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Analysing the Role of Free Verbal Repetition in T.S.Eliot's Poem Ash-Wednesday
Shazia Kousar
PhD (English) Candidate, Department of English
University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
This study analyses the role of free verbal repetition i.e. immediate repetition and intermittent repetition in
the aescetheticisation of T.S. Eliot's poem Ash-Wednesday. Technically cast as epizeuxis and ploce, these
repetitive structures inform us about the nature of the poetic sensibility of Eliot like artist, the way they are
used to construct his poetic creation and the way it is decoded by the reader for comprehension. Conducted
within the framework of Geoffrey N. Leech's book A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry, the present study
would explore the exact copying of some parts of the text to actualise the artistic excellences like
musicality, memorization, and rhythmicality; it would also investigate how such linguistic strategies are
employed to stress and foreground some specific ideas. All the important examples of the free verbal
repetition from the given poetic discourse would be included in the research to investigate the functions
they are artistically devised to serve. This study would prove helpful to the readers and scholars by
providing them with a methodology for interpreting a poetic text precisely
Keywords: T.S. Eliot; Ash-Wednesday; Stylistics; Free Verbal Repetition; Epizeuxis; Ploce
Introduction
Leech (1989) holds that a range of linguistic and literary devices is available for a poetic artist to realise his
poetic disposition. Epizeuxis that stands for repetition of some word(s) of a text in close neighbourhood
like 'come on, come on' and ploce that accounts for the intermittent repetition of some linguistic chunk in a
discourse like 'work and work' are some of the regularities of expression that are artistically and
strategically used by T.S.Eliot in his poem Ash-Wednesday. Eliot is a conscious artist who believes that the
message of a poetic creation must reach its destination successfully and immediately and for this purpose
he depends upon various types of parallelism. Verbal parallelism is a bit different from free verbal
repetition because in the former mostly the grammatical mould but not the entire surface is repeated. On the
other hand in free verbal repetition the form and grammatical frame both are repeated. Eliot encodes a lot
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of meanings in his intertextual and collage-based art because basically he belongs to that movement of art
that believes in the education and enlightenment of the reader. This immediate and intermittent repetition
gives musicality to his poem; it also provides rhythm to the artistic piece; it is not to denote the linguistic
poverty on the part of the author rather it contributes to the memorability of the reader. The poem that is to
be analysed is about Eliot's intention, struggle and commitment to decouple himself from the worldly life
and go for the spiritual satisfaction. It is a very difficult task in fact because the attractions for the mundane
self are not easy to ignore. The poem is a spiritual journey on the imaginative level of the persona therefore
the presence of the free verbal repetition is very helpful for the reader to see through his complicated affairs
and problems he is confronted with in a mystic state. With the help of formalistic repetitive structures we
are helped in the understanding of his proceedings and movements. Besides it, repetition of the textual
portions also informs us that some significant ideas are being stressed. Put simply, these literary ploys
foreground the text to attract the attention of the reader for some specific purposes.
Data Analysis and Discussion
The persona of T.S. Eliot that experienced and tasted the barrenness and nothingness of the modern
materialistic culture grew fed up and made an intellectual commitment to go for the spiritualization of his
self. The poem Ash-Wednesday deals with a conflict between quest and resolve for spiritual contentment
and the attractions of the worldly life. He is committed intellectually to leave the materialistic pull of his
self and resort to the realm of spirituality but faces a lot of problems here. Free verbal repetition is a device
that is sought by Eliot to depict this situation. The mechanical repetition of the epizeuxis is noticed in the
following line:
And what is actual is actual only for one time
(1:18)
Here the 'lexical items of 'is actual' are repeated without any linguistic or punctuational
intervention. The immediate repetition is not a normal and commonplace use of language; its abnormal use
makes the given linguistic section of the poem foregrounded, to create the desired linguistic impressions on
the mind of the reader. The repetition of the auxiliary verb 'is' and that of the lexeme 'actual' announces,
like the tolling of the bell, the petty transient nature of the actuality based life in the province of time.
'Actual' things, 'in time', are profitable, useful, real and durable but only for a very brief period of time and
only at a particular place. The speaker is fed up with the bright lights of time oriented life, as they bitterly
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fail to interest him according to the heart's contentment. That is why what is 'actual' in time is in fact a
mirage, deception, illusion and eyewash; therefore he does "make possible the turn for the better" (Rajan,
1976, P.57) i.e. spirituality. The repetition, in fact, defines and distinguishes the unreal and not-actual
character of the 'actual'.
An example of free verbal repetition, at a clause level, is observed in the following lines:
Shall these bones live? shall these
Bones live? And that which had been contained
(11:46-47)
This free repetition of form is cast as epizeuxis because the interrogative clause of 'Shall these
bones live?' is repeated without any intervention of some other linguistic element. This immediate
repetition refers to "the vision of Ezekiel, in which God predicts the spiritual regeneration of the Israelites,
his chosen people: And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?" (Southam, 1977, p.115).
