Introduction of Fourth Section “Death by Water”: In fourth section “Death by Water,” Eliot shows the significance of water as a means of purification and re – birth. There are two associations – one from Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the other from the ancient Egyptian myth of the god of fertility. The death of Phlebas, the … Read more
Introduction to the Poem: The title of the third section has been borrowed from the sermon of Lord Buddha wherein he said that the world is on fire, “burning with fire of hatred, with the fire of infatuation, with birth, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation and misery, grief and despair”. All these are on … Read more
Introduction to the Poem: “A Game of Chess” is a device used by Middleton in the play entitled “Women beware Women” where this game is played to hide the seduction of a young girl by a noble man. In this section the poet indicates the failure of sex – relationship in the modern world. Sex … Read more
Introduction to the Poem: “The Burial of the Dead” is the first section of The Waste Land. Here The Dead are those who are spiritually dead. When it is observed and analysed, it is found that dead are materialists. Materialism does not accept the independent existence of the soul. So, a materialist must believe that … Read more
Introduction: “The Waste Land” is the most important and the greatest achievement of T. S. Eliot. It symbolises the modern civilization which is compared to a waste land. It was written in 1921 and published in 1922. At the time of its composition, Eliot was a philosopher poet through and through. He was also a … Read more
Power of Word Music: Eliot was endowed with an exceptional power of word music. The Waste Land is a symbolic invocation of London, past and present, or a stricken Europe, of the human situation. Music creeps by upon the waters. There are different kinds of music: the song of the Thames daughter; the water dropping … Read more
Introduction: Tiresias has been projected as the protagonist in The Waste Land. Basically, there is only one character in the poem. His presence gives the poem a sense of the oneness of experience and of the unity of all the periods. Tiresias assumes many masks and his voice alternates with the voices of the inmates … Read more
Theme of Disintegration: One of the important themes of The Waste Land is a vision of dissolution and spiritual drought. This spiritual drought arises from the degeneration, vulgarisation, and commercialisation of sex. Sex – act is the source of life and vitality, when it is exercised for the sake of procreation and when it is … Read more