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Poet: T.S. Eliot
Poem: 10.
Hysteria
Volume: Prufrock and Other Observations
Year: Published/Written in 1917
Comment 2 of 2, added on April 5th, 2007 at 4:03 PM.
As a "Traditional Modernist" Eliot thinks that "gender" is a mission given by society.but it is appearrant in the poem that the persona (in fact Eliot's himself) does not feel himself as a man.But he organizes a meeting with a lady but the the hesitation and anxiety overwhelms on him.At every opening of the lady's mouth he likens it darkened images.And when a waiter comes he spreads pink clothes for the woman nad the white one for the man.This makes him more disturbed and cannot concantrate on anything but he thinks that such trivial things can make his concantration better.
ebru from Turkey
Comment 1 of 2, added on October 18th, 2005 at 6:10 PM.
This poem is loaded. The way Eliot addresses women is a direct reflection of the society which he is a product of. Women overwhelm Eliot, the speaker is being "involved", "drawn in", "lost" and finally "bruised" by the woman. It objectifies women and makes them responsible for the actions of men under their spell. This objectification is seen again at the poems conclusion in the discussion of the "shaking breasts." The woman is being described only by her seemingly nonsense laughter (the reader has no idea why she is laughing) and her body (her teeth and her breasts). Further the more the title of the poem is loaded. It is a direct reference to Freud's theories of hysteria. Yet in many ways this poem is a love poem. The ambiguity of the author is what makes the analysis so complex.
Cary from United States
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Comments
As a "Traditional Modernist" Eliot thinks that "gender" is a mission given by society.but it is appearrant in the poem that the persona (in fact Eliot's himself) does not feel himself as a man.But he organizes a meeting with a lady but the the hesitation and anxiety overwhelms on him.At every opening of the lady's mouth he likens it darkened images.And when a waiter comes he spreads pink clothes for the woman nad the white one for the man.This makes him more disturbed and cannot concantrate on anything but he thinks that such trivial things can make his concantration better.
ebru from Turkey