Eliot depicts a typical working class neighborhood, at night fall on a cold winter day. Darkness, loneliness and desolation characterize that time of day. The title, Preludes, contrasts with the diction of the poem. The body of the poem, excluding the last line, has vivid imagery allowing the reader to experience the depression of the dramatic situation. The last line of the poem unexpectedly transforms the tone of the poem, creating an optimistic air.
The title Preludes is an elegant word belonging to a cultured and educated world which contradicts the portrayal in the poem. The poem illustrates a working class neighborhood with the "smell of steaks" contrary to the denotation of the word "prelude" which means "a short piece of music." Another diction for "prelude" is "an introductory" which seemingly foreshadows the body of the poem as an introduction to the last line of the poem. .
Throughout the wording in the body of the poem there is an element of ending accompanied by darkness. "The winter evening settles down" inserts at the very beginning of the poem an ending feeling. There is a reference to time, "Six o"clock", signifying the end to the working day. This verse stirs a dramatic stop in the poem. "The burnt-out ends of smoky days" typifies finality through an illustration of a burned piece of wood. "Gusty shower wraps" and "broken blinds" details a description of extreme poverty seen through the body of the poem. The central themes in the poem are of solitude and depression depicted through imagery of the dreary landscape. The visual images of "smoky days", "steams" and " the lighting of the lamps" appeal to our senses. "Shower beats" and "stamps" arouse our auditory senses. As well, "grimy and "smoky days", stir our olfactory and tactile senses. .
The last line of the poem presents a contrasting tone. "And then the lighting of the lamps". This is the first reference to light throughout the poem.
In Wordsworth's The Prelude line 271-3 gives an example of personification. ... Little can be told about what inspired Wordsworth to write The Prelude. ... The Prelude is considered one of the greatest of all English literature. Lascelles Abercrombie describes The Prelude as a work of art. ... The concept of The Prelude is said to be hard to grasp. ...
In Wordsworth's autobiographical poem, The Prelude, the author presents a variety of contradictory emotions. In fact, he goes through a cycle of various moods in response to the different scenes and situations he encounters. Such transition of feeling are transmitted through the use of diction, im...
In "Prelude" the themes are of entrapment within a patriarchal world, and less explicitly of identity and the fazade human beings adopt. ... In "Prelude" and "The Doll's House" Mansfield tells the stories from the point of view of the various characters. ... In "Prelude" Mansfield reveals her themes of entrapment and identity through the private reflection of her central characters. ... The hidden story in "Prelude", however, is Beryl's avoidance of the conflicting truths by which she lives her life. ... Kezia, too, is extremely important in "Prelude". ...
"Preludes" and "Hollow men" are both poems written in the early 1900's that exemplify Eliot's cynical views and gives little promise of spiritual regeneration. ... "Preludes" and "Hollow men" are poems in which Eliot expresses his negative view of the human condition. ... In ""Preludes" in particular, the point of view of the writer continuously changes in each section. ... Eliot employs the poetic technique, personification in "Preludes" to describe the pointless life of human beings. ... He depicts and criticises society during this era in both "Preludes" and "Hollow men". ...
ABRAHAM LINCOLN I chose this book because the title was "prelude to greatness" meaning the author was saying that Abraham Lincoln was great when he came into power. ... The book Prelude to Greatness wasn't that well organized, it was a little complicated to follow at times. ...
In their time as friends they wrote and discussed many poems, which later led to the writing of a prelude for his wife whom he had four children with. ... The Prelude, which Wordsworth wrote for his wife was completed in 1805 after his friend Coleridge finished and published his book, Ancient Mariner, in 1798. ...
