T.S. Eliot — Rhapsody on a Windy Night — An Essay
Individuals living during the society of WW1 were in a state of disillusionment and despair. T.S. Eliot’s Rhapsody on a Windy Night, explores these feelings of hopelessness and futility through delineating the fragility of human existence, showing the parallel between the associative nature of memory and the uncertain mental psyche of individuals and illustrating the corruption of the human psyche caused by living in a despairing urban environment.The illogical nature of Rhapsody on a Windy Night creates a sense of foreboding in order to illustrate the futility of human existence. This notion is evident in the lines, “The street lamp sputtered the streetlamp muttered the street lamp said” the personification of the street lamps distorts the familiar sense of rational judgement thus creating feelings unease and anxiousness. The enjambment of the rhyming lines emulates the movement of a ticking of a clock and heightens the feelings of dread and trepidation. This fatalistic notion is further reinforced in the line “Put your shoes at the door, sleep, prepare for life… the last twist of the knife “ the commanding tone of the sentence recreated through its short and ordered syntax emphasises the ingrained nature of urban routine on the individuals psyche. Furthermore, the rhyme of “life” with “knife” connotes that this routine prepares the individual for death as their life lacks spontaneity or new fulfilling experiencing; thus the only event they can look forward to is their inevitable death. This reinforces the futility and meaninglessness of life as their every action and movement only heightens the individuals awareness of their demise.
The associative nature of memory in Rhapsody on a Windy Night parallels the fragmented, anxious and uncertain nature of the human psyche and illustrates the futility of life. This notion is evident in the lines “Twelve o’clock.” Midnight is a time where the contradictory notions of yesterday and tomorrow cohesively unify into one other. It is a specific moment that defies the normal chronological conventions of time and allows memory to associatively flicker between the past and present ; such as the present images of an eye that “twists like a crooked pin” leading to associations of “a crowd of twisted things” . The illogical nature of the mind parallels the fragmented nature of the individuals psyche as it delineates the fragmented and uncertain nature of their thoughts due to their traumatic experiences of WW1, thus reinforcing the futility of existence as their lives are consumed with despair and anxiety.
The corrupted and decayed mental state of individuals portrays the futility of life. This is evident in the lines,“A broken spring… rust that clings to the form” The spring represents the mental psyche of individuals while the rust symbolizes the corruption and decay of the individuals mentality This notion is further reinforced in the lines“The hand of child slipped out and pocketed a toy… I could see nothing behind that child’s eye… i have seen eyes in the street trying to peer through lighted shutters” Eliot employs Imagist conventions through the associative flicker of evocative imagery in order to illustrate the corruption of individuals and highlight their distorted sense of morality. Individuals resort to morally degrading activities as they view life as meaningless thus reinforcing the futility of existence
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