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READ THIS
The poem commemorates a breakup with a young woman who is deeply hurt by the experience. But is
this young woman real or imaginary? Indeed, is the breakup itself real or imaginary? There are many
clues in the poem who could lead us to conclude either way.
ABOUT THE POET
Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in St Louis (Missouri) in 1888. He attended Harvard University and
graduated with a Masters degree in Philosophy. While there, he published several poems in the
Harvard Advocate.
The poet left the United States in 1910, moving first to France, then Germany and finally London. He
married Vivienne Haigh-Wood in 1915, which caused him to settle permanently in England. His marriage
was never successful, however, and they separated in 1933. In 1956 he would remarry, this time to
Valerie Fletcher.
Early during his stay in London, Eliot fell under the influence of the great American poet, Ezra Pound, who
also assisted in the publication of his early work.
The publication of his first book of poetry - Prufrock and Other Observations, 1917 - revealed
Eliot as a forerunner of what is known as "Modernism", the philosophy of Modern Art. His next book -
The Waste Land, 1922 - is claimed by many to contain some of the most important poetry of the
20th century.
Eliot was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. He died in London in 1965. He was 77 years
old.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"So I would have had him leave,
So I would have had her stand and grieve,
So he would have left
As the soul leaves the body torn and bruised,
As the mind deserts the body it has used."
- What is the difference between "would" and "should"? (4)
[Need help?]
The word "would" indicates a desire for something to happen. "I would go" means "I desire to go". It is
known technically as "a conditional indicating volition and the hypothetical", just in case you were
wondering.
On the other hand, the word "should" carries the determination to do something. "I should go" therefore
means "I must go".
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- When the poet says, "So I would have had him leave", whom does he mean by
"him"? (4)
[Need help?]
By "him", the poet means of course the woman's lover. But it's more than this because the poet appears
to be putting himself into the 3rd person. In other words, the poet is actually speaking about himself, as
if he were observing himself in action.
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- If the poet could have orchestrated or directed the breakup, how would he have done it - according
his words in this stanza? (4)
[Need help?]
If the poet could have orchestrated the breakup, he would have made it as painful as possible for the
woman. The man would simply leave, the woman would be utterly destroyed and would grieve. Indeed,
it would be almost as painful to her as if she were bereaving someone who had died.
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"So he would have left
As the soul leaves the body torn and bruised,
As the mind deserts the body it has used."
- What is the image which the poet uses when he says, "As the soul leaves the body torn and
bruised"? (4)
[Need help?]
This is a reference to death, is it not? The poet is referring to the soul leaving the body in death. But it's
not a peaceful death but rather a savage one where the body is "torn and bruised" as in a fatal accident.
The poet is therefore stating that he would like the woman to suffer quite as much as if the person she
loved had been tragically and painfully killed in an accident.
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- Explain the image "As the mind deserts the body it has used". (4)
[Need help?]
This is very much a sexual image. In the old days, a man and a woman did not have sex until they were
at least engaged to be married. The relationship was therefore very, very close and emotional by then.
A man who had sex with a woman in those days and then left her was said to have "used" her. It would
have been a very painful experience for the woman, so much so that many did not again contemplate
marriage after that.
The mind deserting the body is therefore a reference to the closeness of the two people at the time that
the man left her. As Shakespeare would have said, "A marriage of true minds". Such pain would be
horrific for the woman - the pain of having been sexually used and then thrown away - and it's this sort of
pain which the poet is wishing upon the woman.
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"I should find
Some way incomparably light and deft,
Some way we both should understand,
Simple and faithless as a smile and shake of the hand."
- Notice that the poet has now switched from "would" to "should". Contrast the way he wished to
breakup with the way he probably would have done so. (4)
[Need help?]
The poet's wish was that the breakup would be as hurtful to the woman as possible. In reality, however,
he should opt for a much more gentle approach that was "light and deft". This would probably be nothing
more than "a smile and a shake of the hand".
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- Why does the poet speak of the "smile and a shake of the hand" as being both "simple" and
"faithless"? (4)
[Need help?]
The "smile and a shake of the hand" would certainly be the most simple way of parting company forever:
no angry shouting, accusations or tears.
But, he says, this would be "faithless". It would have little meaning. It would betray all their emotions.
While simply smiling and shaking hands, each would be hiding their real emotions from the other.
Remember too that the origin of the handshake was in the days when men carried swords. Since men
were mostly right-handed, they couldn't shake hands and stab each other at the same time.
So the handshake is meant to convey the idea of faith and trust whereas, the poet says, the handshake
in this case would be the exact opposite. It would therefore be "faithless".
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"She turned away, but with the autumn weather
Compelled my imagination many days,
Many days and many hours:
Her hair over her arms and her arms full of flowers.
And I wonder how they should have been together!
I should have lost a gesture and a pose.
Sometimes these cogitations still amaze
The troubled midnight and the noon's repose."
- The first two stanzas conveyed ideas of the breakup as it would have been if the poet had directed it
or as he would have wished it. This third stanza presents the breakup as it probably would have been.
Explain how this would be. (4)
[Need help?]
The reality is that, after all the pain of the breakup and after all the harsh words, the poet would miss her.
As time passed, his imagination would reflect back to what had been and he would probably remember
only the good times, their beautiful moments together.
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- What is the reference to "the autumn weather"? (4)
[Need help?]
With autumn comes the lengthening of the night in England so that, by 17h00, it is already quite dark. And
of course the coming winter would have driven the poet indoors where he would have plenty of time to
reflect in front of the comforting fire, mulling over what might have been.
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- What does the poet mean when he says, "I should have lost a gesture and a pose"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet would be thinking only of the good times. He would have forgotten ("lost") the bad moments,
the angry words, the belligerent gestures and poses. He would then wonder (have "cogitations") about
what could perhaps have been.
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