際際滷

際際滷Share a Scribd company logo
The Hollow Men by T S Eliot

Mistah Kurtz-he dead

       A penny for the Old Guy



               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.



                      II

  Eyes I dare not meet in dreams

  In death's dream kingdom

  These do not appear:

  There, the eyes are

  Sunlight on a broken column

  There, is a tree swinging

  And voices are

  In the wind's singing

  More distant and more solemn

Than a fading star.



  Let me be no nearer

  In death's dream kingdom

  Let me also wear

  Such deliberate disguises

  Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves

  In a field

  Behaving as the wind behaves

  No nearer-



  Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom



              III

  This is the dead land

  This is cactus land

  Here the stone images

  Are raised, here they receive

  The supplication of a dead man's hand

Under the twinkle of a fading star.



  Is it like this

  In death's other kingdom

  Waking alone

  At the hour when we are

  Trembling with tenderness

  Lips that would kiss

  Form prayers to broken stone.



               IV

  The eyes are not here

  There are no eyes here

  In this valley of dying stars

  In this hollow valley

  This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms



  In this last of meeting places

  We grope together

  And avoid speech

  Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless

  The eyes reappear

  As the perpetual star

Multifoliate rose

  Of death's twilight kingdom

  The hope only

Of empty men.



                    V

  Here we go round the prickly pear

  Prickly pear prickly pear

  Here we go round the prickly pear

  At five o'clock in the morning.



  Between the idea

  And the reality

  Between the motion

  And the act

  Falls the Shadow

                        For Thine is the Kingdom



  Between the conception

  And the creation

  Between the emotion

  And the response

  Falls the Shadow

                        Life is very long
Between the desire

And the spasm

Between the potency

And the existence

Between the essence

And the descent

Falls the Shadow

                     For Thine is the Kingdom



For Thine is

Life is

For Thine is the



This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

More Related Content

The hollow men

  • 1. The Hollow Men by T S Eliot Mistah Kurtz-he dead A penny for the Old Guy 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;
  • 2. 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. II Eyes I dare not meet in dreams In death's dream kingdom These do not appear: There, the eyes are Sunlight on a broken column There, is a tree swinging And voices are In the wind's singing More distant and more solemn Than a fading star. Let me be no nearer In death's dream kingdom Let me also wear Such deliberate disguises Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves In a field Behaving as the wind behaves No nearer- Not that final meeting
  • 3. In the twilight kingdom III This is the dead land This is cactus land Here the stone images Are raised, here they receive The supplication of a dead man's hand Under the twinkle of a fading star. Is it like this In death's other kingdom Waking alone At the hour when we are Trembling with tenderness Lips that would kiss Form prayers to broken stone. IV The eyes are not here There are no eyes here In this valley of dying stars In this hollow valley This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms In this last of meeting places We grope together And avoid speech Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
  • 4. Sightless, unless The eyes reappear As the perpetual star Multifoliate rose Of death's twilight kingdom The hope only Of empty men. V Here we go round the prickly pear Prickly pear prickly pear Here we go round the prickly pear At five o'clock in the morning. Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom Between the conception And the creation Between the emotion And the response Falls the Shadow Life is very long
  • 5. Between the desire And the spasm Between the potency And the existence Between the essence And the descent Falls the Shadow For Thine is the Kingdom For Thine is Life is For Thine is the This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.