Literally, this formal repetition is a question of God but pragmatically this is the ringing announcement of
God that these bones will, without any grain of doubt, experience regeneration and revitalization.
Repetition is a primitive device for the intensification of a feeling. God's prediction about the renewal of
life, with reference to the bones, is so forceful, powerful, assured and loud that only the repetitiousness of
the linguistic chunk can suffice to convey its exuberance and spontaneity. Another example of epizeuxis is
spotted in the lines 62-64:
Thus devoted, concentrated in purpose. And God said
Prophesy to the wind, to the wind only for only
The wind will listen. And the bones sang chirping
The prepositional phrase 'to the wind' is exactly repeated in the close neighborhood, to foreground
the concerned lines for specific purposes. It is the hallmark of great poetry that it makes use of the
linguistic repetition to compress or to say much in a little linguistic material. Poetic composition is linked
with poetic intensity and poetic intensity is connected with the powerful effect of repetition. Here the
repetition of 'to the wind' is working like the successive beatings of the drum to let the suppressed emotions
come out, with force and effect. Ignored by the people, the prophet Jeremiah addressed the Earth; now the
prophet has only the wind to hear. Here the occurrence of 'only for only' is a creative use of verbal
repetition by the speaker. This repetition, which resembles epanalepsis to some extent, foregrounds the line
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to emphasize the stylistic effects. The repetition of 'only' pronounces the personification of the wind which
is the 'only' listener to the prophecy of God.
We discover an occurrence of immediate repetition commonly recognized as epizeuxis in the
following lines:
Distraction, music of the flute, stops and steps of the
mind over the third stair,
Fading, fading; strength beyond hope and despair
(111:114-115)
'Fading, fading' is the repetition of the same lexical item in the close neighborhood. It is not a
usual usage of language; it is a marked linguistic expression to make the concerned lines stand out as being
more important. Music of the flute along with other worldly attractions, for some moments, dissuades the
devotee in his spiritual ascent, at the first step of the third stair. But the spiritual voyager continues to go
forward and in this way the effects and impressions of musical allurements begin diminishing. 'Fading,
fading' is, rhetorically and stylistically, the pronouncing of the situation where slow but steady diminishing
of the musical temptation is in progress. The overwhelming rapture of the devotee is linked with the
continuous evaporation of musical attractions. But in fact it is a fragment of the liturgy of the Mass "which
defeats the 'distraction' and focuses the effort on future ascent" (Drew, 1950, p.139).
Free repetition of form means the exact copying of some previous part of the text whether word
(s), phrase, or even sentence. It is not partial but full and exact repetition of a grammatical unit. Such type
of irregular and free verbal repetition is identified in the following lines:
Lord, I am not worthy
Lord, I am not worthy
(111:117-118)
This free repetition, at the clause level, is not a normal use of language; this outstandingly
distinguished and prominent linguistic chiming is well contrived to serve some intended artistic purposes.
The powerful effect of the repetition seems to lie in the implication that the yearning of the soul is too great
for expression in the few words: so deep a mystic desire requires manifold of utterances. The spiritual
climber, who is moving ahead in his spiritual ascent, badly needs the more spiritual strength, through
repetitive prayers, to rid of the snares of the physical world. It is the character of the mystic not to 'turn'
from the direction he has chosen but with the power of will alone he cannot do all what he wants to do.
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That is why he resorts to repetitive prayers to facilitate his further ascent. In his humble request to the
guardian of the gate of purgatory, Eliot is saying that though 'I am not worthy', please 'speak the word only'
that will open the gate.
Ploce like epizeuxis is also a type of free repetition of form; the former is intermittent repetition
and the latter is immediate repetition. The noun phrases 'the third stair' at the end of lines 107,114 and 116
is an example of irregular repetition of form. The noun lexeme 'flute' in the line 111 and 114 is another
instance of ploce. These examples of ploce are extraordinary use of language; they are well devised to
arouse some stylistic effects. The three time regular repetition of 'the third stair' emphasizes the
multidimensional mundane fascinations of 'the pasture', which dissuade the devotee from his spiritual
ascent. The free repetition of the noun 'flute' stresses the encroaching influence of the musical rhythm of the
pasture over the spiritual climber.
Line 120 holds a remarkable example of free repetition of form, recognized in rhetorical catalogue
as ploce:
Who walked between the violet and the violet
(IV: 120)
Here the noun phrase 'the violet' is repeated intermittently; the repetition is intervened by the
connecter 'and'. It is not a normal use of language; this abnormal arrangement of linguistic material is a
deliberate effort to generate specific stylistic effects. T.S. Eliot creates a lot of images of walking in this
part of the poem; "and he takes this opportunity to collapse time and tradition by his images" (Cuddy, 1990,
p.83). "Those 'Who walked between the violet and violet', for example, have moved through experience
and time from the violet Greek hyacinths to the violet hyacinth, lilac or larkspur of our century" (Cuddy,
1990, p.83). "And for those who have walked between the violet of one twilight and the next, there has
been increased knowledge-if they have used the time well" (Cuddy, 1990, p. 83-84).
