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Whispers of Immortality

Whispers of Immortality. T.S. Eliot. Explanation: Stanza 1 & 2. WEBSTER was much possessed by death And saw the skull beneath the skin; And breastless creatures under ground Leaned backward with a lipless grin. Daffodil bulbs instead of balls Stared from the sockets of the eyes!

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Whispers of Immortality

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  1. Whispers of Immortality T.S. Eliot

  2. Explanation: Stanza 1 & 2 WEBSTER was much possessed by death And saw the skull beneath the skin; And breastless creatures under ground Leaned backward with a lipless grin. Daffodil bulbs instead of balls Stared from the sockets of the eyes! He knew that thought clings round dead limbs Tightening its lusts and luxuries. • John Webster - English Jacobson dramatist • Gruesome distinguished work • Daffodil: symbolizes new beginning and rebirth • “Breastless creatures”-the buried dead

  3. Explanation: Stanza 3 & 4 Donne, I suppose, was such another Who found no substitute for sense; To seize and clutch and penetrate, Expert beyond experience, He knew the anguish of the marrow The ague of the skeleton; No contact possible to flesh Allayed the fever of the bone. • Donne • John Donne • English poet and priest • Obsessed about death • Ague • Fever without chills • Allayed • To calm or quiet; alleviate

  4. Explanation: Stanza 5 & 6 Grishkin is nice: her Russian eye Is underlined for emphasis; Uncorseted, her friendly bust Gives promise of pneumatic bliss. The couched Brazilian jaguar Compels the scampering marmoset With subtle effluence of cat; Grishkin has a maisonette; • Grishkin • Woman named Serafima Astafieva • Russian Ballet Dancer • Opened a ballet school • Introduced to Eliot by Ezra Pound • Pneumatic Bliss • Brazilian Jaguar • Marmoset • Squirrel like Monkeys • Cat • Sometimes symbolizes guardian of underworld (hell) • Maisonette • Small House

  5. Explanation: Stanza 7 & 8 The sleek Brazilian jaguar Does not in its arboreal gloom Distil so rank a feline smell As Grishkin in a drawling-room. And even the Abstract Entities Circumambulate her charm; But our lot crawls between dry ribs To keep our metaphysics warm. • Abstract Entities • Abstract=Difficult to understand • Entities=Ghosts/Spirits • Circumambulate • To walk/go about/around • Metaphysics • Philosophy concerned with existence of God and the external world • “our lot” meaning our sort of people (people mentioned in poem)

  6. Thesis • T.S. Eliot uses juxtaposition, personification, and visual imagery to convey his idea on how too much desire leads to death in Whispers of Immortality.

  7. Context • Written 1920 (at the end of WWI) • 1920’s was full of people who lost faith • Jacobean (James I of England time period); 17th century attitude link to sex and death • Sign against modern separation

  8. Form • 8 stanzas • 4 lines each (quartet) • Capitalized “WEBSTER” (line 1) • End-Stopped at the end of each stanza (exclude 3 & 6) • Exclamation point – Important part • “Stared from the sockets of the eyes!” (stanza 2, line 6)

  9. Language/Stylistic Techniques • Allusions • Webster • Donne • Grishkin • P.D. James • “The Skull Beneath The Skin” • Book • William Wordsworth • Poem imitates “Imitations of Immortality” • Mood • Dark • Juxtaposition • Compares desire with death

  10. Figurative Language/Figures of Speech • Visual Imagery • Stanza 1, 2, 4 • Dead • Leaned backward with a lipless grin • Dead limbs • Skeleton, bone • Stanza 5 • “her Russian eye is underlined for emphasis” • Stanza 6 • “Couched Brazilian Jaguar” • As if lying on a sofa • Stanza 7 • Drawing room • Stanza 8 • Abstract entities circumambulate • Personification • Stanza 2 • Daffodil bulbs instead of balls/Stared from the sockets of the eyes. • He knew that thought clings round dead limbs • Stanza 5 • Her friendly bust gives promise of pneumatic bliss. • Symbolism • Grishkin (Russian dancer) in line 17 represents the desires of man, as Eliot explains her to be pneumatic bliss in line 20. • “the breastless creatures underground” in line 4 to represent people in Hell.

  11. Sound • ABCB Rhyme • 8 Syllables per line – Creates rhythm • Repetition • “Brazilian Jaguar” (stanza 5 & 7) • Iambic tetrameter • Putting stress on every other syllable starting with the second syllable. Tetra is the prefix because the lines are separated into four sections • Alliteration – To emphasize certain images • “Daffodil bulbs instead of balls” (stanza 2, line 5) • Consonance “s” • Stanza 2 • “Started from the sockets of the eyes” • Lusts and luxuries” • Stanza 3 • “Donne, I suppose, was such another/Who found no substitute for sense/To seize and clutch and penetrate/Expert beyond experience”

  12. Conclusion • In Whispers of Immortality the characters thought of death makes them question their actions and helps them decide whether fulfilling carnal (human) desires is less important than attaining eternal happiness.

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