The Hollow Men Analysis

I

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

II

Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.

Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer --

Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom

III

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.

Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.

IV

The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms

In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.

V

Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow

Life is very long

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom

For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

.: :.

"Between the idea and the reality, Between the motion and the act - Falls the Shadow...
Between the conception and the creation, Between the potency and the existence - Falls the Shadow."
OPPORTUNITY LIES IN THE SILOS

| Posted on 2009-09-23 | by a guest

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I am returning to this poem after many years to find that it's meaning is clearer in my later years than in my high school years of eternal optimism. I am further struck by the amazing contrast between the old and the new (for example, Dante's Inferno and The Waste Land). But as a professional musician, my depth of understanding has been increased as I prepare to perform for the first time Vincent Persichetti's "The Hollow Men" for trumpet and string orchestra. Persichetti's music is haunting and sad yet in the midst of this somehow portrays confidence and peace! Wow!

| Posted on 2009-09-09 | by a guest

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I studied this poem a few years in a H.S. AP English Lit class... Anyone looking for deeper understanding - try reading The Great Gatsby.

| Posted on 2009-08-24 | by a guest

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I wonder if some of these people read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad before trying to analyze this poem. If you haven't got the time to read it, research it. It will bring a better and deeper meaning to it.
From an AP English Student, just trying to point people in the right direction.

| Posted on 2009-08-16 | by a guest

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no doubt,this is the most beautiful poem i ever read.the poet is addressing as hollowmen of twienth century people.the people is blank spiritually.

| Posted on 2009-07-06 | by a guest

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First, I would like to say that, in my opinion, this poem is a very beautiful and powerful poem. I read it three times in order to fully comprehend and experience its marvelous literary effect; each time I read it I felt a cold chill running down my spine, as if I am sensing the hollowness and emptiness that is discussed in this poem.
I believe this poem addresses a very sensitive and important issue that I find quite relevant to our present reality. The allusion to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness at the beginning of the poem: "Mista Kurtz- he dead" has a dramatic effect on the reader and sets a very dark mood that is maintained throughout the poem. T.S Eliot portrays or rather embodies the dehumanization of Kurtz's men and Kurtz himself as they are absorbed in their hollow causes and ideologies; they become "hollow men".
Laura, Acre

| Posted on 2009-06-25 | by a guest

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Wonderful!
This poem is very good and it's remember me a brazilian writer called Machado de Assis, because they have a similar way, whith metaphors, to explain some aspects of humans at all!!
Read MACHADO DE ASSIS!

| Posted on 2009-06-12 | by a guest

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Wonderful!
This poem is very good and it's remember me a brazilian writer called Machado de Assis, because they have a similar way, whith metaphors, to explain some aspects of humans at all!!
Read MACHADO DE ASSIS!

| Posted on 2009-06-12 | by a guest

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Wonderful! This poem is very good and it's remember me a brazilian writer called Machado de Assis, because they have a similar way, whith metaphors, to explain some aspects of humans at all!!
Read MACHADO DE ASSIS!

| Posted on 2009-06-12 | by a guest

.: :.

Wonderful! This poem is very good and it's remember me a brazilian writer called Machado de Assis, because they have a similar way, whith metaphors, to explain some aspects of humans at all!!
Read MACHADO DE ASSIS!

| Posted on 2009-06-12 | by a guest

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This poem is not vague at all. You are eleven and this is classic literature with multiple allusions and metaphors.

| Posted on 2009-06-12 | by a guest

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cool and very vage poem it was so easy to understand that i feel i could also do a poem. And the sad part is that i am only eleven yrs. of age.

| Posted on 2009-06-02 | by a guest

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liked it, it was cool but i am only reading it for homework. but for homework it was interesting and deep. he found a good way to express himself

| Posted on 2009-05-28 | by a guest

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i think the theme of the poem is that human beings have become soulless. they try to depend upon each other, but they can not make a society. all their effort are like the running of rats and rustling of dry grass. we do have shapes, but inside their is nothing. we only seem to be walking souls but actually se are not.
muslim

| Posted on 2009-05-23 | by a guest

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why is the person under me being so mean?
i just think that he is lazy and wont have a future.
maybe its YOU who needs to get a life. fool.

