Student Question
What literary movement produced "The Hollow Men"?
Quick answer:
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot is a modernist poem, published in 1925 during the modernist movement. This movement marked a departure from Romantic and Victorian traditions, embracing themes like alienation and moral voids post-World War I. Modernist literature often featured stream-of-consciousness narration and tackled previously taboo subjects such as sexuality and violence. Eliot's poem reflects the existential disillusionment felt by many, particularly war veterans, in the aftermath of the conflict.
"The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot is an example of a modernist poem. The poem was published in 1925 at the height of the modernist movement, which included literature, visual art, and film.
Modernism is characterized by a break with Romantic and Victorian traditions. Stream-of-consciousness narration replaced the intrusive voice of a third person omniscient narrator or the italicized thoughts of a speaking character. Modernist literature discussed subjects such as sexuality and violence that were previously avoided in literature. It did not shun vulgarity either.
"The Hollow Men" addresses the alienation and void of moral purpose that many people, particularly returning soldiers, felt after the First World War. In the first stanza, the narrator suggests even the camaraderie that develops in a war zone has not brought comfort or a sense of strength:
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
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