Poetry of T.S Elliot

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On the surface T.S Eliot’s poem ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’ explores the magical journey of a man’s mind wandering off on him, dwelling on various scenes that he observes as he makes his way home through the streets of Paris. However once dissected and analysed the sub-textual meaning of Rhapsody on a Windy Night becomes evident as Eliot uses figurative language to parallel the persona’s thoughts on the various scenes with Eliot’s own negative view on what he believes is a faithless and materialistic urban society. In the 21st century the emphasis on materialism and technology is certainly having a detrimental effect on society as it becomes self-centred and lifeless. The sub-textual meaning of Rhapsody on a Windy Night is understood further after having analysed Eliot’s use of themes and associations throughout his poems ‘Preludes’ and ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. Eliot structures Rhapsody on a Windy Night into six stanzas according to changes in time. Various time periods are mentioned: ‘Twelve O’clock’, ‘Half-past one’, ‘Half-past two’, ‘Half-past three’ and ‘Four O’clock’ drawing emphasis to the obsession human society has with manufactured time in order to create structure and routine. Indeed the emphasis on time and routines is evident in modern day society as even the most basic of our routines, such as eating a meal, is based on the time of day, not when we are hungry. The theme of time throughout Rhapsody on a Windy Night is carried throughout Eliot’s poetry as he continuously mentions words associated with time such as ‘Six O’clock’, ‘evening’ and ‘night’ symbolised in my visual representation by the images of the sun, moon and clock. The repeated mention of enforced time in Rhapsody on a Windy Night is quite ironic as Eliot refers to this poem as a rhapsody, which is the name given to an improvised musical composition which often evokes

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