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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago

A fortnight dead

"Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,      Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell      And the profit and loss.                                 A current under sea      Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell      He passed the stages of his age and youth      Entering the whirlpool."   (By TS Eliot.) 
 
Does "a fortnight dead" mean literally "someone who died two weeks ago" or is it a metaphor?
  

Top answer

It is literal within the poem. The point is that he has definitely been dead for a while and no longer worries about his finances or other worldly things.

— Mister Micawber

  • It is literal within the poem.
  • The point is that he has definitely been dead for a while and no longer worries about his finances or other worldly things.
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2 Answers
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It is literal within the poem. The point is that he has definitely been dead for a while and no longer worries about his finances or other worldly things.
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Thank you, MM, for the reply.
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