That Shakespeherian Rag

"Is there nothing in your head?" the woman asks the uncommunicative man.
The stream-of-consciousness technique allows the reader into his mind: thoughts of rats' alley; a quotation from Shakespeare; and then some lyrics from a novelty ragtime song.

That Shakespearian Rag (Eliot added the additional syllable- Shakespeherian- in imitation of the syncopated rhythm of ragtime) was a minor hit in 1912. The lyrics ("most intelligent, very elegant") make joking references to Shakespeare's characters, such as Brutus, Desdemona and Romeo: here, the song is representative of the decline of western art and literature from Shakespearian tragedy to modern popular music.

"O, o, o, o" are, incidentally, Hamlet's last words in the First Folio version of the play.

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