waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) (05/01/85)
This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it
first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember
the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able
to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out.
The quote:
"So, this is how the world ends...
not with a bang, but with a whimper."
-- Walt Tucker
Tektronix, Inc.dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (GREEN) (05/02/85)
> This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it > first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember > the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able > to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. > > The quote: > > "So, this is how the world ends... > not with a bang, but with a whimper." It is from a T. S. Elliot poem. I don't remember the title but it is *not* from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Any T. S. Elliot anthology will have it.
mr@hou2h.UUCP (M.RINDSBERG) (05/02/85)
> This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it > first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember > the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able > to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. > > The quote: > > "So, this is how the world ends... > not with a bang, but with a whimper." I remember the quota but not where it came from. Now it will bug me for years unless someone answers quickly. Mark
edtking@uw-june (Ewan Tempero) (05/03/85)
> This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it > first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember > the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able > to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. > > The quote: > > "So, this is how the world ends... > not with a bang, but with a whimper." I remember the quota but not where it came from. Now it will bug me for years unless someone answers quickly. Mark -- Ewan ------------ Ewan Tempero "Oh no, not again" UUCP: ...!uw-beaver!uw-june!edtking ARPA: edtking@washington.ARPA Please check all nuclear arms at the door.
edtking@uw-june (Ewan Tempero) (05/03/85)
>> "So, this is how the world ends... >> not with a bang, but with a whimper." I remember a short sf story titled "Not with a bang". I can't remember the author ( probably Asimov ) but it involved a giant hand reaching up from the horizon and snuffing out the sun..... -- Ewan ------------ Ewan Tempero "Oh no, not again" UUCP: ...!uw-beaver!uw-june!edtking ARPA: edtking@washington.ARPA Please check all nuclear arms at the door.
janel@tekchips.UUCP (Jane Laursen) (05/03/85)
>The quote: > > "So, this is how the world ends... > not with a bang, but with a whimper." > I believe this is from T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men". It starts something like "We are the hollow men. We are the empty men."
stratton@brl-tgr.ARPA (Sue Stratton ) (05/03/85)
> > This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it > > first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember > > the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able > > to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. > > > > The quote: > > > > "So, this is how the world ends... > > not with a bang, but with a whimper." > > It is from a T. S. Elliot poem. I don't remember the title but it is > *not* from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Any T. S. Elliot > anthology will have it. How about "The Waste Land"? (Now I can't wait to get home and check!) Karen Wilson
emneufeld@water.UUCP (Eric Neufeld) (05/03/85)
> not with a bang but a whimper
The Hollow Men, T.S. Elliot.wjhe@hlexa.UUCP (Bill Hery) (05/03/85)
> This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it > first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember > the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able > to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. > > The quote: > > "So, this is how the world ends... > not with a bang, but with a whimper." > It's the last lines of "The Hollow Men" by T. S. Eliot; it can be found in his collected works, and anthologized in numerous places, such as the Norton Anthology that almost everyone used in a college lit. course. Also, I think the actual quote is: this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper. Apropos of that, I saw the credits to "Apolalypse Now" on tv this week (but missed part of the movie), and they credited Eliot's "The Hollow Men." Did anyone catch where in the movie it was used? Was it the bang...whimper section, the "headpieces filled with straw line," or something else? Bill Hery
chism@reed.UUCP (Christine N Chism) (05/04/85)
In article <316@mhuxi.UUCP> dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (GREEN) writes: >> This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it >> first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember >> the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able >> to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. >> >> The quote: >> >> "So, this is how the world ends... >> not with a bang, but with a whimper." > >It is from a T. S. Elliot poem. I don't remember the title but it is >*not* from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Any T. S. Elliot >anthology will have it. I think it is from a cycle of poems called *The Waste Land*. As I remember it, it goes: This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang, with a whimper. It's a really depressing poem.
guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris) (05/04/85)
...This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper. --T. S. Eliot "The Hollow Men"
swift@reed.UUCP (Theodore Swift) (05/04/85)
>I saw the credits to "Apocalypse Now" on tv this week (but >missed part of the movie), and they credited Eliot's "The Hollow Men." >Did anyone catch where in the movie it was used? Was it the bang...whimper >section, the "headpieces filled with straw line," or something else? > >Bill Hery Near the end there's a scene or three where Kurtz (Marlon Brando) is reading from Elliot. I think he starts with "We are the hollow men" which apparently immediately preceeds the "headpieces filled..".
jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (05/05/85)
> >> "So, this is how the world ends... > >> not with a bang, but with a whimper." > I remember a short sf story titled "Not with a bang". I can't remember > the author ( probably Asimov ) but it involved a giant hand reaching > up from the horizon and snuffing out the sun..... > > Ewan > Ok, you guys, this quote is from "The Hollow Men", part 5, by T.S. Eliot. -- jcpatilla "'Get stuffed !', the Harlequin replied ..."
dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (David S. Green) (05/05/85)
> The quote: > "So, this is how the world ends... > not with a bang, but with a whimper." I looked it up, finally. Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) wrote the poem "The Hollow Men" in 1925. The poem is about 98 lines and I am not about to post it because of copyright and other ( it takes a while to type (-: ) reasons. As for the poem, the title has the phrase "A penny for the Old Guy" right under it. This refers to the traditional phrase used by begging urchins on Guy Fawkes Day. The work has five verses; the fifth begins with: "Here we go round the prickly pear Prickly pear prickly pear For Thine is the Kingdom Life is very long This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper." It serves as an italic counterpoint to the main body of the poem. As for it being quoted in "Apocolpyse Now", well that movie was supposed to be related somehow to Joseph Conrad's "Heart Of Darkness"; the movie is a rather banal piece of junk. Both Conrad and Eliot were probably rolling over in their graves because of that movie!
waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) (05/06/85)
> >I saw the credits to "Apocalypse Now" on tv this week (but > >missed part of the movie), and they credited Eliot's "The Hollow Men." > >Did anyone catch where in the movie it was used? Was it the bang...whimper > >section, the "headpieces filled with straw line," or something else? > > > >Bill Hery > > Near the end there's a scene or three where Kurtz (Marlon Brando) is > reading from Elliot. I think he starts with "We are the hollow men" > which apparently immediately preceeds the "headpieces filled..". Also notic the strong similarities to Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (i.e. Kurtz, "the horror, the horror", etc). Someone said that in one of the scenes Kurtz had "Heart of Darkness" on his bookshelf. I didn't catch it myself. The whole movie seems to be almost an update of "Heart of Darkness". The parallels are fascinating. -- Walt Tucker Tektronix, Inc
gtaylor@lasspvax.UUCP (Greg Taylor) (05/06/85)
In article <> dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (David S. Green) writes: >As for the poem, the title has the phrase "A penny for the Old Guy" >right under it. This refers to the traditional phrase used by begging >urchins on Guy Fawkes Day. That's the dedication, and it's intended to refer to Ezra Pound, who is also given the dedication in "The Waste Land" as (my Italian is very poor -sorry) "Il Miglior Fabbro"..."the better workman". Greg -- ________________________________________________________________________________ Once I was young:once I was smart:now I'm living on the edge of my nerves:-Japan Gregory Alan Taylor:162 Clark Hall:Cornell University:Ithaca,NY 14850:USA USENET: {cmcl2,decvax,ihnp4}!cornell!lasspvax!gtaylor ARPANET: gtaylor@lasspvax.arpa BITNET: gtaylor@crnlthry.bitnet ________________________________________________________________________________
goodrum@unc.UUCP (Cloyd Goodrum) (05/07/85)
In article <tekecs.5296> waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) writes: >This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it >first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember >the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able >to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. > >The quote: > > "So, this is how the world ends... > not with a bang, but with a whimper." > > > -- Walt Tucker > Tektronix, Inc. The quote is from "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot, but I don't think you've quoted by correctly. If memory serves me correctly, it's " This is the way the world ends, This is the way the world ends, This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper." Eliot was trying to imitate the rhythm of such children's songs as " Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush".
goodrum@unc.UUCP (Cloyd Goodrum) (05/07/85)
In article <hlexa.4182> wjhe@hlexa.UUCP (Bill Hery) writes: >> This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it >> first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember >> the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able >> to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. >> >> The quote: >> >> "So, this is how the world ends... >> not with a bang, but with a whimper." >> > >It's the last lines of "The Hollow Men" by T. S. Eliot; it can be found in >his collected works, and anthologized in numerous places, such as the Norton >Anthology that almost everyone used in a college lit. course. Also, I think >the actual quote is: > > this is the way the world ends, > this is the way the world ends, > this is the way the world ends, > not with a bang, but a whimper. > >Apropos of that, I saw the credits to "Apolalypse Now" on tv this week (but >missed part of the movie), and they credited Eliot's "The Hollow Men." >Did anyone catch where in the movie it was used? Was it the bang...whimper >section, the "headpieces filled with straw line," or something else? > >Bill Hery Marlon Brando is reading it towards the end of the movie, right before Martin Sheen offs him. He is reading the opening lines, and gets through the part about "Shape without form, shade without color".
