Chaos

The central anxiety of the poem is the impending chaos of the modern era, namely the breakdown of value structures that persisted before World War I. Until the twentieth century, Europe had been the dominating force in the world, possessing colonies and ruling global trade. During the twentieth century, however, much of Europe's power and stability began to disintegrate as internal tensions began to emerge and colonies began to liberate themselves. The Russian Revolution generated tension between Eastern and Western Europe, as well as between capitalist ideologies and communist ideologies. Moreover, the national borders within Europe were being redrawn due to the Soviet Union's hegemony in the east. The rearrangement of borders and economic systems, in addition to the destruction of World War I, led to a general sense that the world was entering a stage of anarchy.

The poem opens with the image of an...