Posted by Franco on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 11:32am.
Can you help me rephrase some lines of Eliot’s “The Preludes I-II”?
1) The poet is describing what he sees as the winter evening settles down. He also lets the reader smell what he smells, like the odour of the steaks in passageways (a synonym?). It is dinner now. He carefully describes the end of the day as burnt-out ends of smoky days (can you help me rendering the contrast between the adjectives burnt-out and smoky: the fire is not an element of vitality but of death), likening the end of a day to a butt of cigarette. Such an attitude towards evening signifies loneliness and melancholy. Then a rainstorm blows up. “Grimy scraps” indicates the ugliness of the poet’s sorroundings, as do other images in the rest of the stanza. The winter evening is wrapped up in rain and dirt. There is only one cab-horse in the street. The next morning is pervaded by the unpleasant smell of beer.
2)In part II Eliot refers to human beings as shadows (dingy shades), who have been deprived of their human dignity. The metaphor conveys an idea of alienation. The modern town is desolated, swept by the wind, cold, dirt and alienated.
3) How can I rephrase: from the saw-dust trampled street? “newspapers from vacant lots”?
Thanks
- English - GuruBlue, Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 12:22pm
passageways is probably referring to hallways
Burnt out would be all gone, nothing left, ended, finished. Smoky would be hazy, still in the process of burning, obscured.
Sawdust trampled, worn out from being used. Newspaper from vacant lots, would be old and probably trash.
Answer this Question
Related Questions
english (poetry) - n school, right now we are going over T.S. Eliot's "...
English - I really need your help to rephrase the poem "Preludes" by T...
English - Thank you very much for helping me rephrase it. I wonder if you could ...
English - I need to paraphrase some lines from Beowulf for tomorrow. I really ...
English lit - I need to write a explication about this poem, can you help? A ...
English - I forgot to include the following sentences. I really hope you can ...
English - Thank you very much for your revision! I just wanted to know if I can ...
English IV - The effect urban life has on the woman in the poem "Preludes&...
english - there is some unknown poet called M.T. Buckley whom seems to be known ...
English - Could you please check these sentences, please? I'm not sure about...
For Further Reading
