The+Journey+of+the+Magi

media type="custom" key="6186335" "The Journey of the Magi" is a poem that uses many Modernism techniques written by T.S. Eliot. This poem shows many different aspects of Modernism writing through its underlying theme, The Great Depression. This is because the first stanza describes how the characters are taking a long and dangerous journey (The Journey of the magi). The main characters of the poem represent modernism because they are in a difficult situation, but they eventually rise back up to prominence. They are able to raise themselves from their desperate situation when they reach the valley. Eliot uses many influences from his life and similar themes from his other writings in this poem which helps make it an example of Modernism Writing.

The characters on their journey can be compared to the people of the Great Depression. For instance, many farmers in the West were forced to foreclose their farms and many of them left for California. This journey was difficult for the farmers, just like the Magi who were traveling on their journey. The farmers viewed California as a better place, as did the Magi when they reached the temperate valley in the second stanza (The Journey of the magi). However, the Journey was not easy to make for the farmers of the Depression Era, and for the Magi, along with his companions. Both groups faced hardships along the way but were able to overcome them and continue moving forward. Another comparison between the Magi and the farmers is shown in the first stanza (The Journey of the Magi). Towards the end of the stanza the Magi and his companions experience hostilities in the cities they visit along the way. They also have difficulty finding safe shelters for them to sleep in (The Journey of the Magi). The farmers, on their journey to California, experienced hostilities from many cities along the way because the inhabitants did not want the poor farmers in their cities. The Great Depression was a very important part of Modernism and the Magi's journey can be compared with the California bound farmers, which helps to make this poem an important piece of Modernism writing.

The Magi in the poem represents the Modernism hero because of the situation that he is in. The Modernism hero is typically in a desperate situation or may have fallen from prominence (Modernism, Some Characteristics:). The poem is written as a memory of the Magi's where he reminisces about his journey (The Journey of the Magi). The Magi's journey is full of difficulty which places him into a position of hardship (Modernism, Some Characteristics:). The Magi is forced to either continue pushing forward through the hard times, or simply give up and perish. This coincides with many other Modernism works where the main character has nothing, such as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock). In this poem the hero is experiencing many troubles and while walking the city streets, reflects upon how the world is going wrong in his own opinion. Both of these characters have fallen from prominence but after a great journey, or a great amount of reflection, are able to make sense of their situation and rise back to prominence (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock). Another trait of the Modernism hero is that they do not get described very much (Modernism, Some Characteristics:). The Magi is not given any physical description by Eliot in any of the stanzas (The Journey of the Magi). Eliot goes right into the plot of the poem and wastes no time on describing the characters. Eliot does this in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" as well. He uses no physical description and the only thing known is that the main character is down on his luck and in a difficult position (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock). It is a common trait of Eliot to show the darker sides of life through his characters in his poems.

Eliot was greatly influenced by World War One. This war, along with many other life experiences are vital in his poems. He uses many of the same underlying themes and situations which can be based off experiences that he has lived through (T.S. Eliot). "The Journey of the Magi" was based on Eliot's move to England in 1914. He was unhappy with his life in America so he moved to England to try and create a better life for himself (T.S. Eliot). The same can be said for the Magi in the poem, he is searching for a better place to live because the life where he came from was not what he wanted (The Journey of the Magi). When comparing Eliot to the Magi, many similarities between the two are shown. Eliot showed his journey to Europe through the Magi, who makes a dangerous journey filled with many uncertainties, just as Eliot experienced (T.S. Eliot). Another poem written by Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", shows how World War One was a major influence on Eliot. Eliot moved to England in 1914, near the time World War One began (T.S. Eliot). In this poem, the main character is unhappy with how the world is shaping and spends a great deal of reflection upon what he believes right and wrong in the world (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock). This war was devastating and caused the deaths of millions of people. Eliot, along with many others, was amazed at the power shown during the war and showed this in his poem (T.S. Eliot). When compared with another Modernism writer, Marianne Moore, Eliot's style is vastly different. Moore wrote the poems "The Paper Nautilus, and "Baseball and Writing". The Paper Nautilus is a poem about the importance of mothers because of their love and support (The paper nautilus). It also uses many images of nature, such as the paper nautilus described in the poem and the ocean (The Paper Nautilus). "Baseball and Writing" was written because of her personal love for baseball (Baseball and Writing). She even used many examples of nature to describe the scene and players such as tigers (Baseball and Writing). Moore used happiness and nature as the common theme in her poems while Eliot used many darker aspects of life in his poems. He also used many more personal experiences in his writings than Moore.