Another example of intermittent repetition is found in the line 134:
White light folded, sheathed about her, folded.
(IV: 134)
The free repetition of the lexeme 'folded' is not a normal use of language; this tactic arrangement
of linguistic items is deliberately organized to create some specific stylistic effects.
They (years) 'restore' his own early experience in the form of a dream
figure, wearing 'white light folded, sheathed about her, folded' (like
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the petals of a rose), and also the memories of the medieval poets
whose
allegories
are
always
in
the
form
of
dreams.
(Drew, 1950, p.141)
The following lines present an example of epizeuxis:
Who will not go away and cannot pray:
Pray for those who chose and oppose
Here the repetition of the word 'pray' without intervention of any other word is an example of
immediate repetition. Another important example of intermittent repetition is identified in the following
lines:
O my people, what have I done unto thee.
O my people, what have I done unto thee.
O my people.
(V: 158,176,184)
The first two lines are the exact linguistic and verbal copy of each other; these two exactly
repeated lines are iterated at irregular and not regular intervals. These two irregular and free lines are
exceedingly important to arrest the attention of the reader and foreground the concerned formal
compositions. The line, 184 which consists of the formal items of 'O my people', forms its own importance.
This address of Christ is described as "'the Lord's controversy'" (Gish, 1981, p.84). The questioning ('O my
people, what have I done unto thee') "which calls the betrayer to penitence" (Rajan, 1976, p.66) "is simply
the patience of God, which endures the treachery of men" (Gardner; 1975:121). While commenting upon
'the Lord's controversy' Williamson (1988) says: "There follows the word of the Word from Micah 6:3,
expressing for and against theme. This question is followed by an answer. 'Where shall the word be found'
or heard? Nowhere" (p.181). The absence of the question mark at the end of the question 'O my people,
what have I done into thee' shows that the speaker himself knows that his question will never be answered.
The question in the following line 'Where shall the word be found' proves that the Lord cannot get answer
to his question; because only those people can answer this question who, inwardly, turn to the Lord but it is
not possible for the people 'who chose thee and oppose thee'; it means the Lord's question is answered by
the question in the next line.
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There is an example of intermittent repetition in the following lines:
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
(VI: 213 – 215)
The underlined two linguistic structures are the exact copy of each other; this repetition is
generally known as ploce; it is not a common place example of repetition taken from our day to day
linguistic discourse. It is a deliberate linguistic organization to foreground the relevant textual section and
produce some particular artistic effects. "'Even among these rocks' must suggest desolation" (Jones, 1973,
p.62); here the idea of desolation is stressed enormously, through the free verbal repetition, to enlist the
kindness of the 'mother', to the maximum extent.
The following lines need some discussion with reference to their nature of repetition and
its function:
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
(VI: 211- 212)
These two consecutive lines of Part VI are the exact copying of the lines 38–39 of Part (1), with
the minor difference of full stop which is absent at the end of the line 212 and has its presence at the end of
the line 39. At the first glance it seems to be an example of ploce but in fact it is not. The gap between these
exactly similar lines/repetitions is too wide. Therefore it is a repetition of its own kind but certainly very
important as a cohesive element of the poetic discourse; it is deliberately placed at the end of part first and
at the end of last part, to create some desired artistic effects. Rajan, in this regard, writes: "The right caring
and the right indifference, precariously achieved in the struggle of the poem, must be renewed against the
centripetal pull of the low reality" (Rajan; 1976:69).
Conclusion
The research conducted concludes that the poet T.S. Eliot uses epizeuxis and ploce in his poem
Ash-Wednesday for different purposes: with the help of these formal repetitions the internal conflict of the
artist is described successfully; there are so many actions and reactions of antithetical attractions upon each
other which are articulated through free verbal repetition; emphasis is put on some idea through these
repetitions. The researcher concludes that though the poet has made up his mind to rid of the materialistic
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instincts to enter into a spiritual world but reality is this that it is not easy to do so; the persona confronts so
many insurmountable obstructions on his way. The given poem is called a religious and mystic
composition by Eliot but the reality is opposite to it: this poem is more linked with the materiality of life;
its materialistic content is more popped up than that of 'The Waste Land'. And this conclusion about the
poem Ash-Wednesday is realised through the exploration of the immediate and intermittent repetitions.
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References
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Eliot, T. S. (1969). The complete poems and plays. London: Faber.
Gardner, H. (1975). The art of T. S. Eliot. London. Faber and Faber ltd.
Gish, N. K. (1981). Time in the poetry of T.S. Eliot: A study in structure and theme. London and
Basingstoke. The Macmillan Press Ltd.
Leech, G. N. (1969) A linguistic guide to English poetry. Hong Kong. Longman Group UK Ltd.
Rajan, B. (1976). The overwhelming question Canada University of Toronto Press.
Southam. B.C. (1977). A student’s guide to the selected poems of T. S. Eliot. (3rd ed). London: Faber and
Faber.
Williamson, G. (1988). A reader’s guide to T. S. Eliot: a-poem-by poem analysis. Yugoslavia. Thames and
Hudson
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