Excerpt from The Hollow Men T S Eliot
V
Essay question:
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.
This final section of “The Hollow Men” is
characterized by repetition. In an essay of 250300 words, comment on the effectiveness of
this conclusion in the light of the whole poem
as you understand it.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
You may comment on repetition of both
content and sound devices and their effect on
the meaning of the poem.
Contextual questions:
1.1
What is the purpose of all the repetition in this
section of the poem?
[2]
1.2
In the context of the whole poem, what might the
“Shadow” represent in the lives of the hollow men?
[2]
1.3
Up until section V, mention of “kingdom” referred
to death, twilight, dreams or loss. What is the
effect of, the line: “For Thine is the kingdom” being
in italics and placed where it is?
[3]
1.4
Comment on the incomplete lines in the context of
the whole poem
[1]
“For Thine is
1.5
Life is
For Thine is the”
What emotion do the hollow men arouse in
you? Explain.
[2]
Sonnet 30 – William Shakespeare
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thought I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe,
And moan th' expense of many a vanished sight.
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoanèd moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.4
1
5
10
How does the alliteration of the first quatrain help to create the poet’s mood?
[2]
Put, “And with old woes new wail” (line 4) into your own words.
[1]
What is the effect of the word, “precious” in line 6?
[2]
What is the irony in, “And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe”
[2]
Show how the rhyming couplet is an effective ending of the extended metaphor that runs from
line 7 – 14?
[3]
A young man’s thoughts before June the 16th – Fhazel Johennessee
tomorrow I travel on a road
that winds to the top of the hill
i take with me only the sweet
memories of my youth
my heart aches for my mother
for friday nights with friends
around a table with the broad belch of beer
i ask only for a sad song
sung by a woman with downturned eyes
and strummed by an old man with
a broken brow
o sing my sad song for me
for my sunset is drenched with red
1
5
In an essay of 250 -300 words show how the young man
man’s thoughts are an indication of both his determination
and his fears.
In answering this essay it may be helpful to consider the
structure as well as the imagery and diction.
10
MEMO
THE HOLLOW MEN Contextual questions:
1.1
What is the purpose of all the repetition in this section of the poem?
[2]
The repetition emphasizes how ineffectual (indecisive, weak, feeble, inadequate, fruitless,
meaningless) are the lives of these people/ Nothing they plan to do happens, “Between … Falls the
Shadow” /(Can also use the adapted nursery rhyme to say this – prickly pear which speaks of
dryness instead of mulberry which was the symbol of fertility)
1.2
In the context of the whole poem, what might the “Shadow” represent in the lives of the hollow
men?
[2]
Their lack of moral fibre/ – as with Guy Fawkes and Mr Kurtz who did not follow through with
their intentions/ OR – It is the characteristic of modern man to “go with the flow”, be unable to
think for himself/ and therefore be easily led or persuaded into a life dictated by the group (the
need for status etc)/
1.3
Up until section V, mention of “kingdom” referred to death, twilight, dreams or loss. What is the
effect of, the line: “For Thine is the kingdom” being in italics and placed where it is?
[3]
It emphasizes that there is a “kingdom” beyond the reach of the hollow men./ They are stuck in
their endless plans that come to nothing because of the “Shadow”./
1.4
Comment on the incomplete lines:
[1]
“For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the”
They are a further instance of the hollow men’s inability to complete anything, even what they
say,/OR It is a their lack of concern/desire for meaning or depth in their lives./ Or – a meaningful
answer that relates to the poem.
1.5
What emotion do the hollow men arouse in you? Explain.
Own opinion, must be well substantiated to get a mark.
[2]
Sonnet 30
1.1
How does the alliteration of the first quatrain help to create the poet’s mood?
[2]
The repeated “s” sound slows the tempo, “sessions of sweet silent thought” creating the atmosphere
of quiet contemplation./ This is continued with the words “sigh” and “sought” showing that the
thoughts are sad (full of regret)./
1.2
Put, “And with old woes new wail … ” (line 4) into your own words.
[1]
Cry again ½ over past sadness ½(miseries/anguishes/loss)
1.3
What is the effect of the word, “precious” in line 6?
