Learning to Find the Image

A couple of weeks ago, a homework assignment for my Visual Information Design class was to read the poem, Burnt Norton by T.S. Eliot.  We were to find an image that represented what we “saw” in the poem and then explain the image and discuss how the poem inspired us to chose this particular image.  It was a good exercise to help us visualize the information being delivered, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on the poem and the visual I imagined in my mind.

The image above is one of an older lady looking into her past.  I can imagine she is regretting things she did or didn’t do when she was younger, or wishing she could return to the days of her youth.

The first stanza of T.S. Eliot’s “Burnt Norton” inspired this image: 

“What might have been is an abstraction

Remaining a perpetual possibility

Only in a world of speculation.” (Eliot, 1971, p. 13)

Eliot’s poem revolves around the primary theme of time, with, in my opinion, an insinuation of regret and covetousness woven into the verses.  Additional text which inspires this image for me is:

“Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Towards the door we never opened

Into the rose-garden.” (Eliot, 1971, p. 13)

Furthermore, the reflection in the pool, which is actually empty except for the “water out of sunlight” (Eliot, 1971, p. 14) contributes to the inspiration for the visual. 

Finally, the following line which is repeated through the entire poem is yet another source for the revelation of the visual:

“What might have been and what has been

Point to one end, which is always present.” (Eliot, 1971)

Works Cited

Eliot, T. (1971). Burnt Norton. In T. Eliot, Four Quartets (pp. 13-20). Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books.