Eliot and his great poem The Waste Land

The Waste Land Details Summary

About T.S Eliot

• Born in 1888 in the United States of America.
• Moved to England in 1914 at the age of 25.
• From 1911 to 1914, he completed his research on Indian philosophy and Sanskrit language at the University of Harvard.
• Earn his livelihood by teaching and working as a bank clerk.
• Became a British citizen in 1927 at the age of 39 and renounced his American citizenship.
• From 1922 to 1939, Eliot edited a major journal, the Criterion, and from 1925 to 1965, he was an editor and a director in the publishing house of Faber & Faber.
• Won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.
• Father of modern English poetry.
• Influenced by social, economic, and political issues of his age (especially the time of world war I to World War II.)
• Died 4 January 1965 (aged 76) in London, England.

Overall, T.S. Eliot is a renowned poet and playwright who significantly impacts modern literature. His works reflect the disillusionment and despair that followed World War I. He is severely influenced by Ezra Pound, Metaphysical Poets, Dante, French symbolists, and many other modernist figures to write poetry.

A Tale Behind composing ‘The Waste Land’

Eliot gathers the idea to compose this poem first in 1914 but cannot complete it due to a breakdown brought about by his father’s death in 1919. This poem has been being composed in the Autumn of 1921 when Eliot stays at the Margate City in London and in Lawson in Switzerland for his treatment. He names the poem ‘HE DO THE POLICE IN DIFFERENT VOICES’ primarily. When he goes to his friend Ezra Pound with this poem, he does not only shorten the length but also changes the title to ‘The Waste Land’. Finally, the poem comes to publication in October 1922 after being customized at the hands of Ezra Pound. Pound excludes 54 lines from the first section, 72 from the ‘Fire Sermon’, and 83 from the ‘Death by Water’. Eliot appreciates his friend’s editing and being pleased with this he designates his friend as ‘il miglior’ the Italian phrase that means ‘The better craftsman’.

Section-wise Analysis

The term ‘wasteland’ refers to the symbolic representation of the spiritual and social degradation of modern civilization. The poem contains the post-World War I world which is full of desolation, fragmentation, and barrenness. Eliot uses various mythologies, literary allusions, and historical allusions to draw the modern unfertile society. The wasteland is a metaphor for a society that is out of its purpose and becomes disconnected from the past. It draws a world that has lost its connection and understanding among its people. Overall, the poem serves the ill features of the modern 20^th century and its people as well.

1. The Burial of The Dead

The title of the first section refers to the dual burial: (a) burial of the dead fertility and (b) burial of the English Church. The people of the wasteland are spiritually empty and do not want any change in this position. Regeneration is a painful notion to them. They cannot enjoy the month of April which signifies the Spring season and re-birth because it reminds them about their moral and spiritual decay. Rather they are fond of Winter which symbolizes death and decay as they can enjoy their merriment during this period. If we go through this section, we can find several topics to interpret which are as follow:

• Modern baseless society: Through his spokesman and protagonist, Tiresias, Eliot has presented the nature of a modern man. He loves a German girl who has no connection with her family, society, or country. She represents the true baseless modern woman. when they are spending their time in Munich, they are caught up by the summer rain. They take shelter under the trees neglecting the purifying power of the rain.
• Spiritual Wasteland: The stone, trees, and the Sun, depicted in the poem represent the spiritual wasteland. There is no shelter in the street from the heat of the sun but the red rock which symbolizes the Christian church. That means only the church can shelter men. The modern wasteland is as same as the wasteland of the Bible. If Christ could regenerate the then wasteland, he can do so in the present time. That’s why we must obey the path of true religion.
• Obstacles to gain spiritualism:  Here, the poet describes two obstacles to gaining spiritualism. One is SEX: Sex is a dominant feature of modern age. Once sex was a matter of human development but now it has no moral or social regulations. Eliot provides two results of guilty love which are misery and death. To put it clearly, the poet also gives two examples of love: (a) it is from Wagner’s opera: a story by Tristan and Isolde. (B) it is the story of the Hyacinth girl. The second obstacle is Gambling: it is a kind of game that befools a man as we know. Madame Sosostris is a character who has 78 cards. She tells the future of his followers by using these cards. She also fears the police.
• The artificial City: Here, London has been shown as an unreal city. People here have a lack of faith. They go to work at the London Bridge at 9’O clock which indicates the crucifixion time of Christ. That means when trade starts, religion goes out.
• Zero hope for re-birth: The protagonist, Tiresias meets a person namely Stetson who has fought with him in the war. He interrogates him whether his plants have bloomed or not which he has planted in his garden. He also warns to keep it safe from the dog which may spoil it or may reduce the chance of re-birth. This idea bears no hope for the resurrection because if the dog digs it up, there may be a chance of rebirth of the plants.

