# Hysteria explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by T. S. Eliot.

## What happens

The narrator describes a moment of being drawn into a woman's laughter, feeling consumed by it until he focuses on stopping the shaking of her breasts to collect the fragments of the afternoon. An elderly waiter interrupts with a repeated offer for tea in the garden.

## Themes in this chapter

### Fragmentation and Modernity

The narrator's attempt to 'collect fragments of the afternoon' highlights the modernist theme of a shattered, disjointed experience.

### Love and Unsatisfied Desire

The narrator's intense focus on the woman's body suggests a desire that is both consuming and ultimately unfulfilled.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator is drawn into the woman's laughter and tries to regain control by focusing on her physical movements.

## Key lines

> As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her teeth were only accidental stars with a talent for squad-drill.

As she laughed, I felt myself merging with her laughter, until her teeth seemed like random stars that could march in formation.

_The narrator describes a loss of self as he is absorbed into the woman's laughter._

> I decided that if the shaking of her breasts could be stopped, some of the fragments of the afternoon might be collected, and I concentrated my attention with careful subtlety to this end.

I thought that if I could stop her breasts from shaking, I might be able to piece together the scattered moments of the afternoon, so I focused intently on achieving that.

_The narrator attempts to regain control by concentrating on a physical detail, hoping to restore order to a fragmented experience._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_21_se/chapters/hysteria
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_21_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_21_se/chapters