T.S. Eliot

Question 1

what is alienation?

Answer 1

• The state of being isolated from something

Question 2

what is fragmentation?

Answer 2

• The breakdown of something (typically not something tangible like identity or religion)

Question 3

what is disillusionment?

Answer 3

• Disappointed with something, thinking that something will be better than what it actually is e.g. the condition of the modern world.

Question 4

what are some distinctive qualities of eliots work?

Answer 4

• fragmentation of structure
• synecdoche
• defamiliarization
• subverting romantic connotations
• personification of city
• imagery/objective correlative of decay and entropy

Question 5

what is a synecdoche?

Answer 5

Synecdoche is a type of metonymy; it is a figure of speech that uses a term for a part of something to refer to the whole, or vice versa.

Question 6

what is entropy?

Answer 6

the degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system.

Question 7

what are some modernist concerns within eliots poetry?

Answer 7

• Fragmented nature of the human soul
  
  • Human fragility and frailty
  • Doubts, fears, insecurities
  • Shifting values of the 20th century including:
    ○ Changing gender roles
    ○ Religious myth and ritual
    The damaged psyche of a post-WW1 world