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weirdelf
weirdelf
Sep 08, 2011 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)
This poem is part of the workshop:

Meter for everyone!

(Read More...)

The Hollow Men Part 1 for parsing in meter workshop

by TS Eliot.

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.

About This Poem

Last Few Words: Use / to separate feet and Ctrl B to make Bold stressed syllables.

Style/Type: Free verse

Editing Stage: Not actively editing

About the Author

Region, Country: Sydney, Australia, AUS

Favorite Poets: The Romantics, The Mersey Sound, The Beats and, of course, The Bard

This user supports Neopoet so it can be free to all

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Comments

weirdelf

weirdelf

13 years 9 months ago

define the feet with a /

and define the stressed syllables in bold.

I told you it wouldnn't be easy and Anna made it hader by "giving" us free verse.
With all due due love, Anna, fuck you.

K

Kailashana2

13 years 9 months ago

Fuck you too*, with all due

Fuck you too*, with all due respect, you didn't have to use it, did you? Did I bend your arm? Did I hold a gun in my pocket? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo.

~A

*and your kookaburra bird too.

K

Kailashana2

13 years 9 months ago

We are the HOLLOW men

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.

My reading would emphasize the capitalized words, which does form a rhyming pattern of sorts, not conventional of course, but so it is, in my opinion. Me, I'd probably flunk any class that is too wound & bound up in rules of engagement rather than intuitive understanding, rather than manifesting.

~A

weirdelf

weirdelf

13 years 9 months ago

it's not so easy, is it.

Easier with Shskespesre.Byron or Yeats
but don't think for a second Eliot handn't studied meter meticulously and knew what hw was doing.

weirdelf

weirdelf

13 years 9 months ago

you get the choice

by knowing the options.
that's my point,
you are limited to your own natural language,
Write a classic sonnnet, I dare you.
Don't even know why you are in this workshop, you are so arrogant in your plebian style,

weirdelf

weirdelf

13 years 9 months ago

both sonnets excellent

is the tremorassegai your own invention?

You rose to the challenge admirably.

And you're right, it wasn't just cultural, I was being a cranky old snot, my apologies.

themoonman

themoonman

13 years 9 months ago

WE are the HOL/low MEN

WE are the HOL/low MEN
WE are the STUFFED men
LEAN/ing TO/gether
HEAD/piece filled with straw. AL/as!
Our DRIED voices, when
We WHIS/per together
Are QUI/et and MEAN/ingless
As WIND in dry grass
Or rats’ FEET over BROKE/en 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.

I didn't go to the link and listen, thought I'd try the
first stanza before going there.

themoonman

themoonman

13 years 9 months ago

Ok ...

After having listened to the link Anna provided,
I have to agree, at least partly, with Eph. I think the
reading was a bit clinical, could have been a tad
livelier with added stress points. I suppose that is
where culture, language, and by language I mean the
many different accents of the English Language, and
certainly poetic knowledge comes into play.

weirdelf

weirdelf

13 years 9 months ago

Eliot was notorious for reading his own works

as monotonously as possible. He didn't want to give anything away that the wrords themselves didn't reveal. It is splendid to hear this piece performed by a trained voice. I've looked but haven't found a link yet.

wesley snow

wesley snow

13 years 9 months ago

What a bitch, but I tried it.

I'm positive I didn't get this even close. Thoughts on it Jess?

WE are the/ HOllow men
WE are the /STUFFED (or STUFFÉD) men
LEANING to/GEther
HEADpiece /FILLED with /STRAW. /alAS!
our dried VOI/ces, WHEN
we WHI/sper toGE/ther
are QUI/et and MEAN/ingless
As WIND /in dry GRASS
Or RATS/(’ this is not stressed) FEET/ over BRO/ken GLASS
In OUR /dry CEL/lar
SHAPE without /FORM, /SHADE without CO/lour,
PARalysed /FORCE, /gesture without motion; ? (a molussus?)
those /who have CROSSED
with dirECT/(?) eyes, /to DEATH’S/ other KING/dom
ReMEM/ber US—IF at /ALL—NOT as /LOST
VIOlent /SOULS, but /ONly
as the HOL/low MEN
the STUFFED men.

weirdelf

weirdelf

13 years 9 months ago

Yes, it is a bitch

never intended to be parsed.
I agree with the job you did. Lot's of work there, you're a braver man than me Wesley Din.

Here's a hint to make parsing easier. See the drop down below the comment box  that says Simple formatting?  Click on that and select Advanced formatting, then paste the poem into the box, select each stressed syllable and hit ctrl B, this will convert the text to Bold instead of having to re-type it in caps.

gesture without motion
I don't think a molossus
gesture/ without/ motion

trochee/iamb/trochee

but regional accents could well changes the stresses here.