“Hollow Man” by T.S. Eliot

The poem The Hollow Men written by T. S. Eliot is a dramatic telling of the downfall of a culture in which beliefs and ideas are shallow or perhaps even nonexistent. Consequently, the inspiration of T. S. Eliot in writing this poem can be drawn from time of the “Roaring 20s” or also referred to as “The Jazz Age” as he felt such a literary work would be an appropriate medium to express his ideas. Various other literary works, specifically Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness were highly influential to this poem. Furthermore, T. S. Eliot uses literary devices to portray a message, more of a warning than a lesson, to the audience expressing his concern for those who are practically hollow.
In the early 20s, individualism ran a mock as many were propelled by materialism and its delusions (Blum 664). The society of this era greatly reflected the “get rich quick” schemes of its time as though it may have appeare...