Module B: Hollow men quotes

Question 1

what is the topic of paragraph one in The hollow men

Answer 1

the fragmentation of hope and purpose leading to the abandonment of faith resulting in soullessness

Question 2

quote 1

Answer 2

Elliot acknowledges the societal state through the contradictory metaphors “Shape without form, shade without colour…gesture without motion”

Question 3

explanation 1

Answer 3

the successive oxymora illustrate the nature of this hollowness, as being slave to a sense of hopelessness due to the mass fragmentation of purpose.

Question 4

quote 2

Answer 4

Elliot’s answer to those who have abandoned hope and faith, in place of inertia “sightless unless the eyes reappear…Multifoliate rose the only hope of empty men,”

Question 5

explanation 2

Answer 5

use of the biblical allusions of to the virgin Mary and Heaven, revealing transcendental spirituality as the only hope out of soullessness.

Question 6

quote 3

Answer 6

• The decaying chant as the last verse progresses “For thine is the kingdom…Life is very long…For thine is, Life is”

Question 7

explanation 3

Answer 7

warns the readers of the eventual consequences of succumbing to societal inertia, as being trapped in eternal limbo, slowly decaying “Not with a bang but a whimper.”

Question 8

what is Paragraph 2 about in the hollow men

Answer 8

societies inability to interact with one another as a result of their rejection of spiritual intention in favour of modernist values

Question 9

quote 4

Answer 9

through the effective use of inclusive language in tandem with his contrasting imagery “Our dried voices…quiet and meaningless as wind in the dry grass or rats’ feet over broken glass.”

Question 10

explanation 4

Answer 10

To reveal the distorted values that have led to the suppression of societies voice.

Question 11

quote 5

Answer 11

• Elliot’s subversion of the romanticist tropes “the dead land…the cactus land here the stone images are raised…they receive. Supplication of a dead man’s hand”

Question 12

explanation 5

Answer 12

reveals his aversion of society’s adoption of modern values, in place of religion, seeing them as false and worthless.

Question 13

quote 6

Answer 13

the bleak imagery of the fourth stanza “valley of dying stars…this hollow valley… this last meeting place…we grope together and avoid speech on this…tumid river.”

Question 14

explanation 6

Answer 14

Eliot’s mythological allusion to The River Styx signifies civilization’s eventual demise, into social isolation, due to the abandonment of faith and religious