"Preludes" is a modernist poem by TS Eliot written in free verse.

The language in the poem lends itself to imagery: there are dirty lots and dingy rooms, "short square fingers stuffing pipes", and light creeping up shutters. The language is meant to be spoken. TS Eliot uses ample examples of alliteration (for instance "short, square... stuffing") and assonance (repetition of consonants and vowels respectively) in order to force the reader into a thought and a beat. Try saying the poem aloud, read it out to yourself, and you'll see what I mean!