Naturalism v Romanticism

Question 1

“The notion of some infinitely gentle, infinitely suffering thing”

“Wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh”

Answer 1

Literary Device / Technique:

• Change of voice to first person narration
• The speaker is moved, becoming involved rather than narrating from afar

Link to theme / effect

• Despite the urban decay, Eliot still questions if there is religious salvation
• He immediately discredits this as an alcoholic fantasy, by making reference to the action of beer drinking

Question 2

“To say: ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead, come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”

Answer 2

Literary Device / Technique:

• There are two Lazarus mentioned in the Bible
• The first is the one that Jesus raises from the dead
• The second refers to a poor man sent to heaven, while a rich man is sent to hell
• The rich man asks that Lazarus be sent back to earth to warn his brothers
• However, Abraham refuses, stating “If they do not listen to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if one rises from the dead”

Link to theme / effect

• Prufrock has all of this knowledge, but cannot share it with others
• He tells his story in his mind because he knows it can never be related in this life or the next

Question 3

“Every street lamp that I pass beats like a fatalistic drum”

“Put your shoes at the door, sleep, prepare for life.
The last twist of the knife”

Answer 3

Literary Device / Technique:
- A major Christian belief is that of free will – God has given man the ability to do what he wishes

Link to theme / effect

• Eliot sees life in a much more bleak, mechanical sense
• There is no divine intervention, all actions have already been decided for you

Question 4

“Those who have crossed with direct eyes to death’s other kingdom”

“The eyes are not here, there are no eyes here”

Answer 4

Literary Device / Technique:

• Synecdoche
• The eyes are the parts of the body that provide us with vision and inform our knowledge

Link to theme / effect

• Eliot believes that happiness rests only with those who have died with moral & religious clarity
• He contrasts this with the hollow men, who are unable to see beyond their own selfish desires

Question 5

“Were we led all this way for a birth or a death?”

“I had seen birth and death, but had thought they were different”

Answer 5

Literary Device / Technique:

• The Birth of Christ is one of the most significant events of the bible
• Eliot questions whether the modern world has overlooked its implications

Link to theme / effect

• In this passage, Eliot illuminates the central issue of Christianity – that Christ was born to die for sins
• With Christ’s birth, the old ways of life have disappeared forever