In
Gerontion by T.S. Eliot, I was most struck by the stanza on history. He describes
history as “someone” with all of these things to hide from us, like a house
with secret passageways. Furthermore, he also talks about how we as people are
unable to learn when history has a lesson to teach us. According to the poem,
History only gives us knowledge when we aren’t able to pay attention to it, or
when it is too late for us to do anything about it. Eliot also claims that
history confuses us more than it gives us clarity sometimes.
I
think that Eliot makes a fair point in this portion of the poem. We always talk
a lot about learning from history, using history to our advantage to make the
world a better place in the future. However, history does repeat itself,
despite the warnings that Eliot describes in the poem. I disagree with Eliot in
that he blames History for humankind not being able to learn from it though.
Instead, I think it is our own fault that we forget what happened, or that we
cannot see a piece of information if it is given to us too soon.
Eliot gives a circular, cyclic feel to Gerontion by beginning and ending it in the same way: In a house during the dry season. This seems to suggest that, despite what we may think, history does have a tendency to repeat itself. In regards to history, Eliot alludes to two major events: the economic decline of Antwerp, and the crucifixion of Christ. He also uses names that seemingly represent many different countries. These suggest that all the comments he makes on history - that sometimes it's too late for us to do anything about it, or that it often takes us by surprise - apply to all peoples.
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