The Waste Land: Eliot’s Masterpiece of Modern Despair
The Waste Land, written by T.S Eliot after World War 1, in 1922, is considered a masterpiece in modern poetry. The poem mainly reflects the post-war London images, including some depictions of deserts and oceans. Eliot molds the frustration and fragmentation of the generation of the time into words. The diction is extremely impressive. It blends various poetic styles and traditions. This epic poem explores the post-war generation’s themes of decay, disappointment, and spiritual decline.
The Waste Land is divided into five sections; “The Burial of Dead”, “A Game of Chess”, “Death by Water”, “The Fire Sermon” and “What the Thunder Said”. Eliot uses a wide range of literary sources: like the sacred books of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, and references from the work of Shakespeare, Saint Augustine, Arthurian legends, Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, Wagnerian opera, and so on so forth. Despite the historical illusions, various modern symbols; for instance, the jazz music, gramophone, motorcar, and the typist have also conglomerated in the poem.
Literature: a Pathway to Peace related postsThe idea of a “fragmented world” alludes to the post-war world’s disintegration and spiritual deterioration, which causes the breakdown of traditional values, cultural harmony, social integration, spirituality, and life’s meaning. The poem “The Waste Land” disjointed form serves as an........
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