Critical Appreciation of the Poem “The Hollow Men.”

Answer

Write a critical appreciation of the poem “The Hollow Men.”

T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) wrote “The Hollow Men” in 1925, after the First World War. It was published between his great poems “The Waste Land” (1922) and “Ash Wednesday” (1930). The poem shows the spiritual emptiness of modern people. The “hollow men” are alive but without a true soul or faith. Eliot presents disorder, despair, and loss of hope in modern civilization. The poem is often called one of his most haunting works. Let us critically appreciate the poem below.

The Hollow Men—Disorder and Decay of the Modern World

“The Hollow Men” begins with the picture of hollow men. They are “stuffed men” with heads filled with straw, like scarecrows.  They have shape but no real form. They have no real emotions. The poet writes:

“We whisper together

Are quiet and meaningless.”

This shows the decay of the human spirit in the modern world. People are alive, but inside they are dead. They live without faith, without soul, and without true purpose. Eliot also describes the world as a dead land. He writes,

“This is the dead land

This is cactus land.”

The land is dry, barren, and lifeless. They cannot face the eyes of truth or God, so they hide in disguises. Here, prayers are meaningless, and people worship stone images instead of God. The hollow men also cannot speak to one another; they remain silent and divided. In the last part, Eliot writes about the “Shadow” that falls between thought and action. Thoughts never become deeds. Dreams never turn into reality. Between desire and fulfilment, between hope and result, falls the Shadow of failure. The poem ends with the famous line:

“This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.”

“Whimper” means a low, feeble sound to express fear, pain, or unhappiness. So, the world is full of fear, pain, and