| Posted on 2009-05-22 | by a guest

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you all really need to get a life, there are pages and pages of different people commenting on a poem that nobody reads and not many people care about and the only reason i am even here is because I am forced to read this crap for an English project for my junior year of high school, GET A JOB ALL OF YOU ARE SLACKERS

| Posted on 2009-05-22 | by a guest

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Student
For me this poem is an eye opener.
we are now a society that can no longer think for them self... we are to full of beautie and bliss to think about the feelings that matter.. we are hollow beings with out a path untill we make one for ourselfs.. we are nothing..

| Posted on 2009-05-14 | by a guest

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The poet point out that modern man is hollow from inside. The qualities of men like wisdom, spirituality and sublime morality based on a staunch faith are nowhere to be found. They behave as if they are either puppets or dolls. Efforts to generate collective wisdom and intelligence to promote the cause of humanity have failed miserably. They are given to dream of bright future whereas in reality there is no hope for a better future.
People speak out words and think they talk wise things but actually they convey nothing to others as the intelligence of this age is superficial. Modern men have been toeing the wrong life. They attached prime importance to material things and value things unimportant. The result is that they have been denied access to wisdom necessary to promote humanity. Being well equipped and facilitated with material adds modern men appear to be strong but their vigour is just a semblance of strength. They are just like stagnant pools of water… all still and motionless. They are just like stagnant pools of water… all still and motionless. There is no chance of improvement with the present mind set. Modern man also lacks initiative and derives.
The poet understands that beneath this hollowness is absence of a spiritual basis. No elevation is possible without it, so, faith must be restored to modern men.

| Posted on 2009-05-12 | by a guest

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This poem has nothing to do with the great depression, not even a little. This poem was written 4 years before Black Tuesday (Oct 29, 1929) so deffinatly rule that out of your explination.
Part V, however, changes in a radical way the tone of the previous sections of the poem. In it we find a children’s song the main element of which is repetition (lines 68-71). The verve of the nursery rhyme spins us round in a sinister way, since it disturbs the familiar mulberry bush replaced with the arid prickly pear, making the rhyme like some distorted survival of a primitive chant. Eliot’s substitution makes this seem an infertility dance. The sentences from the Lord’s prayer (For Thine is the Kingdom) are confused by the addition of a complaint in the same typographical form (Life is very long) and then we find a tripartite distinction of truncated verses in lines 92-94, as if we had to `fill in the gaps´ to complete them. This fact supports the idea of infertility and emptiness. The last stanza recalls the opening nursery rhyme chorus, but gives it a universal voice which seems to include all that we’ve heard before in what is now a ritual chant with an appropriately childlike sound: [ referencing to the last stanza of the poem]

| Posted on 2009-05-04 | by a guest

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Modern men and women have nothing that can fill the emptiness of their hearts scince they have decided to turn their backs and go away from God.

| Posted on 2009-04-30 | by a guest

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Many people seem to think that this is telling them to "live to their full potential", when in fact this is speaking of really the opposite. It speaks of the debasement and dehumanization of modern man through the rejection of good. How man has left their faith behind, and how society is decaying.It is titled 'The Hollow Men' because man has become nothing more than an empty shell, as it states in the begining of the poem when it references to the scarecrow. In the third stanza, he is speaking of the river Styx and how they are going to hades, and "death's other kingdom" is the living world, and no, he does not speak of a desert, it is the wasteland of society(another poem of Eliot"The Wasteland"). There are allusions to many things in this poem, The Lord's Prayer, Greek Mythology, Pagan Ritual, the "Fisher King" imagery, Children's rhymes, and even Guy Fawkes day.
So, all in all, this is talking of Man's Decay, not having fun.

| Posted on 2009-04-23 | by a guest

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This poem is missing two lines. In the real version there is a quote from The Heart Of Darkness. "Mistah Kurtz -- he dead.
A penny for the Old Guy."
If you read the heart of darkness you would understand more this poem. Mr. Jonhson rules!!

| Posted on 2009-03-31 | by a guest

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In part III where Eliot states, "this is the dead land", I think he means the hollow mens' minds, or, human minds. They are empty, just like 'dead lands' and 'cactus lands'. Cavemen drew 'stone images', right? and cavemen were, well, stupid. so if the stone images are being raised, in the hollow mens' minds, then that means that the hollow men don't think. However, i don't get the part about "here they receive the supplication of a dead man's hand" part.

| Posted on 2009-03-30 | by a guest

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It's too bad that he's passed on: T.S. Eliot could say what he means.
However, The end of the world references, references to "Cactus Land" -- a literal desert? A reference to to current global warming debate? He would be way ahead of his time. It couldn't be a reference to WWII, because the poem was written well before that. Batman? Give me a break. Batman certainly NOT.
The only thing I can determine with certainty: No purpose: Hollow.

