Like the other poems making up the Four Quartets , Little Gidding deals with the past , present , and future , and humanity 's place within them as each generation is seemingly united . In the second section , there is a ghost who is the compilation of various poets , including Dante , Swift , Yeats , and others . When the ghost joins the poet , the narrator states " Knowing myself yet being someone other " . This suggests that the different times merge at the same time that the different personalities begin to merge , allowing a communication and connection with the dead . Later , in the fourth section , humanity is given a choice between the Holy Spirit or the bombing of London ; redemption or destruction . God 's love allows humankind to be redeemed and escape the living hell through purgation by fire . The end of the poem describes how Eliot has attempted to help the world as a poet . He parallels his work in language with working on the soul or working on society .