AREA OF STUDY
RELATED TEXT FORM
Title – Journey Of the Magi
Name of Composer – Thomas Sterns Eliot
Date – 1927
Source - The Faber Book of Modern Verse
What does this text say about the Area of Study, Journey, and specifically, physical journeys? Include relevant quotations to support your answer.
The title itself tells of the journey of the Magi (Wise Men) to witness the birth of Jesus Christ. This was a long arduous journey against the discouragements of nature and the hostility of man. ‘A hard time we had of it’.
The poem also shows that journeys cannot be predetermined and that they don’t always go according to plan or thought. ‘That this was all folly’.
Journeys have no definite end and that we are not always satisfied by what we gain from a journey. The arrival of the Magi at the place of the nativity whose symbolism has been anticipated by the fresh vegetation and the mill ‘beating the darkness’ only turns out to be a ‘satisfactory’ experience. The poet has seen and yet doesn’t fully understand. He is confused by the similarity of ‘Birth’ to ‘Death’.
The purpose of a journey or embarking on a journey isn’t always obvious. We have to evaluate the differences is has made to us as an individual before we can asses it purpose and importance. ‘were we lead all that way for Birth or Death?’
We don’t return from a journey as the same person, we undergo inner change and begin to question the most simplest of things. In the poem this is explored through the quote ‘But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation’. Also we tend to view others as being different to us as they haven’t experienced what we have on our journey. ‘alien people clutching their gods.’
The poem displays the idea that we reflect back on our journeys and ponder as to whether we are physically and mentally capable to do it again. ‘All this was a long time ago, I remember.’
The poem shows that we are not given exact details on how to complete or fulfil our journeys as much as we would like to. It shows us that we have to make interpersonal decisions, taking every rejection as a step towards completion. ‘But there was no information and so we continued.’
Journeys affect all who are involved in them, but they impact differently on individuals as the perceptions vary. The poet T.S Eliot makes continual usage of the collective word we to show that journeys affect those who have been a part of them. ‘Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley.’
How does this text relate to the issues raised in your prescribed text (Skrzynecki)?
The Journey Of the Magi like Crossing the Red Sea is a poem based around biblical stories contained within the Bible. The migrant’s journey of Crossing the Red Sea was wearisome and strenuous. Throughout both these poems is an element of regret and senselessness as they seemingly reach the end of their journeys. The journeys take the travellers to their extremes and back which is a result of their inner change. The poem also portrays the undecided attitudes towards the physical journey.
The impact of weather on the journeys of the people involved are explored in; Crossing the Red Sea ‘Many slept on deck because of the days heat’ and Journey Of the Magi ‘A cold coming we had of it’. The weather adds to the difficulties and hardships those on the journeys have had to face. The seas ‘calmness’ breaks into the migrants ‘walled-up griefs’ assisting them to come out of their emotional imprisonment.
The poem also relates to the Skrzynecki poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ as it shows the lasting impact of a journey on a persons understanding of the world around them. In Feliks Skrzynecki, Peter (Feliks’ son) is unable to accept and appreciate his fathers ‘barbaric’ Polish culture let alone let it be a part of him. The quote ‘I forgot my first Polish word’ also emphasises the loss of his parent heritage and the impact of the journey.
In the Journey of the Magi we see how the straining journey to witness Jesus’ birth has caused one of the wise men to question the existence of old religion (perhaps Christianity) as Eliot refers to those people who clutch their gods as ‘alien people’.
Consequently Skrzynecki also shows how he is moving ‘further and further South of Hadrian’s Wall’ which is used metaphorically to demonstrate the son’s separation from his father’s Polish culture and how this has led him to become more of an individualist..
In Migrant Hostel, the rhetorical inquiry ‘Who would be coming next?’ underlines the uncertainty, shock and surprise of the migrants who were forced to come to the hostels and alienated from the rest of the population. Also the simile ‘Nationalities sought/Each other out instinctively-/Like a homing pigeon’ describes the migrants urge to secure themselves in their environment both emotionally and physically. The images emphasises the instinctive behaviour of the people in their situation of vulnerability.
How has the composer used specific language and visual features to convey meaning about physical journeys in this text? Use quotes to support your answer.
The repetition of the word journey in the line ‘For a journey and such a journey’ demonstrates the lasting impact of the physical journey on the persona. With further examination we can also infer that this journey has had a detrimental and ruthless by the inclusion of the word ‘and’ is clear evidence of this.
Winter is personified in the line ‘the very dead of winter’ in order to show that physical journeys are more of an individual endeavour. The quote also shows that not everyone choses to journey on the same path we are on- our approaches differ greatly in style and nature.
The use of the collective term we in the quote ‘A hard time we had of it’ reveals to us that physical journeys affect all who may or may not chose to go on them. Nearly everybody on the journey experiences the hardships that come with taking risks when on journeys.
The third stanzas presents us with more sensual and aesthetical image, the persona has managed to find some positive thought around the brooding journey he has been on so far. The personification ‘With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness’
The metaphor ‘Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver’ shows us that we except to reach the end of physical journeys as quickly as possible. The desperation we go through on our journeys causes us to see the end of them too soon.
The use of side thought in the line ‘Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory’ provides us with the realisation that physical journeys are beyond our control. Even though the side thought carries a sense of negativity it also shows us that we have to be ready for what will bombard us when we are on journeys.
The rhetorical question ‘were we led all that way for Birth or Death?’ shows us that reasons for journeying or going on journeys aren’t always clear. The line also demonstrates to us that we shouldn’t carry high expectations when we are on our journeys.
The high level of certainty in the line ‘But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods’ shows us that we come out of journeys as a different person. The effects of the journey play upon our psyche and our perspectives on such things as religion (in the poem) and are different to those that haven’t journeyed themselves.
