The Importance of Ambiguity in the Representation of Reality and Truth in "Preludes," "The Hollow Men," and "Journey of the Magi" Elizabeth Hong 12th Grade

Reality and truths are vague and unclear in nature; hence, their faithful representation inherently requires ambiguity. T.S. Eliot utilises his ‘pioneer’ form in his poems Journey of The Magi, The Hollow Men, and Preludes, in the representation of reality and truth. The distinctly modernist ambiguity in which he does so is central to his accurate representation of realities and truths regarding conversion, post-war mental illness and the bleak urban environment. The broad nature of his ambiguous discussion of the given issues gives his works a characteristic textual integrity through which they retain their relevance and significance over time.

In his poem Journey of the Magi, Eliot presents a fictionalised account of his personal conversion experience. He reveals the unexpected realities of conversion through the ambiguity experienced by the Magi. The poem begins in an inauspicious tone ‘A cold coming we chad of it…night-fires going out…towns unfriendly…’ The breathless enjambment through which he lists the details of the journey unconventionally highlights the difficult realities of conversion. An ambiguous shift in tone occurs as the proximity to Christ increases further ‘Three trees…an old white horse…pieces of silver…’ An...