Preludes by T. S. Eliot: Summary

'Preludes' is a chain of four short poems composed by T. S. Eliot which was published in his first collection, Prufrock and Other Observations, in 1917. The first poem in 'Preludes' is a winter evening scene at six o'clock. The smell of steak cooking in passageways tells us it is dinner time. A brilliant image expresses the evening as the stub-end of the "smoky days". A wind is bringing a hint of rain and blows withered leaves from here to there. Newspapers are blown away across the street. The detail could well be taken from an American city. A cab-horse sweats ("steams") and stamps its feet at the corner of the street. The gas-lights are lit. The prelude I concludes with the scene of night and the lightening of the street lamps.

Mon, Sep 04 2017

Preludes by T. S. Eliot: Critical Analysis

'Preludes' is one of the prominent work of Eliot written in 1910 and 1911. The then society of Eliot is presented as a waste land where corruption and desolation are dominant in the cycle of meaningless life. The title of the poem holds a special position in terms of analysis. Prelude means an introduction to something, to be specific, in a musical sense, it is a small composition that is played before the main piece of music. In that sense, Preludes is just a small window view of the characteristics of the empty society we are shown. In reality the actual society we live in is a terrible place.

Mon, Sep 04 2017

Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock as a Dramatic Monologue

'The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock' by T. S. Eliot has been described as a dramatic monologue because it is an attempt at self-expression by a sentimental middle aged gentleman over the teacups. It is dramatic in the sense that it shows us the personality of Prufrock and not of the poet. It is a monologue because in this poem only one character does all the talking from beginning to end. In this sense it is a dramatic monologue. In a dramatic monologue the presence of a silent listener or listeners is implied.

Mon, Sep 04 2017

Objective Correlative in Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

The theory of the 'Objective Correlative' is one of the most important critical concepts of T. S. Eliot. He formulated his doctrine of the 'Objective Correlative' in his essay on Hamlet and His Problems. Eliot called Hamlet 'an artistic failure'. The reason for this is that the central theme or the dominant emotion of the play, which is the feeling of a son towards a guilty mother, is for Eliot 'an intractable' material. And in this play, Shakespeare fails to find the proper objective correlative for Hamlet's feelings.

Mon, Sep 04 2017

Use of Irony and Sarcasm in Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Irony is a literary device by which a writer expresses a meaning contradictory to the stated one. There are many techniques for achieving irony. The writer may, for example, make it clear the meaning he intends is the opposite of his literal one, or he that construct a discrepancy between and expectation and its fulfillment, or between the appearance of a situation and the reality that underlies it. Irony is thus an art of indirection, juxtaposition, paradox, puns and other forms of wit in the expression of incongruities.

Mon, Sep 04 2017

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot: Summary

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is one of the first remarkable poems of the city man and is also the first notable poem of T.S. Eliot. Prof. Pinto hails the poem as a landmark in English poetry because it marks a complete break with the 19th century tradition. Eliot presents the despair and passivity of a middle-aged man, Alfred J. Prufrock.

Mon, Sep 04 2017

Endymion by John Keats: Summary and Analysis

Endymion is A Poetic Romance, Keats's first major work, was published in 1818 and it is considered as one of the masterpieces of the early nineteenth-century Romantic movement in English literature. The most often-quoted line, 'A thing of beauty is a joy forever,' tells that a beautiful thing of nature always provides a satisfying pleasure to the soul.

Thu, Aug 17 2017

The Terror of Death (When I have Fears) by John Keats: Summary and Analysis

This is the first sonnet of Keats, written in the Shakespearean form with its abab, cdcd, efef, gg rhyme scheme and its division into three quatrains and a concluding couplet. It was written between January, 22nd, and 31st, 1818. Though the poem is sent to Reynolds on 31 January, 1818, calling it 'thy last sonnet,' it is not the poet's last sonnet in any way.

Thu, Aug 17 2017

Bright Star by John Keats: Summary and Analysis

It was the last poetical work of Keats, was composed in October 1820 on board the ship that took him from London to Italy. The sonnet with its measured space and serene dignity is a flawless composition in design and craftsmanship. Nothing is feverish or hysterical in or about it. Every line is balanced and luminous with calm and inner radiance.

Thu, Aug 10 2017

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer by John Keats: Summary and Analysis

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer is among the earliest poetic attempts of Keats and was published in Poems (1817). The theme of the poem is Keats's amazement at the greatness, the range and the profundity of Homer which he experienced through a translation of Homer's epics by George Chapman. The sonnet is in many ways a representative piece and exhibits Keats's poetic genius.

Wed, Aug 09 2017