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.
Symbols & Motifs
Suffering
Suffering is a leading motif; it permeates the poem. It occurs in two distinct aspects, the wise men’s journey and their post-journey life. The journey is difficult from the beginning. The Magi had to overcome many obstacles, from bad weather to unfamiliar terrain, stubborn camels, irresponsible camel drivers, lack of accommodations, and a hostile reception wherever they went. “A hard time we had of it” (Line 16), the Magus says. Their lives post-journey were even harder, it seems. The birth that they witnessed did not bring them joy; on the contrary, “this birth was / Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death” (Lines 38-39). It would be hard to imagine presenting suffering in any harsher terms. Finally, the Magus confesses that he would be “glad of another death” (Line 43)—that is, his own. It seems then, that over the many decades that began with the journey and continue up to the Magus’s old age, suffering was the pervasive reality.
Vine-Leaves
In the second stanza, the three travelers come to a tavern “with vine-leaves over the lintel” (Line 26). This is a positive symbol in Christian art and literature. In the Gospel of John, for example, Jesus describes himself as “the true vine,” and his “Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). He says of those who believe in him, “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:5). The vine can also symbolize the Christian Church. The next line in the poem is “Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver” (Line 27). Perhaps this is the very door over which the vine-laden lintel provides support. The pieces of silver symbolize the 30 pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed Jesus. These two symbols placed so close together juxtapose life and death—a positive image followed by a negative one. (Although Eliot chooses not to allude to it in the poem, for the Christian, the symbol of the pieces of silver has a wider context. Although the betrayal led to Christ’s crucifixion, his death resulted in man’s sins being forgiven, and the day that commemorates the crucifixion is thus known as Good Friday.)
The Journey
The poem is set in ancient times and records a literal journey across hundreds of miles to faraway, unknown places in extremely difficult conditions. One can understand the journey at the symbolic level: It symbolizes the process of spiritual rebirth that the Magi went through, which was hard because they had to throw off their old beliefs and embrace something new and unknown. Understood in this symbolic light, the journey presented is not limited to ancient times. It can be applied to any time period, ancient or modern. Relevant here is the fact that Eliot wrote the poem shortly after his own adoption of the Anglican faith. It clearly had a present rather than merely historical interest for him. It is open to the 21st-century reader to study the poem in a similar light.
Related Titles
By T. S. Eliot
