Deep without understanding - Jacob Clabo

For the most part, I did not have the best idea of what was going on in the poem, but I could still feel the dreary and dark atmosphere of almost complete hopelessness. After doing some research into what was going on, I found out that my feelings were right and this poem was just as depressing as I previously had thought. You have to wonder what Eliot was going through in this time of his life to muster this kind of writing. It was like there was a constant underlying presence of anger or irritation underneath an overwhelming sense of dejection.

I was also very intrigued/concerned about who Eliot's mystery "third man" was meant to represent. And when the thunder happens and he hears those three words that mean "give," "sympathize," and "control" followed by a word that means "the peace that passeth all understanding," I wonder if that is a connection to Jesus. The reason I am concerned about this thought is that, because of the nature of this poem, it may be a representation to show Eliot's hopelessness towards Jesus. These are just some thoughts. Does anyone have any other ideas about Eliot's "third man?"

P.S I commented on Leanne's and Hailey's posts. 

Comments

Jamie Peters said…
I interpreted it as he originally was talking about Jesus walking with them, but then he represented Death or the Grim Reaper, with the cloak that he was described wearing. It goes along really well with Eliot's journey to hopelessness, even though it is really troubling.
Rebecca Belew said…
In the comments in my book, "What the Thunder Said" was the part of the poem depicting Jesus's betrayal, torture, and crucifixion. From what it seems like to me, this dark and dreary tone that Eliot carries with him throughout the entire poem is emphasizing the depravity of humankind and the reason we needed a Savior. At the end, though it doesn't exactly end happy, with the death of Jesus and total human waste and all, I think it serves as a reminder of just how dark the world is, making us realize just how amazing it is that we've been saved. Maybe Jesus is the "third man", the completion of the trinity.