POEM 10: The Hollow Men : Book 3

 

POEM 10: The Hollow Men

 

Word	Meaning	Synonym
1.      Hollow	without real significance or value.	Empty, soulless, worthless
2.      Stuffed	filled with something,	Filled with straws, worldly, materialistic
3.      Paralyzed	to become partly or wholly incapable of movement.	Unable to move, crippled, disabled
4.      Violent	a destructive natural force	Strong emotion, intense, zealous

 

Reference:

These lines have been taken from “ The Hollow Men” written by “T.S Eliot”

Context:

The poem is a criticism of the modern man. The idea is that modern man has progressed well but his body is still soulless. He lacks moral values. They have become selfish, greedy, and emotionless.

Explanation:

The poet says that a few modern men talk together. They say that they are idle and inactive. They lack spirit and strength. They are hollow men. They are stuffed with emptiness. They depend upon one another for support. Even their brains are empty. These are filed with straw.

 

Short Question

 

Q.1: Why does the poet call us modern men as hollow men?

ANS: The poet calls us modern men, hollow men so because we do not possess solid knowledge about life and the afterlife. We do not have proper ideas, purposes, and plans. Our movements and actions are meaningless.

Q.2: What does the phrase “stuffed men” mean in the poem?

ANS: The poet calls us so because we have filled our minds with useless and even harmful ideas. Our bodies, our hearts especially, do not contain high emotions and feelings.

Q.3: Why does the poet call modern men hollow men?

ANS: The poet calls us so because we have filled our minds with useless and even harmful ideas. Our bodies, our hearts especially, do not contain high emotions and feelings.

Q.4: How do the whispers of the hollow men sound?

ANS: Their voices are dry like whispers (murmurs). They are like wind moving through dry grass. They are like the low sound of rats moving over broken glass in a dry underground store.

Q.5: Why does the poet call the people of his age (time) “headpieces filled with straw”?

ANS: The poet says this because the heads of the people hide the rottenness and uselessness of their minds. The ideas coming out of their minds are childish, useless and to no one’s good.

Q.6: Why are the people of the poet’s time shapes without form?

ANS: The bodies of modern people do not have the charm and beauty of the people of olden times. The people do not have healthy and properly shaped bodies. They look sick, dull and lifeless.

Q.7: What does the poet mean when he says “gesture without motion”?

ANS: It means that the men of the poet’s time try to move their bodies to make signs. But they cannot move them as they are without inner or outer energy.