"Remind your self of 'the hollow men'. Discuss how Eliot explores the themes of death and futility in the poem.

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"Remind your self of 'the hollow men'. Discuss how Eliot explores the themes of death and futility in the poem.

Look closely at the way in which language is used

Comment on the effects of the imagery and verse form

Relate this poem to others you have studied"

One of the major themes explored by Eliot in the hollow men is that of death and futility. Eliot portrays life, war, royalty, religion and death as futile in the poem. He also describes death and particularly the passing of the Hollow men.

The title "the hollow men" portrays an image of death. Eliot is suggesting through the title that when we die we become empty and hollow and soul less. This is emphasized later in the first section " remember us- if at all- not as lost violent souls", this suggests that they don't have a soul. This itself gives a message about the futility of life, when we die we don't have souls, were empty, that is the end, we do not carry on living and this raises issues about the point of life. This is later emphasized by the reference "In deaths dream kingdom" dreams are not real, they are the stuff of fantasy and this suggests that heaven is not real. Another way Eliot makes us think life is futile is that we feel nothing for the hollow men, they are emotionally detached from us and we don't care about them or their lives and this suggests that know one in the distant future will even know of our existence as many of us make no impression on the world .
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This poem has obvious links to Guy Falkes attempt to assonate King James from the first line "a penny for the guy" to the last line "not with a bang but a whimper". The point of assonating king James was because of Religion and also royalty and this has connotations to the First World War, which happened recently before the writing of the poem. Eliot obviously thought that the war was pointless, as did many at the time, arguing between the royals was something that belonged in the middle ages not the 20th century. Eliot draws comparison between ...

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