Reflections of the Hollow Men
I
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
II
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer --
Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom
III
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.
IV
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
V
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Hollow: having empty space inside
Stuffed: with filling or stuffing
Fading: becoming less bright
paralyzed: lost the ability to move
Solemn: formal, showing no joy or humor
Stave: bar of wood
Twilight: time after sunset or before dawn;
half-light
Supplication: appeal
Grope: search by feeling
Tumid: swollen
Multifoliate: having many leaves
Prickly: having a surface or skin with prickles
on it
Spasm: sudden muscle contraction
Potency: capacity for growth
bang: sudden loud noise
Whimper: repeated weak plaintive crying or
whining sounds of pain
Spiritual Void
Emptiness
Passivity
Materialism
Dissatisfaction
Sterility
This poem is a dramatic monologue written in
free verse. It consists of five sections of
different lengths.
There are two epigraphs to the poem:
1.
"Mistah Kurtz – he dead
"
2.
"A penny for the Old Guy“
They are allusions to Joseph Conrad's
character in his novel
Heart of Darkness,
Kurts
, who
is referred to as a "hollow sham"
and "hollow at the core".
and to Guy Fawkes, who attempted blow up
the English house of Parliament, and his
straw-man effigy that is burned each year in
the United Kingdom on Guy Fawkes Night.
The Hollow Men is a poignant poem reflecting on emptiness, futility, and lost souls in a desolate world. Through vivid imagery and haunting verses, it explores themes of death, disillusionment, and the human condition. The poem delves into the sense of alienation and spiritual bankruptcy, evoking a deep sense of melancholy and despair in the reader.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
I We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats' feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion; Those who have crossed With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost Violent souls, but only As the hollow men The stuffed men.
II Eyes I dare not meet in dreams In death's dream kingdom These do not appear: There, the eyes are Sunlight on a broken column There, is a tree swinging And voices are In the wind's singing More distant and more solemn Than a fading star. Let me be no nearer In death's dream kingdom Let me also wear Such deliberate disguises Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves In a field Behaving as the wind behaves No nearer -- Not that final meeting In the twilight kingdom
III This is the dead land This is cactus land Here the stone images Are raised, here they receive The supplication of a dead man's hand Under the twinkle of a fading star. Is it like this In death's other kingdom Waking alone At the hour when we are Trembling with tenderness Lips that would kiss Form prayers to broken stone.
IV The eyes are not here There are no eyes here In this valley of dying stars In this hollow valley This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms In this last of meeting places We grope together And avoid speech Gathered on this beach of the tumid river Sightless, unless The eyes reappear As the perpetual star Multifoliate rose Of death's twilight kingdom The hope only Of empty men.
V Here we go round the prickly pear Prickly pear prickly pear Here we go round the prickly pear At five o'clock in the morning. Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom Between the conception And the creation Between the emotion And the response Falls the Shadow Life is very long
Between the desire And the spasm Between the potency And the existence Between the essence And the descent Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom For Thine is Life is For Thine is the This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.
Hollow: having empty space inside Stuffed: with filling or stuffing Fading: becoming less bright paralyzed: lost the ability to move Solemn: formal, showing no joy or humor Stave: bar of wood Twilight: time after sunset or before dawn; half-light Supplication: appeal
Grope: search by feeling Tumid: swollen Multifoliate: having many leaves Prickly: having a surface or skin with prickles on it Spasm: sudden muscle contraction Potency: capacity for growth bang: sudden loud noise Whimper: repeated weak plaintive crying or whining sounds of pain
Spiritual Void Emptiness Passivity Materialism Dissatisfaction Sterility
This poem is a dramatic monologue written in free verse. It consists of five sections of different lengths.
There are two epigraphs to the poem: 1. "Mistah Kurtz he dead" 2. "A penny for the Old Guy They character in his novel Heart of Darkness, Kurts, who is referred to as a "hollow sham" and "hollow at the core". and to Guy Fawkes, who attempted blow up the English house of Parliament, and his straw-man effigy that is burned each year in the United Kingdom on Guy Fawkes Night. are allusions to Joseph Conrad's
