Almost 25% of Japanese men and 10% Japanese women over age 60 say there is not a single person they could rely on in difficult times. The American crisis may not be so dissimilar from the Japanese one.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported there were 3,700 “unaccompanied deaths” in Japan in 2013, but some researchers estimate that because of significant under-counting, the true figure is closer to 30,000. In any case, the frequency of kodokushi has been on the rise since they emerged in the 1980s.

More of a history question. But would these caves/isolation chambers be used for this very reason of creating hallucinations? Would these images just be mere illusions?

The term departed here along with no addresses could hint at a theme of isolation or displacement. These themes also would tie into the title being some type of wasteland or societal outcasts tying into there being no addresses listed. This lost or displaced feeling mirrors the poems amount “access” or maximalist diction. This poem evokes a sort of jumbled and dramatic tone; the beginning of this stanza also references a “rivers tent is broken” showing images and ideas of a sort of native or natural home being broken or associated with a fleeting sense of protection or shelter.

This voice seems to resemble the last call for drinks in a pub, signalling closing time. The repetitive voice which disrupts the rest of the stanza creates a strong sense of unlimited time, of a situation coming to an end. Considering pubs are a place of community and company, where locals of all classes are welcome and come together, this image of time running out implies perhaps society is losing its sense of locality.

Additionally, the conversation which this stanza invokes reveals to the reader an absence of communication. Although there are many voices, not one voice responds to another, they are completely isolated. This is ironic, as speech is a fundamental aspect of human interaction, in this case everyone has a voice, but no one seems to listen or acknowledge one another. Therefore, this scene of conversation suggests there is an absence of community, where although people are speaking and perhaps in the presence of other people, there is a lack of togetherness. Eliot creates the impression that locals are being exiled from their community, thus they are isolated from an environment which is based on shared common interests. Perhaps Eliot is critiquing modern society as a place which no longer appreciates community, the different voices and lack of human interaction indicates there is an absence of togetherness, creating a sense of loneliness.

Jerusalem, Athens and Alexandria were all major cultural and economic centres of fallen ancient civilisations which no longer have any agency in world politics. Their empires have broken down and seize to have major input in modern civilisation. Moreover, Vienna was the capital of the Austria-Hungary empire which fell apart after their defeat in World War 1 and had to pay severe reparations to the Allies. All of these empires have cracked and reformed and broken down again, or even “burst”. Consequently, citizens of these cities have been exiled from everything that they understand of their home, their nationality. In a society which looks upon ones nationality to dictate ones identity, who do you become when your home falls apart?

Perhaps Eliot is suggesting that London, a significant centre of Europe as well as the British Empire is “falling”, and all that will be left will be the memory of a distant empire, it will be transformed into something “unreal” as it will no longer exist. By listing these empires, Eliot implies London’s eventual fall is inevitable, leaving civilisation as we know it, isolated.