| Posted on 2009-03-15 | by a guest

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I like to think that the poem tells us to live full, potent lives without the restraints that organized religion puts on us. I do not know how religious TS Eliot was, but I interpret the "supplication of a dead man's hand" to be our tendency to cling to God, whom the speaker believes is "dead", whatever that means. The "shadow" that occurs between ideas such as "the conception and the creation" and the "emotion and the responce" is our inability to utilize our human popotential to its fullest.

| Posted on 2009-03-12 | by a guest

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this poem is the reflection of the post war period which is full of emptiness,spiritual devoidance,hopelessnes and holowness both in the society and in the people.They failed to realise God and suffered from despair.Eliot's words itself reflects the conditions of that people."Shape without form,shade without colour" thus there in a conflict in the words as well as in the people.The conflict is their inner longing and their actions.They long for the peace but never believe in God.How there can be a peaceful life without His love.Eliot himself suffered from this conflict.The poem starts with Joseph condrad's lines 'MISTAK KURTZ - HE DEAD' it is about a real hero but the second line of'A PENNY FOR THE OLD GUY' is actually a celebration on Nov,5 in memory of an old Guy fawkes who fail to do his plan long ago. The children get the money and burn th effigies of him on that day.Thus it is the mocking of a hero who failed in his work.These lines implies that all the real heroes were really dead and one of them are remembered that too for fun. These lines clearly indicaates that the twentieth century is not a place for real heroes.As the poem was written in the period of great depression the mentality of the peole is clearly captured by Eliot in his poem the hollow men,can be identified with eliot and all the people of modern age.-Maha,M.A.

| Posted on 2009-03-05 | by a guest

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Student
For me this poem is an eye opener.
we are now a society that can no longer think for them self... we are to full of beautie and bliss to think about the feelings that matter.. we are hollow beings with out a path untill we make one for ourselfs.. we are nothing..

| Posted on 2009-02-23 | by a guest

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The poem above is missing the first two lines -- the actual poem begins with,
Mistah Kurtz -- he dead.
A penny for the Old Guy.
The first is a line from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and the second refers to Guy Fawkes. There are quite a few parallels between Conrad's novel and Eliot's poem. To fully understand the poem, it might be a good idea to read the book first.

| Posted on 2009-02-09 | by a guest

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I disagree with the previous statement that these men are hollow since they did not stand for anything. Lines 15 - 16 imply that they are usually remembered as "lost violent souls," but the speaker intends for the reader to think otherwise.
Combined with the theme that an absence of a constraining society will change people, the references made to hollow men in Conrad's Heart of Darkness communicates the view that men who do not choose what to fill themselves with will conform to their environment. For Eliot, this meant violence and other destructive habits - but these elements, were, in fact, what the men "stuffed" themselves with. Thus there was no lack of conviction per se: instead, the conviction that these men gained was not their own.
-From an AP English student

| Posted on 2009-02-04 | by a guest

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In personal opinion-though you may concur after having followed my advice, I believe one should read and mentally digest The Heart of Darkness, written by Conrad, from first word to last, in order to fully understand this poem.
I can only suppose that Eliot would suggest the same since the first line, not shown here but in the complete and original poem, is a direct quote from the novella. Not to mention, various words throughout the poem, along with the title itself, are strong allusions to the work.

| Posted on 2009-01-27 | by a guest

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Actually, my interpretation of this poem is much different than what has been written so far.
I think that the 'hollow men' that Eliot is talking about are people in this world who are not positive enough to make a decision to stand for something, either evil or good. They are hollow and have no conviction inside of them, and therefore cannot really die, and go to this wasteland or 'death's other kingdom' instead of the actual kingdom of death.
When the hollow men talk, it is 'quiet and meaningless' because they speak with no positive spirituality. Therefore, the other men, the non hollow men, will hardly remember them when they pass on to death's true kingdom.
The land that the hollow men go to is a dead land, or a 'cactus land' (hence Eliot's version of the nursery rhyme, 'Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush' that uses cactus's instead. Eliot goes on to describe what an 'empty, hollow' place death's other kingdom is, a lifeless kingdom 'without eyes'.
He then tells about how between all things definitive is an empty space, a shadow, a place where the hollow men lie. The poem finishes with the statement 'This is how the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.' This is his way of saying that a hollow man's life ends not with any meaning or purpose or loss to the world, but they just fade away.
I hope that this gives anyone reading this more insight or ideas about this amazing poem.
~Eve~

