Gerontion

by T.S. Eliot

"Here I am, an old man in a dry month,
Being read to by a boy, waiting for rain."

So begins one of TS Eliot's most famous poems "Gerontion", frequently read published within The Waste Land and Other Poems.

T.S. Elliot was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. Born in 1888 in St. Louis (MO, USA), he is considered one of the 20th century's major poets, and a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry."In ten years' time," wrote Edmund Wilson in Axel's Castle (1931), "Elliot has left upon English poetry a mark more unmistakable than that of any other poet writing in English." In 1948, Eliot was awarded the Nobel Price "for his work as a trail-blazing pioneer of modern poetry."

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Fiction, Audiobook

3 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

Thomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." He wrote the poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four Quartets; the plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party; and the essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. Eliot was born an American, moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at the age of 25), and became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S._Eliot

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried...
Truly a beautiful poem.

[Eduard Gafton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as part of the Collected Poems 1909-1962.

Where Eliot's anti-Semitism shines through.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last line of the poem says that these are "Thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season." I concur with that completely.

[Marwa Mohammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Here I am, an old man in a dry month,
Being read to by a boy, waiting for the rain"

[Daniel Nelms · Rating 2 out of 5]

Getting some new books at Christmas, so before I start anything new I figured I'd read some poetry we have in our family library.

Very depressing poem written from the perspective of an old man, grappling with life's big questions as he gets closer to death. It all appears to be vanity to him, and others seeking some transcendent realities are simply pursuing the wind. When he "stiffens" out in his casket, no conclusion of life will be reached. "Why pursue purpose when any virtue we find will only be corrupted in this life?" asks the old man.



Beautiful writing but a very, very pessimistic look on life.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This verse, an internal monologue is an old man's daydream of sorts. Gerontion, a fragmented and decayed person, is the central figure and what passes through his realization, forms the body of the poem. Gerontion's opinions ramble over his physical environment and then by phases over the past and the present, and in this fashion, the entire nature of contemporary desolateness is scanned in the course of an old man's trance. The poem unwraps with a portrayal, tangible and extravagant, of Gerontion's state and milieu. He is an aged individual, being read to Samson-like, by a boy. It is a dehydrated month and he is awaiting rain. The aridity signifies not only the spiritual infertility of Gerontion but also of the civilization which he exemplifies. He awaits the rain of heavenly refinement. It is the quandary of a skeptic whose life is bereft of faith. Gerontion is cognizant of his own uselessness and apathy. By no means is he a heroic figure. He has never fought in any wars, ancient or modern. He is completely dissimilar to the grand champions heroes who fought in the life-giving rain, heaving a cutlass. He is moderately disheartened as regards himself and the society which he stands for. He knows that he is, "merely a dull head among windy spaces".

[Eddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"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."



Gerontion is a sordid image of the rapidly changing world around us. Through the eyes of the elderly, we see a word convulsed with the ideals of Modernism in religion and sexuality, and how one copes, or perceives these changes. Upon reading earlier revisions I note that the name was originally Gerousia which brings me further interest: Eliot's intentions were that of a council, or observer perspective, and understandably so.

A rather dark text, to be honest, but I almost missed it in his works, so I recommend not forgetting about this one apart from his traditional classics.

[Mary Thelma · Rating 5 out of 5]

It implies a very sensitive (literally) perspective.

"I have lost my passion: why sould I need to keep it
since what is kept must be adulterated?"

"I have lost my sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch:
How shoul I use the m for your closer contact?"

[Andrew Pitkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Eliot's best works. Some have proposed it as an inversion of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses" - you can see some thematic similarities, or the shadows of such, though I'd dispute that comparison in all honesty.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probs my fav Eliot poem

[Andy Hickman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supposedley TS Eliot's most famous poem "Gerontion" .. but, IMO, not sure if it is worth more than 2 stars. However I do like:
"... I an old man,
a dull head among windy spaces."
**

[Ansam ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season.🧡

[Shihab Uddin · Rating 3 out of 5]

'I that was near your heart was removed therefrom
To lose beauty in terror, terror in inquisition.'

[Iskra Profil nije aktivan u ovo vreme. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,7 🌟