Anaylsis of the poem "Morning at the Window"

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Analysis of the poem "Morning at the Window"

The title "Morning at the Window" may be viewed as paradoxical because the title evokes a joyful awakening, although the poem is not joyful as closer analysis reveals. I believe the person who is speaking in the poem to be Eliot. However, it could be a character Eliot has created, a person of higher social status; we know this because the person has a window and therefore does not live in a basement. The window may be symbolic of a wall, much like the "Iron Curtain" in Germany, separating reality from fantasy, social classes. I believe this to be the first time this person has looked out the window and is clearly observing society because of the deep sorrow and pity he is expressing towards the "housemaids" with "damp souls".

The poem is empirical. Immediately, we know that the speaker has excluded himself from the first line saying "They", meaning the majority. Eliot has used onomatopoeia with the word "rattling" and Eliot re-enforces the time of day by saying "breakfast plates". This indicates panic, "rattling breakfast plates", perhaps they are late for work. The word "basement "is the