I. The Burial of the Dead

Note - look up the book - "The Burial of the Dead"

This first part has allusions to Christianity throughout.  Why?

Note - that like the Canterbury Tales it is a type of pilgrimage going on.  There are four speakers and then Tiresias (the fifth).

Make a list of characters.

Some THEMES to think about:

1) The inability to communicate (relate to Prufrock)
2) The lack of love in relationships  (relate to Prufrock)
3) Religion - or the loss of religion
4) Isolation (relate to Prufrock)
5) Memory and the Past

Note here is a summary from SHMOOP:

The Burial of the Dead

It's not the cheeriest of starts, and it gets even drearier from there. The poem's speaker talks about how spring is an awful time of year, stirring up memories of bygone days and unfulfilled desires. Then the poem shifts into specific childhood memories of a woman named Marie. This is followed by a description of tangled, dead trees and land that isn't great for growing stuff. Suddenly, you're in a room with a "clairvoyant" or spiritual medium named Madame Sosostris, who reads you your fortune. And if that weren't enough, you then watch a crowd of people "flow[ing] over London Bridge" like zombies (62). Moving right along…