| Posted on 2009-01-14 | by a guest

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In part I of the poem, I believe Eliot is writing about soldiers in battle together going through the dirty warfare. In the grand scheme of things, they really have no significant meaning at all. Then, death is seen approaching. He talks of death’s other dimension, not heaven, not hell but a third dimension that is not plainly described. This could be something like the ghost realm where these soldiers in battle are seeing all of the dead soldiers that have already past. These men are violent but empty as ghosts might be. These souls have a void of emotion and feeling. In part II, eyes appear that look scary, ones that would be usual in a dream but would not be desired to be seen there. It seems to be that the live soldiers desire not to die and enter this dimension. He describes possibly other ghosts that are singing in relation to a fading star. It could be that these other people are dying, similar to a fading star, entering this third dimension. These souls can reasonably described as “more distant and more solemn that a fading star” because although a star is far away it is still real and of this dimension but a ghostly soul is farther because of its presence in the mystical third dimension. The live soldier are still wanting desperately not to die and enter death’s other kingdom. They would rather stay in the battle field and fight than to be transported to this other realm. In part III the live soldiers are seeing the alternate kingdom and that it is a dead baron place. They see the deceased’s headstones where they died along with their image. They see when death comes where one would be trembling and one’s lips would be uttering prayers until the exact moment of death. In part IV, the live people try to make their visions disappear. They try to make all of the entities go away. The whole valley, where many have died and perhaps even where a battle was lost that cost someone their kingdom or country. This place could be the origin or maybe even the weakness of this third kingdom. This was the last place that the unloving had seen each other on earth where they were gathered together, saying nothing preparing for death. Eyes appear again described as being the shape of a distant star but having the color of a rose. They are defiantly of “death’s twilight kingdom”. In part V, Eliot list many metaphors that represent the mysteries of life that no one can really understand. These metaphors are followed by a reference to the Lord’s Prayer directly before actual death.
This poem, in my mind, could also describe the lethargic place that people can slip into where they live their lives with no meaning but simply to be living. Where people can get stuck and become hollow.
~Jason V. :16:

| Posted on 2008-12-15 | by a guest

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I think its about That twilit, middle, apathetic place that all people in the world seem to be falling into. The referance of the "other Kingdom of death", well, we all know heaven and hell are the two dominating ones, but now there is this other. Limbo/Purgatory is the metaphor being used here. He says between alot too; another purgatorial reference. "between the idea and the reality", that somewhat empty place of transition; and people are being stuck there, becoming hollow... in a way i think this can be viewed as a state of oblivion... and it just may be worst than hell itself.

| Posted on 2008-10-23 | by a guest

.: include the epigraph! :.

All of these explanations have failed to include the epigraphs meaning. Specifically the allusion to Guy Fawkes. i believe the poem expresses an interplay between nihilism and existentialism. The Hollow men are desperately trying to derive meaning in their lives but are failing, this is shown in the stanza concerning "shape without form, shade without color" how is this analogous to human life, life without meaning.
despite the attempts of the Hollow men to gain meaning through action- the examples one can use is the political activism of Guy Fawkes "penny for the old Guy", piety of Christians "stone images" "thine is the kingdom", but also war becomes applicable through the re-contextualization of the poem that we see encouraged in Apocalypse Now- they are failing procure anything genuine and are accepting dogma with apathy!
none of them have the shadow that is mentioned, none of the hollow men have the morality or sincerity in their pretensions of meaning, just passivity in accepting what other people have taught them. this lack of authentic existentialism creates a nihilistic, dystopian society "dead land" in which we are all leaning together, gleaning meaning and truth from one another and refusing to embark on originality that found between the conception and the creation or the emotion and the response.
In this poem, Eliot is mocking and disparaging the herd culture of human beings and furthermore the unreal, idealistic attempts of organized religion or political activism at justifying an existence that on the surface seems to be without meaning or purpose. he is telling us we need to search deeper for truth, lest the we or world end in a pitiable state or apathy- going out, as he puts it, with a whimper.

| Posted on 2008-05-19 | by a guest

.: Hollow men :.

