Context

Welcome to one of the most famous lines of poetry ever.

Let's dig in a bit. On what planet is April the "cruellest" month? Sure, you might not like how wet the ground is, but isn't spring the traditional time of love and rebirth? 

Not so much for Eliot. For him, all the spring rain does is stir "dull roots." These dull roots are connected to human memory and desire, which seem to be so dead in this opening scene that nothing will bring them to life. 

In this passage, Eliot connects memory to a feeling of longing that can never be fulfilled, just as the desire to return to the past can never be fulfilled. This would suggest that memory can only connect us to a past that is gone forever, so it only has the power to make us feel numb. 

Hey, we never said the guy was an optimist.

Where you've heard it

If you've haven't heard it...hear it.

You'll never pronounce the word cruelest the same.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Depends how good your Eliot impression is, we guess. Also, extra points for being a Debbie Downer.