How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
Six o'clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days. (3-4)
In comparing our days to something that burns, Eliot paints a pretty bleak picture. Who wants to live a life that can be described as "smoky" and which consists of days that end with a "burnt-out" feeling? Whether you picture cigarettes or candles, the flame that devours each day leaves nothing left at the end.
Quote #2
The thousand sordid images
Of which your soul was constituted (27-28)
The speaker thinks our souls are full of tawdry stuff because we are surrounded by tawdry stuff. Our souls suffer as a result of our lives. Yikes.
Quote #3
You curled the papers from your hair,
Or clasped the yellow soles of feet
In the palms of both soiled hands. (36-38)
The woman is using paper to curl her hair because she is too poor for anything else. Apparently, she's also too impoverished to bathe. Although there's little indication that she feels miserable, the speaker indicates that being poor means living a life of little comfort.