Eliot's Modernity

As one of the ushers into the Modernist movement of literature, T.S. Eliot surely established his claim not only as a pioneer of the literary era, but as one of the foremost writers to grace any period throughout American History, especially in his handling of trademark Modernist themes such as isolation. Coming off of the heels of the uptight, rigid Victorian movement (which had bearing on Eliot and his contemporaries, seeing as how he spent a good deal of his literary career in Europe), Modernism attempted to shake itself from all of the constrictions associated with it. While the Victorian movement was known for its sweeping under the rug of all issues deemed unsuitable for public consumption, the Modernist movement attempted to expose them - it did away with clear cut heroes and villains, substituting in for them the ambiguous Protagonist. It threw out straightforward story lines and implemented the Stream-of-Consciousness style of narrative. But, perhaps most fundamentally and importantly, it turned attention away from the collective group and onto the individual, something T.S. Eliot demonstrates thoroughly through his handling of Isolation in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Canto 3 of The Wasteland: “The Fire Sermon,” creating the ideal model for Modern existence.
In both of the passages referenced, isolation plays a prominent role, jumping to the forefront of the consciousness of even the most casual reader. However, in each case, the topic is handled in different ways to accomplish different goals. Prufrock begins abruptly, with the very first line throwing the notion of isolation into question briefly, as it is an address from one person to another. “Let us go then, you and I,” begs the narrator (Prufrock 1). The remainder of this stanza actually gives the appearance of personal addresses: “Oh, do not ask,” he implores (11), after a couple more “let us go’”s. However, in the next (two line) stanza, the reader is introduced to the reality of the...