Eliots poetry continues to engage readers through its poetic treatment of alienation and

isolation. In light of your critical study, does this statement resonate with your own
interpretation of Eliots poetry? In your response make detailed reference to at least two of the
poems set for study.

Through a critical study of his oeuvre, one can come to see that Eliots ability to continually engage
readers through the ages is drawn from his poetic treatment of alienation and isolation. These are
central ideas that Eliot explores in order to critique of modernity and the loss of individual identity,
all the while doing so in a style that bridges the romantic and contemporary literary movements.
This can be seen in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (Prufrock), where Eliot poses modern
expectations and norms as a threat to individual identity and autonomy, comparing societal
alienation to an existential crisis. Furthermore, The Hollow Men demonstrates how social paralysis
and inactions are immoral and condemnable, ultimately resulting in ones alienation and isolation.
Finally, Preludes presents modernity as fragmented and awful, leading to the isolation of
individuals and a tragically futile existence. After a in depth study, one can come to interpret Eliots
literary success as a result of his ability to resonate ideas of alienation and isolation.

Prufrock confronts modern expectations as a threat to our individual identity, likening societal
alienation and isolation to existential anxiety. The persona, Prufrocks, emotional state can be
summated in the repetition of When I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, when I am pinned and
wriggling on the wall. The assonance and repetition of pinned evokes the personas state of social
entrapment, evoking ideas of isolation from the crowd and being ultimately judged. Here, Eliot
expresses the idea that modern culture is vapid and futile, ultimately leaving the persona Prufrock
riddled with indecision and social paralysis. One such view stems from the interpretation that the
modern industrialized society focuses on superficiality and materialism. This is reflective in detailed
accumulative listing of his clothes My morning coatmy collar/My necktie, rich and
modest Prufrocks clothes are important, pivotal even, in informing his status and, therefore,
external identity rather than his true self, leaving him feeling anxious and alienated. However, this
anxious emotional state is clearly not only created by external pressures but his own internal
imagination as he judges himself through societys eyes, reflecting John T Mayers analysis that
Eliots use of double consciousness is indicative of a modernist psychology. The way that external
pressure is worsened by internalized apprehension is effectively reflected in the chiasmus prepare
a face to meet the faces that you meet, where face is symbolic of masking ones true identity,
imperative in the personas perception of a judgemental society. This ultimately leads to Prufrock
being doubly isolated, once from society then again from his own identity and sense of self. From
this critical interpretation, one can come to appreciate Eliots portrayal of alienation from the
society and engage with it.

Through a critical examination of The Hollow Men, one can come to appreciate Eliots portrayal of
alienation and isolation as a product of a morally ambiguous and vacuous society. Readers continue
to engage with this poem as its episodic free verse form and plethora of allusions to great literary
works allow for many different interpretations and perceptions of the poem. To begin, Eliot
highlights how the larger society leads an absurd existence, demonstrated by We are the hollow
men/ We are the stuffed men. The paradoxical juxtaposition of hollow and stuffed encompasses
the audience in we, demonstrating how modern society is full of nothing of importance. The
empty nature of existence is demonstrated by Those who have crossed remember us-if at all- not
as lost violent souls but only as the hollow men the stuffed men. By the distinction between those
who hae crossed Eliot is emphasising the moral ambiguity, as he expresses its better to be
remembered as violent, than for being hollow, demonstrating how inaction isolates them from the
rest of society. Eliot furthers the isolation and degradation in The eyes are not here/ there are no
eyes here/ in this valley of dying stars. Eyes and valley of [death] can be interpreted as a biblical
allusion, and demonstrates how the hollow men are abandoned, isolated from any hope of divine
salvation. Eliot also uses eyes as a motif in this poem, and in the rest of his oeuvre, as a symbol of
the soul, inverting the common trope and using it to demonstrate societys alienation from morals.
According to Alvarez, Eliots poetry highlights the disorder, the futility, the meaninglessness, the
mystery of life and suffering. This can be seen in the very last stanza This is the way the world
ends/ Not with a bang but with a whimper. The allusion to Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot combined
with the benign repetitive rhythm of the childrens nursery rhyme creates a sense of complacent
futility and hopelessness, revealing that the destiny of this alienated and isolated humanity is not
worthwhile. Thus, one can come to the understanding of Eliots textual fame by a critical study of
the morally ambiguous and alienated modern society.

Preludes itself is a study of the impact of a modern industrialised city on the alienation and
fragmentation of society and the individual. The poem is structured in fragmented vignettes from a
24 hour city routine, creating a disconnected and monotonous atmosphere reflective of urban life.
This is aided by the ambiguous bleak diction presented in burnt out ends of smoky days. It quite
literally refers to burnt out fires that powered the city in Eliots context, but also reflects the ennui
and exhaustion felt about life in an industrialized, secularized world. This sense of listless isolation is
emphasised in the second person narration you tossed a blanket from the bed, you lay upon your
back and waited; you dozed. The dreary diction in lay, waited, dozed creates a lethargic
atmosphere, demonstrative of a futile existence. This clearly demonstrates to the reader that
modern society is devoid of purpose and meaning, leaving people to reach the conclusion that there
is no purpose to their existence. This is furthered by Eliots use of olfactory imagery - burnt out
ends -, kinesthetic imagery Grimy scraps and visual imagery vacant lots, creating a holistic
mood of an alienated society. Moreover, the isolation and fragmentation of the individual can be
seen by the synecdoche of short square fingers, yellow soles of feet, eyes assured of certain
certainties. The portrayal of isolated body parts demonstrates the separation of individuals from
humanitys collective, contributing to the alienated and futile atmosphere. The simile in The worlds
revolve like ancient women gathering fuel in vacant lots reinforces the stagnant, hopeless nature
of humanity, reinforcing the atmosphere of futility. Thus, one can see that Eliots unique poetic
treatment of alienation in a listless futile urban society allows contemporary readers to engage with
his work.

It is by examining Eliots mastery at depicting alienation and isolation in light of a modern society
and fragmented individual that one can come to appreciate and engage with his works.