Morning at the Window by T.S. Eliot

 

They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,
And along the trampled edges of the street
I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids
Sprouting despondently at area gates.
The brown waves of fog toss up to me
Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,
And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts
An aimless smile that hovers in the air
And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

 

Analysis: In general, this poem is straight forward in meaning. The poet is unhappy with cramped city life, and through the window he can view all the dis-pleasantries of the city, real or imagined. Eliot uses cacophony  to highlight the negativity of his feelings and what he is viewing from the window, such as: "rattling", "trampled", "damp", "despondently", "twisted" and "tear". This gives the poem a depressed feeling, as though life is forever dreary and holds no real meaning.