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2. A Game of Chess

The story of a game of chess has been borrowed from Middleton’s play ‘Women beware Women’ where this game is used to hide the molestation scenery of a young girl by a nobleman. By this story, the poet in this poem wants to show the failure Ness of the modern man in sexual relationships. This section contains two scenes:

• In scene one, the lady of situation is waiting for her lover. Her room is gorgeous and well-decorated. The painting and arts inside it indicate the ancient story of love and rape. The painting remembers the story of Philomela who is rudely raped by a barbarous king. It is seemed that she even cries today but none listens to her cries. Indeed, her cries are a protest against the whole rapist family of all time. When the lover of the lady appears, she denies spending time with him. Rather she wishes to go out for a walk. This lady is the true representation of the modern woman. She is used to taking a hot water bath at 10 a.m. and goes to play a game of chess at the nearby club at 4 p.m.
• Scene two is the story of a couple: Lil and Albert. It’s time to come home for Albert from the Army after four years. Now, Lil’s lady friend suggests her to decorate herself colorfully so that her husband finds her attractive. Otherwise, there are many charming women in the city with whom her husband may spend his private time. Lil is getting old and losing her beauty as she takes excessive abortion pills to stay free from being pregnant. She has already five children and she is also somehow unable to satisfy her husband. Her female friend suggests her not to take the pill as it is her duty to please her husband and to give birth to children.

This section tells us that marriage is a matter of sex maintaining discipline and regulations not for excessive sexual relationships. But modern people hanker after this tendency most that’s why they are in barrenness and desolation.

3. The Fire Sermon

This title has been derived from the sermon of Lord Buddha where he says that the whole world is on fire: the fire of hatred, the fire of delusion, the fire of lamentation and misery, and so on. This section teaches us that lust destroys life and one can overcome lust only by going through misery and pain. This idea is against the modern concept of sexual life without any social regulation. Let’s analyze the section.

• Vulgarisation of commerce and the mechanical sexual life of a typist girl: Tiresias explains the condition of the river Thames. It is Autumn, and the rich merchants pollute the river with their waste left out after their picnic. The river is now like a deserted place. The pollution of the river indicates the spiritual degeneration of the modern man. In the unreal city of London, the protagonist only hears the crowds and the sounds of the vehicles which is a call to the girl by her lover. Here, we also enjoy the sexual attitude of modern people. Mr. Eugenides, the trade person, is looking for a hotel where he can meet his lusty desire. In the evening, the typist girl returns from his office, finished her dinner, and feels tired and bored. But when his lover arrives and wants to get intimated physically, she agrees despite her unwillingness. Even, she seems happy after having sex. In the river Thames, the protagonist sees sexual scenery as well as oil and tar. Here, we find the rape story of the Thames girls. The first daughter pays a visit to Richmond and is molested by a man. The second daughter is assaulted at Moorgate by a man who later repents for his misdeed. The girl has no regression as it is a part of her life. The last one is raped at Margate Sands. She is of poor background. Her family has no claim regarding this matter.

To conclude this section, lust, and rape bring corruption and decay to modern society. This practice prevails in all classes of society.

4. Death By Water

In this division, the poet represents water as a tool for purification and regeneration. To develop his idea, Eliot uses two references including Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ and the Egyptian god of fertility. Here, the poet tells the story of Phlebas, a young handsome sailor who is drowned after a boring trading career. He gets no chance for purification as he does not follow spiritual values. The young sailor represents modern people.

5. What The Thunder Said

In this section, the poet speaks for the liberation of society from desolation. This last and longest part of the poem represents a chaotic world full of destruction and despair. Here, we see illustrations of war, references to biblical stories, and allusions to Hindu mythology. This division starts with mentioning the term ‘thunderstorm’ which possesses the power to renew the natural elements. The section then sifts to the story of ‘Fisher King’ an Arthurian legend who is represented as a symbol of spiritual and physical decay. The king as well as his troops molest women which makes the king impotent and unable to rule his kingdom resulting in making his kingdom barren and desolate. The king’s wound is metaphorical of the barrenness of his kingdom. The resurrection of the king and his kingdom depends on a  Knight’s successful journey to Chapel Perilous, a dangerous place that must be navigated if he wants to search for the Holy Grail, a sacred object which embodies divine grace. The Knight’s journey represents a quest for spiritual redemption and enlightenment.  The reference of “Christ’s disciples to Emmaus” is a biblical account found in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 24:13-35). It describes the journey of two disciples who confront the resurrected Jesus on the road to Emmaus but cannot recognize him at first. Eliot uses this biblical story to explain a sense of lost faith and spiritual blindness in the modern world. The disciples’ inability to recognize Jesus is as same as the spiritual blindness and lack of connection of the modern people in the wasteland. The poet ends the poem by describing an event in ancient Indian history when people were entrapped by drought and famine. They seek divine help and God replies to them in thunders. Eliot prescribes three remedies to reconstruct the human heart which are from the Upanishads ‘Da, Da, Da.’ The first ‘Da’ means Datta (‘to give’). We have to sacrifice more than enjoy as our martyrs do. The second ‘Da’ (Dayadhavam) is for sympathy. We must have sympathized with our countrymen. The last ‘Da’ (Damyata) refers to ‘self-control’. The author finishes the poem with a sense of hope and rebirth. Eliot terminates the poem by repeating the Sanskrit word “Shantih” three times which is from the Hindu faith and ends each Upanishad, meaning “The peace which passeth all understanding.”

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