For Thine Is Nothing

It is not surprising that the word Kingdom repeats itself in the Worlde because it is a central and significant theme within the poem and one in which the desires and fears of the hollow men are revealed. The word "Kingdom" provides a type of conflict and disarray within the work. It is unclear exactly what Eliot means by his three separate kingdoms, "death's other Kingdom", "death's dream kingdom", and "the twilight kingdom," yet they are the root cause of the Hollow Men's anxieties. They are concerned with which kingdom they will be placed in and what meaning this has on their lives. They repel at the idea of "the final meeting in the twilight Kingdom," where the "empty men" wish to reside. They do not want to continue their meaningless existence into the next life and are terrified that it will, "be like this in death's other kingdom." They consider death's dream kingdom as a place with voices that are, "more distant and more solemn than a fading star," yet the hollow men also describe a desire to be like them, to, "wear such deliberate disguises." They appear to long for such an existence in death's dream kingdom, even if it is solemn. They at least will be able to "behave as the wind behaves," which may give them a sense of meaning.

Originally, I believed the crux of the poem was, "Of death's twilight kingdom/ The hope only/ Of empty men." After making the distinction between the hollow men and the empty men, I now think the crux of the poem is, "Let me also wear/ Such deliberate disguises/ Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves/ In a field? Behaving as the wind behaves." This lays out the hopes of the hollow men, and what they fear they will not have, which is exposed through discussion of the kingdoms. The actual word, "kingdom" is not used explicitly, but is what the crux is based upon.