The Three Magi

The Three Magi

The origins and stories of the various people at the scene of the nativity at Jesus' birth have always mysterious to me. I supposed that they all had separate livelihoods and individual problems, but I had never considered it much until I read the "Journey of the Magi," a poem by T. S. Elliot The form of this work largely affects many other aspects of its interpretation by readers. Each of the stanzas is unique in facets of language, situation, setting, and, possibly even speaker. Just as there were three individual magi following the star of Bethlehem, there are three completely individual stanzas describing the journey.

The first stanza of this poem is a chilling depiction of the winter traverse through less than ideal conditions. The magus speaker in this stanza is obviously tired of traveling. I can see this through his syntax, which is very continuous. The sentences run on, creating an essence of fatigue and, often, jealousy of those in better situations. This syntax, combined with the speaker's specific adjectives, creates a tone of resentment. This speaker does not want to be on this seemingly farcical journey, but the night travel, probably mostly meant to see the star of Bethlehem, seems to keep him going.

The second stanza narrates one day of travel rather than an extended and agonizing saga of a voyage, as the first stanza does. This stanza is set in a valley where the magi seek information. This stanza is very confusing to me because I cannot determine the situation. There seems to be some sort of chaos in this valley, but it is difficult for me to determine. The syntax consists of long and uninterrupted sentences, which exude a tone of complete objectivity. This magus simply tells the reader what happened on one day of travel.

Finally, the last stanza is the most puzzling to me. It looks back a long time on both the birth and the death of