Poems (1920) - Gerontion Summary

In this poem, Eliot gives us an aged man who looks back on his life and sees how he and Western society have departed from the moral center based on Christian teachings. He talks of modern society shutting out the words of Christ and going their own way into depravity. He says that throughout history, man has let his vanity guide him, often to his ruin. Eliot speaks of those who lose their passion for the truth and right behavior because of temptations in society that cause their values to become adulterated. This poem ends with words that convey a defeated man, in a morally bankrupt environment.

Poems (1920) - Gerontion Analysis

This poem, peppered with vague references, is a treatise on man deciding for himself what is right and wrong, good, and evil, in modern society. Eliot shows that...