"Whispers of Immortality" is a poem by T. S. Eliot. Written sometime between 1915 and 1918, the poem was published originally in the September issue of the Little Review and first collected in June 1919 in a volume entitled Poems published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf's Hogarth Press. It is one of the quatrain poems, a mode that Eliot had adapted from the mid-19th-century French poet Theophile Gautier.[1] The title is a fainter parody of William Wordsworth's title of the poem, Intimations of Immortality.
Whispers of Immortality
by T. S. Eliot
First published in
Little Review 5.5
Language
English
Lines
32
AnalysisEdit
The poem was developed in two sections; each contains four stanzas and each stanza contains four lines. The first section where Eliot paid homage to his great Jacobean masters in whom he found the unified sensibility is a kind of "versified critique"[2] of Jacobean writers, Webster and Donne in particular. Both Webster and Donne are praised by the narrator, the former for seeing the “skull beneath the skin”(l.2), the latter for not seeking any “substitute for sense/ To seize and clutch and penetrate;/Expert beyond experience,..”(l.10-12). The apparent oxymoron of a "sense" that transcends beyond "experience" is followed by references to "the anguish of the marrow"(l.13) and the uncontrollable “fever of the bone” (l.16) that are too corporeal for mundane experience. The second section begins with a description of a modern Russian woman Grishkin whose “friendly bust/ Gives promise of pneumatic bliss”(l.19-20). In the following two stanzas, Grishkin is compared to the “Brazilian jaguar” which “does not in its arboreal gloom/ distil so rank a feline smell/ As Grishkin in a drawing room.”(l.26-28) In the concluding stanza, the narrator said that even her charm is the subject of philosophy. Nevertheless “our lot crawls between dry ribs/ To keep our metaphysics warm.”(l.31-32).
ReferencesEdit
^Murphy, Russell Elliott (2007). Critical Companion to T.S. Eliot: a Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 488. ISBN978-0-8160-6183-9.
^Wood and Davies (2003). The Waste Land. India: Viva Books Private Limited. p. 5. ISBN81-7649-433-X.
External linksEdit
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Whispers of Immortality
An omnibus collection of T. S. Eliot's poetry at Standard Ebooks
Whispers of Immortality public domain audiobook at LibriVox
October 21, 2023
whispers, immortality, poem, eliot, written, sometime, between, 1915, 1918, poem, published, originally, september, issue, little, review, first, collected, june, 1919, volume, entitled, poems, published, leonard, virginia, woolf, hogarth, press, quatrain, poe. Whispers of Immortality is a poem by T S Eliot Written sometime between 1915 and 1918 the poem was published originally in the September issue of the Little Review and first collected in June 1919 in a volume entitled Poems published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf s Hogarth Press It is one of the quatrain poems a mode that Eliot had adapted from the mid 19th century French poet Theophile Gautier 1 The title is a fainter parody of William Wordsworth s title of the poem Intimations of Immortality Whispers of Immortalityby T S EliotFirst published inLittle Review 5 5LanguageEnglishLines32Analysis EditThe poem was developed in two sections each contains four stanzas and each stanza contains four lines The first section where Eliot paid homage to his great Jacobean masters in whom he found the unified sensibility is a kind of versified critique 2 of Jacobean writers Webster and Donne in particular Both Webster and Donne are praised by the narrator the former for seeing the skull beneath the skin l 2 the latter for not seeking any substitute for sense To seize and clutch and penetrate Expert beyond experience l 10 12 The apparent oxymoron of a sense that transcends beyond experience is followed by references to the anguish of the marrow l 13 and the uncontrollable fever of the bone l 16 that are too corporeal for mundane experience The second section begins with a description of a modern Russian woman Grishkin whose friendly bust Gives promise of pneumatic bliss l 19 20 In the following two stanzas Grishkin is compared to the Brazilian jaguar which does not in its arboreal gloom distil so rank a feline smell As Grishkin in a drawing room l 26 28 In the concluding stanza the narrator said that even her charm is the subject of philosophy Nevertheless our lot crawls between dry ribs To keep our metaphysics warm l 31 32 References Edit Murphy Russell Elliott 2007 Critical Companion to T S Eliot a Literary Reference to His Life and Work New York Infobase Publishing p 488 ISBN 978 0 8160 6183 9 Wood and Davies 2003 The Waste Land India Viva Books Private Limited p 5 ISBN 81 7649 433 X External links Edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Whispers of Immortality An omnibus collection of T S Eliot s poetry at Standard Ebooks nbsp Whispers of Immortality public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Whispers of Immortality amp oldid 1176546829, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
