21 pages • 42 minutes read
T. S. EliotJourney of the Magi
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1927A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Form and Meter
Eliot wrote “The Journey of the Magi” in three uneven stanzas containing 43 lines. The poem in composed in free verse, which is not written in traditional meter and does not usually rhyme. Although Eliot often employs rhyme in his poetry, he does not do so in this poem. Instead, he establishes a rhythm that follows the way people speak. Rhythm in this sense is sometimes referred to as cadence—the way words flow in spoken language. The cadence is established right at the beginning by Eliot’s adaptation of Lancelot Andrewes’s sermon, with its short, pithy phrases. In the second stanza, the line lengthens and the phrases are longer. This suggests a relaxation in mood, which conforms to the sense of the verse, as the Magi enter a “temperate valley” (Line 21) with its “running stream” (Line 22). It is as if they are breathing a sigh of relief as the tense and difficult journey they have endured nears its end.
Tone
Tone refers to tone of voice, the way a person speaks. The tone may, for example, be formal or informal, according to whom the speaker is addressing and what his or her relationship to that person is. The tone in this poem is informal, matter-of-fact, and conversational as the Magus tells his story. He speaks in a serious, fairly intimate tone, as if he is familiar with the person he is speaking to, and he feels he can speak plainly about his recollections of how things were. Stanza 3 shows that he is speaking to someone who is writing down what he says as part of a record of those events, so he speaks clearly and concisely.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonants in nearby words. Eliot uses alliteration on a number of occasions, for example, “cold coming” (Line 1) and “camel men cursing” (Line 11), and “ways” (Line 4), “weather” (Line 4), and “winter” (Line 5). In those examples, he is following his source in the sermon of Lancelot Andrewes. The repetition of “s” sounds, or sibilance, occurs in “summer palaces on slopes” (Line 9), “silken girls bringing sherbet” (Line 10), and “Sleeping in snatches” (Line 18), adding a hushed atmosphere to the first stanza.
Allusion
An allusion is a brief reference in a literary work to another literary text or to an event or historical person. The reader is expected to spot and understand the allusion, which may add a layer of depth and meaning to the text. Through his imagery, Eliot uses Biblical allusions in this poem. The image of the three trees (Line 24) is an allusion to the crucifixion of Christ and two thieves that is described in the Christian gospels. The “Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver” (Line 27) is an allusion to the betrayal of Jesus by his disciple Judas for 30 pieces of silver, as well as to the dicing of the Roman soldiers for Christ’s garments at the site of the crucifixion. Many of Eliot’s poetic allusions are to obscure sources, but these Biblical allusions would have been recognizable to most of his contemporary readers.
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