# II explained — Poetry

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

## What happens

The speaker observes a woman with lilacs who speaks of life, youth, and the passage of time. She reflects on buried memories and a sense of peace, while the speaker remains detached, drinking tea. The conversation turns to themes of invulnerability and impending loss, ending with the speaker leaving and contemplating mundane news, interrupted only by a street piano that stirs forgotten desires.

## Themes in this chapter

### Memory and the Past

The woman's 'buried life' and the speaker's recollection of 'things that other people have desired' highlight the haunting presence of the past.

### Love and Unsatisfied Desire

The woman's longing for connection and the speaker's emotional distance underscore unfulfilled desire.

### Time and Mortality

The woman speaks of being 'about to reach her journey’s end,' and the April sunsets evoke the passage of time.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who listens to the woman's reflections, drinks tea, and later reads the comics and sporting page.

### J. Alfred Prufrock

Referenced indirectly through the speaker's self-consciousness and the line 'how can I make a cowardly amends'.

## Key lines

> Now that lilacs are in bloom She has a bowl of lilacs in her room And twists one in her fingers while she talks.

With lilacs blooming, she fidgets with a stem as she speaks.

_The lilacs symbolize spring and renewal, contrasting with the speaker's emotional detachment._

> The voice returns like the insistent out-of-tune Of a broken violin on an August afternoon

Her voice comes back, grating and persistent like a damaged violin in the heat of August.

_The simile conveys the jarring, repetitive nature of her words._

> You are invulnerable, you have no Achilles’ heel. You will go on, and when you have prevailed You can say: at this point many a one has failed.

You are immune to hurt, without a weak spot. You will succeed where others have fallen.

_The woman accuses the speaker of emotional invulnerability, highlighting his detachment._

## Links

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