T.S. Eliot

"Whispers of Immortality"

This curious poem by Eliot consists of thirty-two lines placed into eight quatrains.  The poem is separated into two sections and indeed, seems to be two different poems.  The connection between the first sixteen lines and the last sixteen is difficult to discern.  The first sixteen lines are an uncanny declaration of admiration for John Webster, the English dramatist and for John Donne, the poet. Uncanny because both men are spoken of with fondness but also with imagery and concepts which are not normally associated with admiration or admirable qualities.  Eliot informs his audience that "Webster was much possessed by death / And saw the skull beneath the skin."  According to Eliot, Webster also saw demonic beings such as one might find in a painting by Hieronymus Bosch but Eliot implies that Webster was aware of truths unknown to most. He implies the same with regard to John Donne  who "...was such another / Who found no substitute for sense, / To seize and clutch and penetrate; / Expert beyond experience."  He then conjures another set of grim imagery in association with Donne. The descriptions of these men as having been somewhat enlightened seems ironic when adjacent to the description of these men as having been somewhat macabre fellows.  Eliot seems to admire the realistic attitude that the two men seemed to have with regard to mortality and the temporal qualities of life.
The second half of the poem takes the audience elsewhere rather quickly. Rather than extracting the merits of realism from within the grim and frightening imagery, we are introduced to a female character called "Grishkin."  Eliot's description of Grishkin exudes sexuality; "Uncorseted, her friendly bust / Gives promise of pneumatic bliss."  The use of the word "pneumatic" is creative and counter-intuitive, for pneumatic has three meanings according to Webster's Dictionary.  The word means of, related to, or using gas but it also refers to the ephemeral realm of spirit.  Thirdly, the word is indicative of "having a well-proportioned feminine figure; especially:  having a full bust." The phrase "pneumatic bliss" must be a double entendre here.  Grishkin is compared to a "sleek Brazilian jaguar" stalking her prey.  The last stanza is quite charming;
"And even the Abstract Entities
Circumambulate her charm;
But our lot crawls between dry ribs
To keep our metaphysics warm."

As stated above, the connection between the two halves is not made easily.  However, one could postulate that when Eliot refers to "our lot," he may be referring to the male gender which would include John Webster and John Donne and that the intention is to draw a distinction between the male and female.  For, "our lot crawls between dry ribs / To keep our metaphysics warm,"  but Grishkin is a busty maid with an ineffable way of being ephemeral which is unknown to realistic and sometimes grim men.