Journey Of The Magi

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

In the first stanza, this "spiritual sorrow" is apparent by the contrast Eliot uses, of the Magi’s difficult journey. In fact, the central focus of criticism has been on the journey; the "cold coming" (line 1) during "the worst time of the year" (line 2), emphasising the climatic statement of the stanza: "A hard time we had of it" (line 16). The Magus talks of their sorrowful past life of ease, the times they "regretted…the silken girls bringing sherbet" (lines 8-10), and in the same way that they are ‘physically’ moving towards Christ, they feel they are progressing spiritually, putting a personal ban on the sinful lives they have had. This act of contrition seems genuine because they are pressured by the "voices singing in [their] ears, saying/ That this was all folly" (lines 19-20). These are the voices of the camel men, the hostile cities and the unfriendly towns, voices that tempt the wise men to cease their ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

silver he was paid for betraying Jesus. However, the white horse could subsequently be associated with death, evoking images of the Crucifixion and the great disaster that event was for Jesus’ followers.

The second stage of the Sacrament, the actual confession, takes place in the final stanza when the narrator starts his confession to the addressee, who may well be taken as St. Mathew, (this is the view of a substantial number of scholars) by saying "…set down/This set down/This…" (lines 33-35). In the Oxford Dictionary, confession is described as "the manifestation of one’s sins to an authorised priest for the purpose of obtaining God’s forgiveness." The form that the ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: