themselves alone...

48. at those times in their lives when...

49. they were in great need or trouble.

50. Lips are a symbol of communication whilst a kiss is a symbol of love. The hollow men

cannot express love and instead...

51. pray to lifeless, stone idols.

52. Those who had purpose are not stuck in limbo.

53. Those stuck in limbo have no purpose. The repetition serves as emphasis.

54. Progression in the poem is seen here where the once fading star is now dying. Hope

is as good as gone.

55. The land of limbo is described as a valley, low down like hell. Like the men, limbo is

described as hollow; meaningless.

56. The jaw is necessary for communication. This line suggests that limbo is cut off from

all the other kingdoms of heaven, earth and hell. Lost supports the broken jaw

imagery.

57. Limbo is a last opportunity to reunite with God.

58. Grope suggests blindness, consequently eyeless and thus soulless as the eyes are

the window to the soul.

59. Instead of using this opportunity the hollow men come together and do not

communicate with each other.

60. They are gathered on the edges of the river Styx, which separates earth and the

underworld in Greek mythology and in Dantes Inferno.

61. The hollow men have no souls unless...

62. the passed on souls come back for them.

63. This is the continuing hope of the hollow men.

64. The rose forms a contrast with the cactus used to describe limbo. The rose can also

be seen as a symbol of the virgin Mary suggesting that God and Christian morality is

the only hope...

65. for this place of faded hope (twilight).

66. The only hope...

67. of western civilisation.

Epigraph:

The epigraph is a satire of the hollow men. It is based on a childrens rhyme of the same

wording except that prickly pear is a substitute of a mulberry bush. That the rhyme is a

childrens one suggests that the pursuit of the hollow men to escape their state of limbo is

childish. That the rhyme speaks of going round in circles suggests that this pursuit is also

pointless. The substitution of prickly pear with mulberry bush again refers to the

desolation of their surroundings and the emptiness of the hollow men themselves. Prickly

pears have thorns which have connotations of pain, suffering and infertility. That the

mulberry bush, a symbol of fertility, has been replaced emphasises the hopelessness of the

hollow men. The repetition of prickly pear serves as an indication of the extent to which

society has turned from morality and indicates the monotony of the existence of the hollow

men. The last line of the epigraph is ironic. The reference to early morning suggests the

rising of the sun, a symbol of hope and new beginning. For the hollow men however their is

no hope and no new beginning for them as they are stuck in limbo.

Line:

68. The repetition of the format of this stanza and the next two stanzas builds on the

monotony introduced in the epigraph. Before turning an idea...

69. into reality and...

70. turning movement...

71. into a meaningful action...

72. western civilisation falls prey to sin/evil (that opposing the light of morality).

Epigraph:

This epigraph is a line from The Lords Prayer. It is ironic as the state of limbo that the

hollow men find themselves in is not Gods kingdom but rather the kingdom of death and

emptiness. This death and emptiness are qualities of the Shadow (evil, fear, etc.). This

suggests that the prayer is in fact meant for the Shadow and not God. This is completely

blasphemous and suggests the depth of the hollow mens emptiness and loss of goodness. It

also links back to the idols in line 41.

Line:

73. Before creating something...

74. from imagination...

75. and responding...

76. to emotion (breakdown of communication evident)...


Epigraph:

Life for the hollow men is very long. They are stuck in limbo until they are rescued by those

that have already passed on, which will never happen.

Line:

78. Whilst acting...

79. on desire...

80. and struggling (potency means strength thus the strength needed to survive)...

81. to exist ...

82. and between who a person is...

83. and who he is descended from...


Epigraph:

(See third epigraph)

Line:

85. The next three lines show interrupted speech...

86. This emphasises the meaninglessness of the hollow mens lives and...

87. the breakdown of communication between western civilisation and God.

Epigraph:

This epigraph is a continuation of the childrens rhyme in the second epigraph. This serves to

further emphasise the pathetically hopeless situation of the hollow men. The repetition of

the first line serves to remind us of the monotony of the life of the hollow men. The

repetition specifically of world ends serves to emphasise that the path that society (the

hollow men) has chosen is one of destruction. A whimper is generally associated with an

animal which indicates the dehumanisation of the hollow men. A whimper also indicates

weakness or helplessness which serves to remind us that the hollow men lived fruitless lives

and now exist in a form of non-existence, trapped between two worlds, all due to their

decay of morality.

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The Hollow Men