Gerontion
By Thomas Stearns Eliot
Thou hast nor youth nor age
But as it were an after dinner sleep
Dreaming of both.
Here I am, an old man in a dry month,
Being read to by a boy, waiting for rain.
I was neither at the hot gates
Nor fought in the warm rain
Nor knee deep in the salt marsh, heaving a cutlass,
Bitten by flies, fought.
My house is a decayed house,
And the jew squats on the window sill, the owner,
Spawned in some estaminet of Antwerp,
Blistered in Brussels, patched and peeled in London.
The goat coughs at night in the field overhead;
Rocks, moss, stonecrop, iron, merds.
The woman keeps the kitchen, makes tea,
Sneezes at evening, poking the peevish gutter.
I an old man,
A dull head among windy spaces.
Signs are taken for wonders. "We would see a sign":
The word within a word, unable to speak a word,
Swaddled with darkness. In the juvescence of the year
Came Christ the tiger
In depraved May, dogwood and chestnut, flowering Judas,
To be eaten, to be divided, to be drunk
Among whispers; by Mr. Silvero
With caressing hands, at Limoges
Who walked all night in the next room;
By Hakagawa, bowing among the Titians;
By Madame de Tornquist, in the dark room
Shifting the candles; Fraulein von Kulp
Who turned in the hall, one hand on the door. Vacant shuttles
Weave the wind. I have no ghosts,
An old man in a draughty house
Under a windy knob.
After such knowledge, what forgiveness? Think now
History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors
And issues, deceives with whispering ambitions,
Guides us by vanities. Think now
She gives when our attention is distracted
And what she gives, gives with such supple confusions
That the giving famishes the craving. Gives too late
What's not believed in, or if still believed,
In memory only, reconsidered passion. Gives too soon
Into weak hands, what's thought can be dispensed with
Till the refusal propagates a fear. Think
Neither fear nor courage saves us. Unnatural vices
Are fathered by our heroism. Virtues
Are forced upon us by our impudent crimes.
These tears are shaken from the wrath-bearing tree.
The tiger springs in the new year. Us he devours. Think at last
We have not reached conclusion, when I
Stiffen in a rented house. Think at last
I have not made this show purposelessly
And it is not by any concitation
Of the backward devils.
I would meet you upon this honestly.
I that was near your heart was removed therefrom
To lose beauty in terror, terror in inquisition.
I have lost my passion: why should I need to keep it
Since what is kept must be adulterated?
I have lost my sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch:
How should I use it for your closer contact?
These with a thousand small deliberations
Protract the profit of their chilled delirium,
Excite the membrane, when the sense has cooled,
With pungent sauces, multiply variety
In a wilderness of mirrors. What will the spider do,
Suspend its operations, will the weevil
Delay? De Bailhache, Fresca, Mrs. Cammel, whirled
Beyond the circuit of the shuddering Bear
In fractured atoms. Gull against the wind, in the windy straits
Of Belle Isle, or running on the Horn,
White feathers in the snow, the Gulf claims,
And an old man driven by the Trades
To a sleepy corner.
Tenants of the house,
Thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season.
Poem Analysis:
T. S. Eliot’s Gerontion is a complex and introspective poem that explores themes of aging, historical decay, spiritual desolation, and the failure of human perception. Written in 1920, the poem serves as a meditation on the decline of Western civilization and the limitations of individual agency in the face of history and time.
Themes
- The Frailty of Old Age: The speaker of Gerontion is an old man reflecting on his life, caught between memory and present reality. The opening lines frame him as passive, "an old man in a dry month," awaiting the rain, which symbolizes renewal and vitality. His physical and mental decay mirror the cultural and moral decline he perceives in society.
- The Weight of History: Eliot’s poem is deeply historical, referencing ancient battles, religious transformations, and cultural shifts. The phrase "I was neither at the hot gates / Nor fought in the warm rain" alludes to the Battle of Thermopylae, highlighting the speaker’s detachment from historical heroism. This detachment underscores the idea that modern individuals live in the shadow of history rather than actively shaping it.
- Spiritual Barrenness: Eliot frequently incorporates religious imagery, particularly Christian symbolism, to convey spiritual emptiness. The lines "Signs are taken for wonders" and "In the juvescence of the year / Came Christ the tiger" suggest the anticipation of divine intervention, but the speaker remains skeptical of religious salvation. The paradox of desiring faith while feeling abandoned by it permeates the poem.
- The Deception of Knowledge and Perception: A recurring question in Gerontion is whether knowledge leads to enlightenment or merely compounds despair. The speaker declares, "After such knowledge, what forgiveness?"—implying that understanding history and human nature leads not to wisdom or peace but to a sense of futility. This aligns with Eliot’s broader modernist critique of the post-Enlightenment world’s disillusionment.
Literary Techniques
- Fragmentation and Allusion: Eliot employs fragmentation, a hallmark of Modernist poetry, interweaving historical, literary, and religious references without explicit explanations. The poem draws from Shakespeare, the Bible, and various European traditions, requiring readers to piece together its meaning.
- Imagery and Symbolism: The imagery in Gerontion is stark and evocative. The decaying house, the coughing goat, and the "wilderness of mirrors" symbolize instability, mortality, and the distortion of truth. The repeated references to dryness reinforce the theme of spiritual and cultural exhaustion.
- Free Verse and Unconventional Structure: Unlike traditional poetry that adheres to a strict meter and rhyme scheme, Gerontion follows a fluid, almost prose-like form. This structure reflects the fragmented thoughts of the aging speaker and mirrors the modernist style that Eliot helped define.
Significance in Eliot’s Work
Gerontion serves as a precursor to The Waste Land (1922), where Eliot further explores themes of cultural decline and spiritual disillusionment. The poem’s introspective tone and philosophical depth mark it as a pivotal work in modernist poetry, bridging the gap between Eliot’s earlier explorations of individual alienation and his later, more expansive cultural critiques.
T. S. Eliot’s Gerontion is a profound meditation on aging, history, and spiritual decay. Through its fragmented structure, rich allusions, and haunting imagery, the poem captures the disillusionment of the modern age. It challenges readers to confront the implications of knowledge, the weight of history, and the possibility—or impossibility—of redemption. In doing so, Gerontion remains a cornerstone of modernist literature and an enduring reflection on the human condition.