Journey of the Magi Essay

transit of the Magi has been penned down by Nobel prize master TS Eliot an is a contrast of experiences based on the nativity of Christ. The monologue defines the go of the Magi to Bethlahem in attend of spiritual pacification and is an accounting system of Eliots own change to Angli end faith, making the journey and objective correlation for Eliot.As per the Gospel story, the Magi were the tercet wise(p) men namely Balthazar- queer of Chaldea, Gaspor King of Ethopia, Melchoir -King of Nubia who belonged to the priestly class of magicians and had come to Bethlahem to fix homage to infant Christ presenting him with gifts of g gray-headed, myrrh, and frankincense. They exemplify wandering human souls in search of spirituality, the eternal spiritual quester.The song, Journey of the Magi opens with the nativity sermon of Lancelot Andrews preached in 1622 which describes the hardships Magi faced c every last(predicate)able to deep ways, sharp weather, meeting reverse and hostile conditions which were hard to combat A cold coming we had of it/ Just the batter tme of the year in the very wild of winter. The Magus admits that on that point was introspection promoted for there were times we regretted as they had break offn up materialistic pleasures and sensuality of Summer places on the slope and silken girls bringing sherbet. in addition wondering whether it was worth the effort, their major foreshorten of search was ignored and the daytime to day difficulties bogged them down with camelmen cursing and grumbling, wickedness fires going out and villages, dirty and charging highschool prices. and they admitted, A hard time we had of it. The Magi at a time preferred to travel all night and faced agonising moments of self interrogation voices singing in our ears saying that this was all folly before they finally reached a temperate vale. The second half of the poem abounds in symbolism with the temperate valley signifing the change in their lives that followed the ardous journey.They come crosswise a running stream represent the timelessness of their journey watermill beating the tail continuing the image of extinction and transposition three trees signifing three crosses at martyrdom an old white horse, a metaphor for re consanguinity of Christ, the Savior and the vanquish of paganism Vine leaves over the lintel again symbolical of the vine that christ metamorphosed into his blood sixer hands at an open doorstep dicing for pieces of silver refers to betrayal of christ by Judas and lastly feet kicking empty vine skins is symbolic of the worn out forms and rituals of the old dispensation.The Magus describes their ending as Finding the place, it was ( you may say) copesettic. Such a deliberate understatement reflects the turmoils in the minds of the Magi as an outcome of the clash of their old dispensation and new beliefs. The last twelve lines describe the psychological change in Magi as they wore caught in c onfusion and perplexity and claimed that This birth was hard and bitter agony for us like Death. The journey mark the end of their old dispensation but didnot give them satisfaction of faith for the Magus claims, I should be glad of another death so that he may be born(p) into a new faith.The poem can be studied at three levels The actual journey of the Magi Eliots journey from doubt to faith while his conversion to anglicanism, and journey of any individual in spiritual quest. belonging to the Ariel poems, the journey traces Eliots own spiritual quest and his yearing for tremendous peace. The monologue reconfirms the universal truth that the merry and the dauntless who embark upon journies with conviction be graced with divinity but it is sensual jdesires and temptations that aim to be overcome.