Rhapsody+on+a+Windy+Night

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"Rhapsody on a Windy Night" is a poem that describes a night in urban life. It talks about how empty the night is and it also gives the feeling of darkness and mystery throughout it. Although it talks about the urban life in the poem, it seems to have a different meaning to it. A meaning that could possibly what it would be like in heaven or hell, it does not say for sure. This poem reflects modernism because first, it is fragmented (Authors). The way that T.S. Eliot split up the lines makes it seem to be this way. For example, “A twisted branch upon the beach Eaten smooth and polished As if the world gave up The secret of its skeleton, Stiff and white” (Eliot). In this example, he is talking about the “twisted branch”, but when he describes it the words do not seem to flow together, making it sound fragmented. Second, it reflects modernism because it talks about a women, but there is no physical description of her. The poem just talks about how “she winks a feeble eye” and that “she smiles into corners”. It never mentions what her looks are, leaving it open for the reader to imagine on their own. Lastly, the author shows this poem is modernism by the ending, “The last twist of the knife.” It leaves the reader thinking of what is going to happen and asking questions. Also, this line could represent death, which is a loss of something. Loss is also a common theme in modernism (Authors). T. S. Eliot was a very high educated man who graduated college from Harvard (The Nobel Foundation). He would “represent the complexities of modern civilization with language that leads to difficult poetry” (The Nobel Foundation). His poems also talk a lot about religion in them and finding that “higher world”. He mostly talks about his because of his involvement in the Anglican Church (The Nobel Foundation). This poem, "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" is sort of similar to his other poems in means of his “difficult poetry” as mentioned before, although, it does not seem to talk much about religion in it (The Nobel Foundation). Compared to other works read in class, he seems to leave out much detail that would add to the story, and leaves the reader to fill in the clues, making it more interesting. Also, many other poems talk about a hero in their works; T.S. Eliot did not have a hero in this poem. "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" is a poem that greatly shows the modernism meaning. It seems to be fragmented and doesn’t flow well together, it lacks descriptions of the characters within the poem, and lastly, it leaves the reader to fill in many blank spaces and have questions at the end. Also, the poem talks about one thing, but has a hint that it is really talking about a different thing entirely.

Works Cited Authors, Online. "Writing.Com: Understanding Modernism & Postmodernism." //Writing.Com: Writers, Writing, Poetry, Creative Writing, Fiction Writing, Poetry Contests, Writing Contests//. Web. 02 May 2010. . Eliot, T.S. "4. Rhapsody on a Windy Night. Eliot, T.S. 1917. Prufrock and Other Observations." //Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes,Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More//. Web. 03 May 2010. [].

"T.S. Eliot - Biography." //Nobelprize.org//. The Nobel Foundation 1948. Web. 02 May 2010. .