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"The voice of the early twentieth century; the modern condition encapsulated in mood, setting and the concerns of the individual consciousness"

T.S. Eliot's poetry, including the poems "The Hollow Men" and "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock" can be viewed as great examples of texts from the modernist movement and also great expressions of the modernist ideas. Through the poetic techniques used and amalgamated structure, Eliot's poems encompasses both the modernist style and a modernist subject matter.

One of the aspects of modernism that Eliot captures best in his poetry is the mood of the era and the concerns his world. Living in the early 20th century, Eliot witnessed much of the vast changes which had occurred in the world, with great technological and scientific advancements, urbanisation, and the World Wars. Throughout this period there was great anxiety in the society, with the depression, war and exploitation of the working class all leading to great concerns of the individual. It is in these experiences along with inspiration from other poets such as Dante, and the Imagists, that Eliot wrote his poetry, full of the ideals of the modern.

This modernist mood is exemplified by the poem "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock" in which Eliot examines through the thoughts of a "modern man," the angst and concerns of the people of that time. The idea of the "modern man" being emotionally stunted, overly worried about appearances and unable to grasps the opportunities life gives. The poem is structured in a dramatic monologue, where the inner thoughts and feelings of the character Prufrock is shared with the readers. This structure is both intimate, as to impart to the readers the thinking of the "modern man" but also is fractured with images juxtaposed against one another. This relates to the stream of consciousness approach of the poem, and it is in this free flowing nature of the verses that Eliot exhibit's the modernist style of poetry.

Other poetic techniques used by Eliot are also important when considering his modernist approach of writing. The poem is full of imagery, in which Eliot influenced by the Imagist poets, creates a very clear and specific image, such as the opening lines "When the evening is spread out against the sky/ Like a patient etherized upon a table." Instead of using imagery to describe beautiful or aesthetic objects and events, Eliot used it to highlight the unattractive and flaws of things, which sheds light to the new way of thinking and the pessimism that can be seen. Eliot also heavily utilises personification to portray certain aspects of modern life, such as in his description of the pollution of the city,

"The yellow fog that rubs its back on the window-panes,

The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes

Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,"

giving life to the concerns and problems of the modern world and thus making them seem more urgent and disturbing.

These images can also be seen in "The Hollow Men," in which