FREE ESSAY ON T.S. ELIOT-IMAGERY AND PRELUDES

T.S. ELIOT-IMAGERY AND PRELUDES

T. S. Eliot - Imagery of Preludes
In T. S. Eliot's poem Preludes he portrays the alienation of the individual from society.
His imagery is sharp and clear and he uses many techniques to achieve this. A clear
description of what something is, can be pictured in the mind by his precise use of
imagery. For example, the words, "...withered leaves"(7) gives a clear image, as does,
"...dingy shades"(22). The effect is achieved through descriptions of the human
influence, word choice, syntax, and rhythm. Eliot uses descriptions like, "the faint
smell of beer"(15). This definitely brings a smell to your mind. 
The first stanza begins with a familiar setting, a "... winter evening"(1). This is
associated with a lack of growth and a loss of vitality. It also describes death and
desolation. This does not last long when we are confronted," with smells of steaks in
passageways"(2) paints a picture of a polluted and mundane environment. The precise use
of descriptive words composes this mood of decline and despair. As seen when you read "
...the burnt-out ends of smoky days"(4). 
The mood is vital to understanding Eliot's vision of anguish and despair of the
individual that is alienated from society. These moods are expressed throughout with the
careful use of imagery, diction and repetition. His distinctive syntax and use of rhythm
also enhance the effects of his poetry. Only in stanza III does he actually describe a
person and not a body part, as 
Ratza 2
he does in the stanzas before and after. Example of this is "withered leaves about your
feet"(7), and "one thinks of all the hands"(21). He also uses the human presence to
describe them in the poem, an example of this is, "the smell of steaks"(2) and "to early
coffee-stands"(18). He makes inanimate objects the topic of his sentence and more
important then the people, for example " The winter evening settles down/ With smell of
steaks in passageways."(1-2). He makes the winter evening the topic of the sentence, not
the human presence. In "of withered leaves about your feet/ and newspapers from vacant
lots..."(7-8), he makes the non-living, unimportant objects, the focuses of his
sentences.
Most of the poem is described outside, "the winter evening..."(1) where it is cold and
desolate. In stanza III we go inside, where it proves that it is no cleaner, "or clasped
the yellow soles of feet/ In the palms of both soiled hands"(37-38), than outside. Eliot
writes of how the world is suffering and how nothing was done by them to deserve this
with "wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh;/ The worlds revolve like ancient women/
gathering fuel in vacant lots"(52-54). Eliot has created a world of ugliness, dirt, and
darkness. He uses many forms of imagery to convey this scene to the reader. He uses word
choice, literal imagery, description of human extremities and presence, and rhythm. T.S.
Eliot writes about a world of suffering and hopelessness and creates a physically
powerful emotion with his readers that they feel the desperation of the world, through
his imagery.
Bibliography
Eliot, T. S. "Preludes." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 6th edition.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. 759.