"Journey of the Magi" by T. Elliot demonstrates a feeling of powerlessness and alienation of man which can only be quenched by the power of Christ whose birth changed the status quo by usurping the powers of paganism and magic.
The Journey of the Magi is a poem by T. S. Eliot. It is about a magus who travelled to Palestine to visit the new-born Jesus. The poem refers to the three men in the bible and specifically the gospel of Matthew (2:1-12). There is little information about the magi (it never mentions how many there were or what they were called), and yet popular imagination has made them familiar fixtures in all sorts of presentations of the Christmas story. (Jensen, 2000). As the Magi searched for direction in their lives, so we are to seek direction in our own lives by following Jesus Christ. (Mathson, 2004).
The poem was written in 1927 and published in 1930 by Ariel poems. Elliot's poem was written after his conversion to Christianity and confirmation in the Church of England. He usually visited churches for the sake of peace, contemplation, and spiritual refreshment. Elliot had a sense of tradition and an instinct for order within himself and the church and faith gave him this security within a life of frustrations and struggles. The poem is set in a desert like terrain. This is seen by the mention of camels and that they preferred to travel at night when possibly it was cold and not as hot as day time. The poem is a dramatic monologue of a man's lament of a tedious and long journey. The persona is a world-weary, reflective, sad man who talks about his journey with the other magi to see the new savior. Lines 2-4 express the hardships that have been endured through Eliot's life and the Magi's journey. They are travelling in the worst time of the year when the weather is cold and sharp. It is at the dead of the winter and the camels are sore from lying on the melting snow.
