How Does Eliot Depict the Hopelessness of Urban Life in the Opening Years of the 20th Century in Preludes

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isolation and repetition in which industry is thriving, but the people are being left behind. The setting is important to this point, the opening line, “The winter evening settles down” (line 1) states the season and time of day, both of which possess connotations of the above. Eliot demonstrates this further by focusing far more on the city itself and refers to actual people very rarely. For the most part people are mentioned just as references to their body parts often in an image describing the city itself, “...withered leaves about your feet” (line 7) is an example of where this is used. On the other hand, imagery is used to personify the mundane inanimate objects and even the city itself, “The conscience of a blackened street” (line 46), this further emphasises the desolation and bleakness of urban life and suggests that these every day, commonplace things are the most interesting and important things in this urban sprawl.
Eliot refers to the alienation of individuals ...

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