T.S Eliot's The Waste Land, What is going on..?

AxisOfAwesome · 1 year

it's all about beautifully worded descriptions set in a rhythm that was at the time revolutionary. From what I understand, Eliot was a pretty conservative fellow, so Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock is about as emotional as he gets, sorry. A lot of it can seem like nothing more than an intellectual exercise, but the Wasteland has always touched me with its descriptions in a way I can't really describe. That poem makes me feel a little smarter every time I read it.

seldon452 · 1 year

"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"

If that doesn't give you a shiver then I don't know what will

music4lnirvana · 1 year

Well, it's important to understand that The Wasteland is pulling from mountains and mountains of other works. It's largely an amalgamation of different works from many different eras. Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with Modernist work, but knowing more about the background and artistic intentions may help. Modernism

Oh, and you're right, it's totally masturbatory, but great nonetheless.

Edit: Also, I've heard there are copies of this poem which include his handwritten notes as well as the text. It's supposed to help greatly in sorting out the complexities of the poem.

wonderfuldog · 1 year

Not sure how basic an analysis you want here -

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Land

- http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/eliot/section2.rhtml -

- http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/American-Poets-of-the-20th-Century-The-Poets-T-S-Eliot-1888-1965-.id-11,pageNum-108.html -

Johnanapes · 1 year

Eliot is one of my favorite poets; The Waste Land is definitely one of his major works. He is definitely academic, but he's also very formal.

The basic historical/authorial context that is generally thrown out is that it is a poem that reflects the fragmented world after World War One. As an author, Eliot has suffered great marital difficulties and has returned to a post-war world.

Honestly, I haven't touched Eliot in an unfortunate long while. I've always found him a good study in versification; he has good mastery of formal meter but also word rhythm. His work always seems to me the work of a formal poet in a new/modern context. If you have only read The Waste Land, his other long poems (Prufrock, Hollow Men are less dense than his later long poems) are worth picking up.

There's a lot of different ways to approach The Waste Land. The trick is to find an entry point that you find interesting or entertaining.

BlueRenner · 1 year

Nothing.

The work passed through about five different authors and editors before seeing the light of day. Its safe to say that whatever Eliot's intentions were have been seriously perverted or lost.

Its a pretty mirror, nothing more, nothing less.

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