I think this poem is being oversimplified when applied only to one instance such as WWI or even just soldiers. The poem relates “hollow men” not just to those who fought in a war without a clear idea of what they were fighting for but to any man who has hesitated who has stood in the “cactus land” between the “Between the motion and the act.” The hollow men are not lost or violent but simply empty. It is this passivity, this refusal to take action that lulls humans into complacency. They attempt to absolve guilt “Eyes I dare not meet in dreams” by being passive. Yet Elliot points out that passivity is not a safe path for the humble good, but rather it is the consecration of all evil by refusing to chose you condone all evil. It is not the monsters that are to be feared by their minions. Monsters are too few to be truly dangerous. Rather those functionaries who carry out their bidding or even simply do not oppose them enable these monsters. The problem of society is the attempt to all “lean” together. Elliot’s ending to the poem that “the world ends not with a bang but a whimper,” states that the world will not be defeated by some powerful enemy, not by a violent vicious soul but by a “weak-eyed devil” show his true meaning. The hollow men shows the worst evil not as those violent souls but those passive ones.
Lauren
Age 15

| Posted on 2008-05-13 | by a guest

.: My view.. :.

I
The Hollow Men are men in general. Void of emotion and feelings, that women can easily take advantage of.
II
A particular man with shame and wants to hide his shame, because he has been betrayed. He is trying to keep his man hood but is failing.
III
A man whose love for another in which he is trying to expose it is some manner but is unable to express himself as most men find it hard to do.
IV
An elderly man who is trying to forget his failures in life but is unable to.
V
Death of an elderly man.

| Posted on 2008-05-08 | by a guest

.: My view.. :.

I
The Hollow Men are men in general. Void of emotion and feelings, that women can easily take advantage of.
II
A particular man with shame and wants to hide his shame, because he has been betrayed. He is trying to keep his man hood but is failing.
III
A man whose love for another in which he is trying to expose it is some manner but is unable to express himself as most men find it hard to do.
IV
An elderly man who is trying to forget his failures in life but is unable to.
V
Death of an elderly man.

| Posted on 2008-05-08 | by a guest

.: Ho.Men Dan.S :.

In "The Hollow Men" I believe that Eliot is addressing all individuals who have dedicated their lives to a pointless cause whether it be war, certain religions, or other beliefs. In the 3rd section Eliot references a "cactus land" with the supplication of a dead man's hand to a twinkling star. This shows that despite the overall negative tone of the poem he believes that within us lies the hopes, dreams, and passions that makes life worth living. We just can't let ourselves become dried out by the desert we exist within. The next section is in a way built off of this. When Eliot references the men on the beach look to the stars dreaming of the multifoliate rose and heaven he is stating that individuals must make the most of their lives and not restrain themselves from pleasures of
life in fear of afterlife and hell. He calls these men empty men for they have nothing more to live for except the dream of heaven. Life should climax before death not after. In the final section Eliot reference the "shadow" between conception, creation, life's essence, etc. This shadow represents the mystery and secrets behind life that really noone can understand. He follows this with a mockery of the lord's prayer followed by "For thine is the Life". I believe he is stating that life is in the hand of the beholder because when the world ends it falls with your whimper.

| Posted on 2008-05-01 | by a guest

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I like the comparison of the soldier as a fading star. It gives me a picture of the sky, with all of the thousands of twinkling lights all together, yet they are seperate and unique in there own way and still maintian to be a part of the sky. I believe that soldiers who go into the armed forces, enter with ideas of a grandoise facade of the honor and dignity it will bring them. I do not doubt the honor and the dignity that accompany the skills and morals/values a soldier learns through the uniformity and strong level of commitment of the army. I recognize that soldiers, especially those who have been to front lines, wrestle with their individual beliefs and sometimes disagree with orders, but they do not question it. They can not question their mission or their superiors because they were taught to obey and have faith in the military system. In joining the military, I do not think that a man or woman is giving away a part of themselves or throwing away their individuality. They are taking the opportunity to be part of something bigger than they are. They want to have a purpose and defend their freedoms, their family and their country. I believe that those things are worth dying for and I believe that soldiers are the most selfless human beings, who are willing to sacrafice themselves for others. They are the hope.

| Posted on 2008-04-30 | by a guest

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This poem is a depressing depiction of the souls of human kind. I think that this poem can definitely be applied to war but is not limited to it. I think he is saying that people on earth are hollow they are wandering and they are not sure of themselves. They are all awaiting the same fate the Kingdom but as he poins out at the end this end will not come with a bang but a whimper. This means that instead of going out with glory and honor and pride we will go out reflecting upon ourselves and our misunderstood lives. This is a depressing idea to think about, but it definitely has truth to it which makes it even more depressing.

| Posted on 2008-04-30 | by a guest