Religion
Religion is a potent theme that surfaces in the poetry of T.S. Eliot. Eliot discusses its relevance for a modern age beset by moral degeneration, war, and uncertainty. Eliot's work is characterized by its extensive use of intertextuality, particularly about Biblical allusions and references. The Hollow Men contains an increasingly fragmented 'Lord's Prayer'. Its devolution is representative of the hollow men's inability to articulate a prayer and thus modern man's inability to connect with the divine.
Similar religious symbols are also seen in The Wasteland, to create the idea of a sense of religious isolation and spiritual disconnect that has transcended time. Eliot's relationship with religion heavily influences The Journey of the Magi. Having just converted from Catholicism to Anglicanism, Eliot transposes his tumultuous relationship with faith to the Nativity setting of the poem. Eliot undermines the traditionally heroic nature of the venture to demonstrate spiritual conflict and the difficulty of maintaining faith in modern society.
Isolation
Another prominent theme in his works is isolation. While this theme ties up with the role and place of the artist in society, it deserves a distinct categorization as Eliot wrote extensively about isolation in a world richly steeped in change. This theme of isolation and helplessness comes through forcefully in The Journey of The Magi. The poem uses extensive fragmentation to show the isolation and helplessness felt by the speaker caught between two different worlds and belonging completely to neither.
The Role of the Artist in Society
The role of artists in society is richly explored in the works of Eliot. The theme of isolation is tied with that of the role of the artist as Eliot felt that the artist was often left behind in a fast-paced, metropolitan world. the role of an artist became increasingly important in times of war and such a theme permeates across the works of Eliot. This theme arises in The Wasteland and similar undertones are found in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock where his unusual nature is a sign of isolation and can be seen as a metaphor for the isolation of an artist in society.
Uncertainty
Uncertainty is another theme that arises in the work of Eliot. Many poems explore a sense of ambivalence and uncertainty that plagues the person in a new, metropolitan world and a changing order. This uncertainty comes through in The Wasteland, where there is a constant sense of ambivalence due to not being able to keep up with the rapidly moving world and feeling disconnected from this world and yet not detached from it completely.
