Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · English Literature
Course version: 9ET0 · Version from Sept 2015
Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Post-1900 – The…
Full specification wording
Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Post-1900 – The Modernist Period – T S Eliot: Selected Poems (Faber, 2009): III. The Fire Sermon
In 'III.
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9ET0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 4 of 7
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
In 'III. The Fire Sermon', Eliot explores the degradation of modern intimacy and the spiritual emptiness of lust. The title references Buddha’s sermon against the fires of passion, synthesised with St. Augustine’s arrival in Carthage to represent a plea for ascetic purification. The section is anchored by Tiresias, the blind, androgynous prophet who observes the mechanical, loveless sexual encounter between the typist and the clerk. Eliot contrasts this modern squalor with the polluted River Thames and the songs of the Thames-daughters, echoing Spenser and Wagner.
What earns the marks
- Analyse the function of Tiresias as the unifying consciousness of the poem who 'sees' the spiritual decay.
- Evaluate the use of literary allusions, such as Spenser's 'Prothalamion', to contrast past ideals of marriage with modern pollution and promiscuity.
- Examine the portrayal of the typist and the clerk to demonstrate the mechanisation and emotional detachment of modern sexual relationships.
- Discuss the synthesis of Eastern (Buddha) and Western (St. Augustine) ascetic traditions in the concluding lines as a response to the 'fire' of lust.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Assuming Tiresias is just another character.
Put it right: Recognise Tiresias as the central, unifying consciousness who experiences all the events and embodies both sexes.
Misinterpreting the 'fire' solely as destruction.
Put it right: Understand that 'fire' represents both the destructive passion of lust and the purifying fire of asceticism.
Ignoring the Thames-daughters' song.
Put it right: Analyse the Thames-daughters as modern, degraded equivalents of the Rhinemaidens, highlighting the loss of purity.
Exam tips
- Compare the mechanical rhythm of the typist's encounter with the lyrical, flowing rhythms of the Spenser allusions to highlight the loss of romance.
- Use the synthesis of Buddha and St. Augustine to discuss Eliot's search for universal spiritual solutions to modern decay.
- Link the polluted Thames imagery to the overarching theme of the 'waste land' and the corruption of life-giving water.
Try the lesson
The start of the Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Post-1900 – The Modernist Period – T S Eliot: Selected Poems (Faber, 2009): III. The Fire Sermon lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
In 'The Fire Sermon' section of T. S. Eliot's *The Waste Land*, which figure is explicitly described in the notes as the most important personage in the poem, uniting all the rest as an observer?
Listen
In 'III. The Fire Sermon', Eliot explores the degradation of modern intimacy and the spiritual emptiness of lust. The title references Buddha’s sermon against the fires of passion, synthesised with St. Augustine’s arrival in Carthage to represent a plea for ascetic purification. The section is anchored by Tiresias, the blind, androgynous prophet who observes the mechanical, loveless sexual encounter between the typist and the clerk. Eliot contrasts this modern squalor with the polluted River Thames and the songs of the Thames-daughters, echoing Spenser and Wagner. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Analyse the function of Tiresias as the unifying consciousness of the poem who 'sees' the spiritual decay. Evaluate the use of literary allusions, such as Spenser's 'Prothalamion', to contrast past ideals of marriage with modern pollution and promiscuity. Examine the portrayal of the typist and the clerk to demonstrate the mechanisation and emotional detachment of modern sexual relationships. Discuss the synthesis of Eastern (Buddha) and Western (St. Augustine) ascetic traditions in the concluding lines as a response to the 'fire' of lust. A common slip: Assuming Tiresias is just another character. Instead, Recognise Tiresias as the central, unifying consciousness who experiences all the events and embodies both sexes. Exam tip: Compare the mechanical rhythm of the typist's encounter with the lyrical, flowing rhythms of the Spenser allusions to highlight the loss of romance.
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Spiritual decay
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Modern alienation
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Lust and sexuality
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
The corruption of nature
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
See every definition
- Spiritual decay
- The spiritual emptiness of lust that Eliot explores in the modern intimacy depicted in this section.
- Modern alienation
- The mechanisation and emotional detachment of modern sexual relationships, shown in the portrayal of the typist and the clerk.
- Lust and sexuality
- Destructive passion represented by the 'fire', set against the purifying fire of asceticism.
- The corruption of nature
- Polluted River Thames imagery, linked to the overarching theme of the 'waste land' and the corruption of life-giving water.
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