The Waste Land

Eliot expressed in all of these feelings In his poem. In point. The idle Land soon became kn receive as the work that best expressed the mood of a postwar contemporaries disillusi peerlessd by the loss of ideals and faith in progress (Duper 7). The Waste Land does not, however, express entirely despair in the condition of new(a) society. Conscious of its actual abjection, Eliot sought a meaner to escape it. He did a great deal of research concerning fertility rituals and myths and indicated that his reading In these and convertible studies revived a way of molding behind presenters actions a substrate of past beliefs and practices that. Hough now lost to consciousness, continue to Inform our daily lives In hidden moreover signifi give the axet ways (Duper 8). As Dolmen Schwartz states, Elites motif is the rehabilitation of a system of beliefs, known but now shamefaced (209). Eliot felt that man needed to be brought back to these old beliefs, but was wary of stating this openly, fearing a direct approach would prevent the poem from beingness read. The current man had become too hardened to accept Christian principles directly and, Instead, must gradually be made aware of his condition.In piece to achieve this, Eliot chronicled his 1 Nihilism (from the Latin nil, nothing) a philosophical pip which argues that the world, especially past and current human existence, is without meaning. tour of acknowledgment and apocalypse in the form of The Waste Land, using the protagonist of the poem to put up up his own transportation system to spiritual awareness and to convince man of the debasement of society and the need for reform. The poem begins with the protagonist musing on edge April is the cruelest month, breedingLilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull root with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little sustenance with dried tubers. (1, 1-7)2 This passage is an indication of the extent of the degradation of man. He has sunken so wretched Into depravity that he prefers to live a demeanor of ignorance and to disregard the fact that he Is living a half-life. April, the month In which spring begins, is no longer a joyous time in which new life is celebrated, but a cruel time of rebirth that reminds man that his own life is terribly empty.The protagonist then addresses man directly, stating, you know only / a heap of broken images, where the sun beats, / and the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, / and the dry stone no sound of piddle (l, 21-24). He then invites us into the shadow of this red an allusion to the got Isaiah, in which the Messiahs twist coming is likened to an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land (KAVA Bible, Sis. 322).Under this red rock, he will show the way to escape the routine life man has roughs upon himself. The speaker then recalls the time he prime(prenominal) realized the emptiness of his life. In the 2 Citations from the poem are taken from The Waste Land, De. Michael North (New York Norton, 2001) springtime, he says, he gave his lover hyacinths. Looking at her, with her arms full of flowers and her hair dripping wet, he expected to see happiness and fulfillment, but saw nothing. At this point, he realizes that true rejoice cannot be found in transitory things.The world holds nothing for him- Ode disclose leer ads Mere (1, 42)-desolate and empty is the sea. It is possible that Eliot came to this same realization done a similar cause, as he and his wife had a really unhappy relationship. The protagonist then takes us on a Journey through society, a Journey that illustrates the full extent of human degradation and spiritual emptiness. In the first scene of A Game of Chess, a wealthy couple is shown at home, living meaningless lives composed of dampen routines. Their relationship is forced and artificial, each so self-absorbed that neither can communicate with the other.In the second scene of this section, the extent of gradation is further revealed. A womanhood is in a pub discussing with a group of accomplices the advice she gave her friend Ill when Oils husband, Alfred, was discharged from military service. She says she pointed out that Alfred, having been in the service for tetrad years, wants a good time and told Ill, if you dont give it to him, theres others 148-149). She then rebuked Ill for looking so antique (II, 156), and Ill replied that it was because she had an abortion. She had already given birth to fivesome children and did not want more.In this scene, sex is reduced to a duty a wife must reform to please her husband, and children are an obligation, not a Joy. In The Fire harangue, the depravity of man is further illustrated. A woman is shown in her apartment eating dinner party with her lover. Their encounter after dinner is described th usly The time is now propitious, as he guesses, The repast is ended, she is bored and tired, Endeavourers to engage her in caresses Which appease are unimproved, if undesired rose-colored and decided, he assaults at once Exploring hands encounter no defensive measure His vanity commands no response, And makes a welcome of indifference. Ill, 235-242) When he leaves, her brain allows one half-formed thought to pass Well now thats done and Im glad its 252) This lieu of indifference can be seen as even more modify than lust and expresses the apathetic attitude of many after the war. However, there is still foretaste. Sometimes, the protagonist can hear the pleasant whining of a mandolins (Ill, 261) near the walls of Magnums Martyr, a church where fishermen lounge at noon (Ill, 263). This brief glimpse of hope is an indication of the source of a meaningful life. The fishermen remind us of Jesus disciples, the fishers f men (KAVA Bible, Matt. 19), who were exhorted to Journey throu ghout the earth, telling men tot the church doctrine o t Christ and the way to salvation. In Death by Water, TN way of escape from the degradation of society is revealed. The protagonist tells us of enjoy the Phoenician, who stupefyd death by water, which can be seen as a representation of baptism, the shedding of the sinful nature, and the acceptance of the Living Water (KAVA Bible, arse 738) of Christ. Please is now dead to the world. He has forgotten the birdsong of gulls, and the deep sea swell / and the profit and the joss (V, 313-314).He is no longer impact by the sin of modern society but lives separate from it. The cashier then addresses the reader Gentile or Jew / O you who turn the cps and look to windward, / Consider Please, who was once handsome and tall as you (V, 319-321). With this address, the teller reminds us that we are as mortal as Please, and we also require this Living Water. This passage is a direct contrast to The Fire Sermon squeezeing the fires o f lust with the Living Water that provides spiritual cleansing. To truly experience life, our sinful nature must die.The protagonist concludes by explaining his own realization that, like Jerusalem Athens Alexandria (V, 374), modern society is deteriorating London distich is falling down (V, 426). At this time, he has a decision to make Shall I at least set my lands in order? (V, 425) impart he avoid the decay of society and abandon his meaningless life for one with significance? His decision is evident in the last stanza of the poem. Amid the fad of the ruin of society, the protagonist finds Shanties shanties shanties (V, 433)-a peace of mind that passes understanding.Like Please, he has chosen to bid leave of absence to his dishonest, worldly self and surrender to the Living Water that has the power to quench the fires of corruption. It is through this passage that Eliot suggests his own discovery and his decision to experience the peace that passes understanding by surrende ring the corrupt part of himself. The poem, composed of seemingly split ideas and stream-of-consciousness thoughts, ends on a note of peace, a peace that Eliot has attained and wishes modern man to experience. Works Cited Duper, Robert S.