Eliot
found degeneration, decay, and monotony in contemporary human life. He
miserably failed to notice anything positive in life. This, however, does not
in any way reduce the significance of his poems, which are excellent poetic
manifestations of the themes through their use of imagery. The Preludes, which
is under reference here, acutely describes the metaphysical emptiness of men in
modern metropolis. Eliot presents some images; the inner message is left to the
reader to discover. The poet maintains an apparent detachment from the objects
he describes. That modern life is devoid of spiritual values is emphasized by
creating a sense of isolation and loneliness. The steaming cab horse in a
wintry evening is the symbol of this loneliness. The squalor of modern life is
emphasized through pieces of newspapers, saw-dust and stale smell of beer in
Preludes. The most accepted interpretation of \"you\" is that of a
prostitute though the \"you\" here can also be taken as the
collective consciousness if we accept dedoublement. Her way of life is
diseased, bloodless and as such yellow soles. Hands refer to evocation or
profession, which in her case is dirty or soiled. The sparrows are the symbols
of abnormal sensuality. Her vision about the \"street\" is limited;
the reflections are distorted. She met only the lustful persons during the
night, so she has a negative view about them. Those in the street hardly know
what she thinks of them - they have no time to cast a sympathetic look at her
cruel life because they are running after their own materialistic ambitions.
Further, all of them are not passionate or sensuous or lustful - so, they
cannot also imagine what she thinks of them. The spiritual limitation of modern
man is further elaborated in poem where the vision is limited - it cannot even
see the sky - the sight is blocked by sky-scrappers (city-blocks). The
conscience is dark, but it hardly bothers modern man who is happy to have their
material comforts fulfilled. It is a bestial life - happy at having a good
meal, smoking cigar etc. \"Wipe your hand across your mouth\" brings
to my mind the image of a cat wiping its mouth with front leg after a good
meal. Devoid of spiritualism men have been reduced to mere animal existence.
Because of his Catholic temperament, Eliot could feel the inadequacy of such
human life. He gives a picture of this vacant life through multiple imagery drawn
from the contemporary life.
The
poem was written in 1917 coming to the end of the First World War. Although I
see the interpretation of the prostitute, my analysis shows that perhaps she is
actually a burnt out, tired munitions worker. The skin of some women turned
yellow because of chemicals in the factories;
'Clasped the yellow soles of feet'. She would have been dirty working with metals etc in the factory as well.
'Clasped the yellow soles of feet'. She would have been dirty working with metals etc in the factory as well.
The
poem, Preludes shows the dark, mechanical life led by the modern man. The poem
begins with a winter evening which is unpleasant. The gloomy, depressive mood
of the poem sets in. there is a smell of steaks in passage ways, adding to the
unpleasantness, indicating badly ventilated congested rooms. The people are at
the end of a day, which is like the burnt out end of a cigarette and they
themselves are burnt out. The rains are not refreshing, but just another of
troubles and the vacant lots are not like the lush meadows of the countryside,
but just vacant. The cab horse breathes and its breath appears as a mist. The
lighting of the lamps also has a ritualistic appearance and meaninglessness.
The
morning comes to consciousness indicating that the world was unconscious in sleep
that sleep is like temporary death. Instead of a fresh morning air, there is a
smell of stale beer. The streets are sawdust trampled and people press their
feet rather than walk. There is a feeling of mechanical life. People walking to
early morning coffee stands make us contrast it to our traditional homelike
morning picture of the family sitting to breakfast together. The loosening of
family bonds can be visualized by us. The poet uses the word masquerades to
describe all these activities as its all like a big show...thousands of shades
being raised by thousands of people in thousands of rooms all at once It gives it
a ritual like feel and the people appear to be puppets.
Now
the controversy is about the woman being a prostitute or not. I think it’s kind
of dumb to think that she is a prostitute just because she "had such a
vision of the street/as the street hardly understands."It is just that at
that moment early in the morning, when she thinks consciously about her subconscious
thoughts, she realizes that all those people out there in the street are living
a mechanical, meaningless life while they do not realize this. She is then at a
superior position to them as she understands the drabness of life whereas they
are puffed with self-importance. The poet doesn't lose any opportunity to use
unpleasant adjectives-"yellow-soled" feet which are anaemic and
"soiled" hand.
D. N. Aloysius
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