[2]
“precious” indicates that the poet ‘s grief is deeply felt/ as the people he mourns were important,
special./
1.4
What is the irony in, “And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe”
[2]
“Cancelled” implies that it no longer exists/ yet it is causing the poet to weep, it is having an effect./
1.4
Show how the rhyming couplet is an effective ending of the extended metaphor that runs from
line 7 – 14?
[3]
The poet uses an accounting metaphor to talk about the loss of his friend: “cancelled woe” as of
debt canceled, “sad account” an account that registers loss not gain, “th' expense” the cost of the
loss (must quote and explain one of these)/. However, the rhyming couplet, beginning with “But”,
indicates a change in fortune in being able to think of his friend, “All losses are restored and
sorrows end.”/ Thus the couplet is effective in resolving the “problem” of the sonnet./
‘A young man’s thoughts ….” essay
Use the poetry rubric to mark. Learners must answer the question - show how the poem is an indication of
his determination and his fears.
Structure:

unpunctuated free verse gives it a sense of breathlessness, of one thought rushing into another
evoking the tumultuous, anxious thoughts that must have preceded June 16th
 It starts and ends with “tomorrow” - first the anticipation of the difficulty “a road that winds to
the top of a hill” representing the hurdles to be overcome and then the sureness that it will end
badly, “for my sunset is drenched with red” - the place he will be.
 There is nowhere in the poem a sense of hesitation, He has decided, “i travel”, “i take”, “is
drenched”
Imagery:
 the images also tumble out upon each other – from the good memory of “Friday nights with
friends” which is quickly replaced by the anticipation of what will take Friday night’s place - “a
sad song sung by a woman with downturned eyes”, “an old man with a broken brow” - all
pictures of his fears and their inevitable outcome. Again we see that whatever the outcome he
is determined to continue “o sing my sad song for me/for my sunset is drenched with red”
Diction”
 The young man’s anxieties are seen also in the road that “winds”, implying a tiring, uphill trudge
on which he will have nothing to refresh him except his memories
 which soon turn to “heartache” when he thinks of his mother
 and then with the realization of what will probably happen the next day he asks for a “sad” song
 bringing him to the most powerful word and image – a sunset “drenched” in blood. There will
not be just a little blood, but much blood, not just his blood but that of other young men and
women too.
Essay question: The Hollow Men
This final section of “The Hollow Men” is characterized by repetition. In an essay of 250-300 words,
comment on the effectiveness of this conclusion in the light of the whole poem as you understand it.
You may comment on repetition of both content and sound devices and their effect on the meaning of the
poem.
USE POETRY RUBRIC - THIS IS ONE ANSWER, BUT THE POEM MAY HAVE BEEN APPROACHED DIFFERENTLY
AND REQUIRE A DIFFERENT RESPONSE – HOWEVER LEARNERS MUST ADDRESS THE QUESTION – IS THE
USE OF REPETITION A GOOD CONCLUSION TO THE POEM?
The poem is about people whose lives have been so meaningless that they are unable to get to “death’s other
kingdom” whether heaven or hell and appear to be wandering in purgatory.
The two rhymes at the beginning and end of this section, based on a children’s nursery rhyme, emphasise
both theIR continuous going round in circles and also the emptiness of their thoughts.
Then the refrain-like tone of the three stanzas:
Between the … and the … Falls the Shadow” reinforces that these people are still not able to complete
anything or be fruitful in any way: “Between the emotion/And the response/Falls the Shadow” constantly
repeated sounds like the monotony of a treadmill.
“Falls the Shadow” is a strong comment on their powerlessness over their own lives – a mere shadow is
able to prevent their action. Is it something imaginary? Is it their own ineptitude? Something more evil?
Whatever it is – its repetition reinforces their hollowness.
The three lines in italics between the stanzas appear as escaping thoughts, something that cannot be pinned
down and this is confirmed in the stanza with incomplete lines:
“ For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the”
Their inability even to finish a line points inevitably to lives that must end “Not with a bang but a
whimper.”
Thus the repetition of the rhymes and the ideas, of the single lines and words creates a suitable ending as it
reinforces the paralysis of the hollow men, their complete uselessness.