The Waste Land Group at eNotes

The first section, as the section title indicates (The Burial of the...

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:03:01 PST

The first section, as the section title indicates (The Burial of the Dead), is about death. The narrator is surrounded by a desolate land full of "stony rubbish."The next section, "A Game of Chess," transports the reader abruptly from the streets of London to a gilded drawing room, in which sits a rich, jewelry-laden lady who complains about her nerves and wonders what to do. the poem then switches to a pub where two...

There simply is not enough space here to explain "The Waste...

Wed, 21 May 2008 06:54:25 PST

There simply is not enough space here to explain "The Waste Land" adequately. Please read the eNotes study guide has excellent articles on the themes, style, and historical context of the poem, as well as critical essays on its structure and literary impact and a critical overview.As for writing your essay, you might find the article "How to Write a Good Essay on English Literature" helpful. I've included a link to that...

Please explain Eliot's poem "The Waste Land."

Wed, 21 May 2008 04:37:22 PST

Please explain Eliot's poem "The Waste Land."

In addition to the references to The Tempest and Anthony and Cleopatra,...

Fri, 9 May 2008 11:51:55 PST

In addition to the references to The Tempest and Anthony and Cleopatra, there are other parts of Eliot's poem that call on Shakespeare. You can see echoes of Titus Andronicus in the poem's opening lines. (See this link for more details: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/4081/WasteLand.html ) In the flower giving and wet hair of the hyacinth girl, I see echoes of Ophelia, with her flowers and her death. The "handful of dust"...

This is a very good question. In The Waste Land, Eliot quotes from...

Fri, 9 May 2008 10:24:37 PST

This is a very good question. In The Waste Land, Eliot quotes from Shakespeare several times, with most of the quotations coming from or allusions to The Tempest.For instance, lines 48 and 125 of The Waste Land(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)Are taken verbatim from Act 1, scene 2 of The Tempest:Full fathom five thy father lies:Of his bones are coral made:Those are pearls that were his eyes:An allusion to The Tempest is in The Fire...

Are there any Shakespearean elements in "The Waste Land"?

Fri, 9 May 2008 06:34:06 PST

Are there any Shakespearean elements in "The Waste Land"?

There are only two main themes in the poem, which in turn, generate many...

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:32:39 PST

There are only two main themes in the poem, which in turn, generate many sub-themes. The first of these major themes is disillusionment, which Eliot indicates is the current state of affairs in modern society, especially the post—World War I Europe in which he lived. He illustrates this pervasive sense of disillusionment in several ways, the most notable of which are references to fertility rituals and joyless sex. Human society is so...

What is the theme of hope and despair in The Waste Land?

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:13:50 PST

What is the theme of hope and despair in The Waste Land?

World War I had a huge impact on people. We tend to forget about how...

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:40:58 PST

World War I had a huge impact on people. We tend to forget about how devastating that war was because of the greater horrors of World War II. Before WWI, mass destruction of people and property just was not possible. With the "advances" made in weaponry during the war, it became possible to kill an entire battalion of soldiers with one canister of mustard gas or one volley of air fire.Poets like Eliot became very disillusioned and...

How does Eliot present the predicament of modern man in The Waste Land?

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:11:35 PST

How does Eliot present the predicament of modern man in The Waste Land?

You need to see the movie Tom and Viv. It's about T.S. Eliot's marriage...

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:18:11 PST

You need to see the movie Tom and Viv. It's about T.S. Eliot's marriage to Vivienne Haigh-Wood. Throughout their marriage, Vivienne suffered mood swings and erratic behavior. She got so mad at him one day that she went to his office and poured molten chocolate all over his papers. Eliot and the rest of her family thought she was insane and had her committed. Now, biographers think she had a hormonal imbalance that could have been treated if...

Catharsis in "The Waste Land"?

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:03:13 PST

How does the poem lead to catharsis when it is so overhelmingly packed with the disillusionment of the post war generation?

In fact, it seems that the writer is so unbearably deep down in his confusion and pessimism that the Waste Land cannot allow for any possibilty to be turned into pure, promising, life giving ,love seeking times.

In section I of the Waste Land, The Burial of the Dead, the voices are...

Fri, 8 Feb 2008 07:50:16 PST

In section I of the Waste Land, The Burial of the Dead, the voices are reminiscient of Spoon River Anthology where all the characters are speaking from their graves. Hyacinth girl especially reminds me of this.Eliot is obviously burying these characters, and there are references to Dante's Inferno with the ring of fire and all the people walking in circles/rings.It is set in April, although he says it is the cruellest month--a time when...

What references to death and rebirth can you find in “The Waste...

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 18:04:55 PST

What references to death and rebirth can you find in “The Waste Land:The Burial of the Dead”?

Your question requires several books to answer it! In fact, the poem...

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:37:54 PST

Your question requires several books to answer it! In fact, the poem is so complex in its symbolism that Eliot included his own footnotes to guide the reader. I will address the title of the poem, which refers to the world after WWI. The narrator uses symbols of water and lack of it to show the infertility of our culture, wasted by a lack of love and giving. Eliot's footnote credits Jessie L. Weston's From Ritual to Romance as his source...

Define the symbols used in The Waste Land in detail.

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:44:03 PST

Define the symbols used in The Waste Land in detail.