The Hippopotamus - T.S. Eliot
A Satirical Allegory Contrasting Earthly Weight and Spiritual Aspiration
[Excerpt only — full text not provided due to copyright]
“The broad-backed hippopotamus
Rests on his belly in the mud;
Although he seems so firm to us
He is merely flesh and blood...”
(Full poem text is under copyright and cannot be provided in its entirety here. Below is a summary and commentary.)
Published in 1919 and later included in T.S. Eliot’s 1920 collection *Poems*, “The Hippopotamus” is a satirical poem that juxtaposes a heavy, unwieldy hippopotamus with “The True Church.” Written in rhyming quatrains, it playfully examines the gap between appearances of worldly solidity and the intangible essence of spiritual purity. The hippopotamus seems comically unimpeachable in its sheer physical heft, yet Eliot ironically envisions it rising to heaven in the poem’s final twist, while the Church remains weighed down by human failings.
On one level, the poem lampoons religious hypocrisy: institutions that may profess spiritual ideals often prove worldly and corrupt in practice. By contrast, the hippopotamus—though profoundly physical—escapes mortal constraints in Eliot’s whimsical scenario. In typical early-Eliot fashion, the tone fuses gentle mockery with serious subtext, illustrating that genuine faith may flourish in the unlikeliest forms or be stifled by institutional rigidity.
The sing-song meter and neat rhyme scheme lend a childlike quality to the poem, accentuating its ironic message. The final image of the hippopotamus ascending to heaven underscores that sincerity—or some intangible quality of grace—need not be limited to “respectable” establishments. Instead, it can arise from the unassuming (or even the absurd). Despite its lighthearted style, “The Hippopotamus” hints at Eliot’s broader concerns about the authenticity of faith and the earthly burdens that impede spiritual enlightenment. It stands as a lighter counterpart to the weightier themes in Eliot’s later, more overtly religious and philosophical works, yet it reveals his early interest in exposing human pretensions through satiric contrast.
Key points
1. Eliot humorously contrasts the literal heaviness of the hippopotamus with the symbolic heaviness of Church hypocrisy.
2. The poem’s playful tone underscores the paradox that true transcendence might appear in unexpected forms.
3. Rhyming quatrains and sing-song rhythms accentuate its satirical, fable-like approach.
4. “The Hippopotamus” anticipates Eliot’s ongoing critique of institutions that fail to embody genuine spiritual values.