The Purpose of Our Existence: Gerontion

The poem “Gerontion,” by T.S. Eliot is filled with so much information that a whole host of different interpretations can be derived from it. For the sake of space I will only discuss it in its most literal term. The word Gerontion means old man in Greek, which is the narrator of this poem. The old man, seemingly near the end of his life discussed the issues of life and questions his existence. He himself not doing anything of great importance in his life and although he questions why he was even placed on earth, he knows that he will still continue on. Eliot describes this continuation in his allusion to the spider. He states, “What will the spider do,” the old man comparing to himself, which questions will he continue his menial existence of a life that has no special meaning or continue as the spider does in the same manner he always has. Eliot digs into the inner questions of every human; why are we here, what is our purpose, why do we value certain aspects of our culture, which make takes this poem deeper and more relatable.