T.S. Eliot used many qualities of Modernism writing along with many of his personal experiences which help to make this poem an excellent example of Modernism writing. Eliot referenced The Great Depression along with the birth of Christ through the Magi and his journey in order to show the sense of helplessness felt by many people during the depression and the sense of hope given by Christ's birth. He was able to accurately portray the Magi as the modernism hero in the poem by giving very little description to the Magi. Plus, Eliot used many of his life experiences that had a profound effect on him in order to make his poem more personal such as when he moved to England and World War One. "The journey of the Magi" is an excellent example of Modernism poetry due to the effect of the personal experiences Eliot was able to use along with many Modernism qualities, to make this poem original.

Citations-

Keane, Melba C. "Modernism, Some Caracteristics." //Utsc.utoronto.ca//. The University of Toronto at Scarborough. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .

"The Paper Nautilus." //Poets.org//. Poets.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .

"Baseball and Writing." //Poets.org//. Poets.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .

"T.S.Eliot." //Poets.org//. Poets.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .

"The Journey of the Magi." //Blight.com//. Blight.com. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." //Bartleby.com//. Bartleby.com. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .

Dugan, Brenna. "What Is Modernism?" //Utoledo.edu//. The University of Toledo, 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. .


 * Drew Lang:**

T.S. Eliot’s //The Journey of the Magi// follows the modernist qualities of work at the time in many different ways. For one, it follows a Magi’s journey after the birth of Christ, investigating his loneliness and alienation from this revelation. It attempts to decipher the existential meaninglessness of his life’s work, which was negated through Christianity’s rise as being, what he and many others thought, the one true religion. These feelings associate with a break from what were once the norms of his lifetime, and thus his reaction towards this is a complete breaking point from his existence beforehand. While //The Journey of the Magi// is not a //complete// definition of Modernism, however, it exemplifies the life of Eliot at the time, as well, making it an incredible piece of poetry that accurately portrays life at the time of its publication. “’[The] Journey of the Magi’ is the monologue of a man who has made his own choice, who has achieved belief in the Incarnation, but who is still part of that life which the Redeemer came to sweep away.” (Smith) //The Journey of the Magi// documents a man that is unhappy with his life. Well, unhappy is an understatement. To put it bluntly, the man has found an emptiness in his life; a hopelessness that cannot be fixed directly. He would remember back to the days where he was a cherished man due to his abilities as a magi.

"There were times we regretted The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces, And the silken girls bringing sherbet.” (Eliot)

These regrets were brought about by the “birth” that is spoken of in the last stanza:

"Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly, We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death." (Eliot)

This birth is the birth of Jesus Christ, the perceived prophet of God that many believed in. Due to this new revolution, the magi and their old gods were cast aside as liars and cheats. From this, the man is resigned to a life of sorrow, brought about by his acknowledgement of this new God, and is led to believe that his experiences beforehand were for nothing and meaningless. His conflict of choosing whether or not this is the birth of a new world or the death of another is his conflicting inner emotions that cause his want to reach an end. Finally, when driven from the new world that was born out of despair, he returns to his kingdom, only to resign himself to his own death along with his and the nonbelievers’ existences.

"We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death." (Eliot)

The most interesting part of the poem is how it was directly influenced by Eliot’s life. Eliot recently converted to Christianity in 1927 and was publish in 1930 (Bush), just a year after the beginning of the Great Depression. In a glance, the deeper issues are not as well seen that compare look at the life of the people during the Depression in the poem, and yet it can be inferred from the poem in some lines the downtrodden nature of the world. The magi is merely a symbol for a person residing within an economically unstable world.

"And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly And the villages dirty and charging high prices: A hard time we had of it." (Eliot)

This was merely the transition period for Eliot, however, and its Modernist qualities are easily findable, just sometimes diluted. In the end, the poem represents everything about the poet, as well as the period in which he or she wrote it. For T.S. Eliot, //The Journey of the Magi// could not do a better of job of displaying the writer for all to see, out in front of the world. From his conversion to his feelings during the economic hardships of the Great Depression, it gives the world an understanding of not only what the poem is about, but who the poet is that wrote it.

Works Cited

Bush, Ronald. "T.S. Eliot's Life and Career." //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. 27 Aug. 2008. Web. 2 May 2010. .Eliot, T. S. "Journey Of The Magi - A Poem by T.S. Eliot - American Poems." //American Poems - YOUR Poetry Site//. Web. 03 May 2010. .Smith, Grover. "On "The Journey of the Magi"" //Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois//. 27 Aug. 2008. Web. 2 May 2010. .