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T. S. EliotA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The poem is written in free verse, which does not have a regular meter. Free verse doesn’t employ rhyme, although Eliot does make occasional use of it, such as with: “Remark the cat which flattens itself in the gutter, / Slips out its tongue / And devours a morsel of rancid butter” (Lines 35-37). This is known as a feminine rhyme because the final syllable is unstressed. Another example of feminine rhyme is “The street-lamp sputtered, / The street-lamp muttered” (Lines 14-15). Masculine rhymes, in contrast, end in stressed syllables. There are two examples in the poem: “‘Regard the moon, / La lune ne garde aucune rancune” (Lines 50-51) and “That smells of dust and eau de Cologne, / She is alone” (Lines 58-59).
The length of the lines varies widely. The longest is 16 syllables, and the shortest is just one—"Mount” (Line 75). A number of lines, especially those that mark the nighttime hour, have three syllables, such as “Half-past one” (Line 13). The majority of the lines consist of six to eight syllables. The meter is irregular throughout and cannot be classified in terms of traditional poetic feet.
By T. S. Eliot
Ash Wednesday
T. S. Eliot
East Coker
T. S. Eliot
Four Quartets
T. S. Eliot
Journey of the Magi
T. S. Eliot
Little Gidding
T. S. Eliot
Mr. Mistoffelees
T. S. Eliot
Murder in the Cathedral
T. S. Eliot
Portrait of a Lady
T. S. Eliot
Preludes
T. S. Eliot
The Cocktail Party
T. S. Eliot
The Hollow Men
T. S. Eliot
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
T. S. Eliot
The Song of the Jellicles
T. S. Eliot
The Waste Land
T. S. Eliot
Tradition and the Individual Talent
T. S. Eliot