Abstract

“YOU SEE THE CORNER OF HER EYES / TWISTED LIKE A CROOKED PIN”: THE IMAGE OF WOMAN IN T. S. ELIOT’S EARLY POETRY

Maha Qahtan Sulaiman

Volume: 10 Issue: 1 2020

Abstract:

The image of woman in T. S. Eliot’s poetry forms an essential part of its moral structure. Eliot’s image of woman is functioning as a symbol of; on the one hand, a decadent civilization and futile existence; on the other hand, regeneration and salvation. This indicates his acknowledgement of the significant role woman plays in the refinement and cultivation of moral values within the family, society and the world at large. In the early poetry, Eliot depicts a sterile corrupted world and a dwindling civilization, empty of any spiritual meaning. The image of woman in this poetry is of the same quality: dead in life, shallow, frustrated, a debased type, forming part of what Eliot calls a waste land. She is the true reflection of a chaotic world, heading towards its ultimate ruin.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.37648/ijrssh.v10i01.005

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