cv@linus.UUCP (Chris J. Valas) (05/08/85)
-=- In article <5305@tekecs.UUCP> waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) writes: (in reference to "Apocalypse Now") >Also notic the strong similarities to Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" >(i.e. Kurtz, "the horror, the horror", etc). Someone said that in one >of the scenes Kurtz had "Heart of Darkness" on his bookshelf. I didn't >catch it myself. > >The whole movie seems to be almost an update of "Heart of Darkness". >The parallels are fascinating. > > -- Walt Tucker > Tektronix, Inc Since the screenplay for "Apocalypse Now" was specifically written as a modern equivalent of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", the parallels, while fascinating, are hardly surprising. ;-) Chris J. Valas {decvax,utzoo,philabs,security,allegra,genrad}!linus!cv -=- "Turning over new leaves daily since 1966."
rose@sdcsvax.UUCP (Daniel Rose) (05/09/85)
In article <5305@tekecs.UUCP> waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) writes: >> >I saw the credits to "Apocalypse Now" on tv this week (but >> >missed part of the movie), and they credited Eliot's "The Hollow Men." > >Also notic the strong similarities to Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" >(i.e. Kurtz, "the horror, the horror", etc). Someone said that in one >of the scenes Kurtz had "Heart of Darkness" on his bookshelf. I didn't >catch it myself. > >The whole movie seems to be almost an update of "Heart of Darkness". >The parallels are fascinating. They're intentional. Francis Coppola fully intended to make Apocalypse Now a modern interpretation of Heart of Darkness, with Vietnam replacing Africa. The Marlow and Kurtz characters, as well as their names, are taken directly from Conrad's novella. My high school English teacher described the film as the "rape" of the novella. As far as the T.S. Eliot quote goes, the bizarre connection is this: At the beginning of Eliot's "The Hollow Men," the quotation "Mistah Kurtz -- he dead" appears, which itself was taken from Heart of Darkness. Coppola, I guess, figured that if Eliot could quote Conrad, he could stick references to BOTH in the movie. Dan Rose sdcsvax!rose P.S. Despite my snideness, I liked most of the movie. But that's a different newsgroup.
reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (05/09/85)
>Also notic the strong similarities to Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" >(i.e. Kurtz, "the horror, the horror", etc). Someone said that in one >of the scenes Kurtz had "Heart of Darkness" on his bookshelf. I didn't >catch it myself. > >The whole movie seems to be almost an update of "Heart of Darkness". >The parallels are fascinating. > > -- Walt Tucker "Apocalypse Now" is based, very very loosely, on "Heart of Darkness". The central plot element (a trip up a river in a primative country to confront a government operative who has gone crazy and formed his own private empire) is the same. The theme is different, and the attempt to deal with the Vietnam war was necessarily different from the Dutch African colonies in the late 19th century, but "Heart of Darkness" was acknowledged as the inspiration all along. I don't recollect if Conrad was listed in the credits, but I doubt it. -- Peter Reiher reiher@ucla-cs.arpa {...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher
gkloker@utai.UUCP (Geoff Loker) (05/14/85)
> > This has always been one of my favorite literary quotes, having seen it > > first in some reading I did in 8th grade. But, alas, I can't even remember > > the book or author. It's always bugged me through the years, not being able > > to remember where it came from. Maybe someone can help me out. > > > > The quote: > > > > "So, this is how the world ends... > > not with a bang, but with a whimper." > > > > It's the last lines of "The Hollow Men" by T. S. Eliot . . . The place where I first came across the quote was in Nevil Shute's "On the Beach", a sort-of s-f tale of the world with the Northen Hemisphere destroyed by nuclear war, and Australia awaiting its doom as clouds of radioactivity slowly work their way through the world's weather system. Not a very pleasant tale, but then who said war was pleasant? At any rate, the lines: 'This is the way the world ends, This is the way the world ends, This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang, but a whimper. were used as a frontis-page (sp?) quote for the novel. -- Geoff Loker Department of Computer Science University of Toronto Toronto, ON M5S 1A4 USENET: {ihnp4 decwrl utzoo uw-beaver}!utcsri!utai!gkloker CSNET: gkloker@toronto ARPANET: gkloker.toronto@csnet-relay