Introduction:
Thomas Stearns Eliot was an American-English poet and playwright. Born in Missouri, America in September 1888, he spent his life strengthening the position of English literature in the world by producing tremendously meaningful and influential poetic works which affect literature to this day. He died in January 1965, but his famous works such as Whispers of Immortality, Morning at the Window, Burnt Norton, and many others will always hold a respectable position in literature. One of his most famous poems is The Wasteland which was published in 1922 and discusses the deep-rooted and complex issues of the early 20th-century society after World War 1, which resembled a wasteland according to Eliot’s perspective, with extensive philosophical insight.
Summary:
The main theme discussed in The Wasteland is disillusionment, discontent, and isolation of society after the detrimental events of the First World War. It portrays the harsh reality of what the modern world has become, the lack of connection and communication within society, and the tragic aftermath of war.
It depicts this kind of a world as no more than a barren wasteland, in which people only appear to be living. T.S Eliot has used his quintessential writing skills and understanding of the world to successfully depict the dreadful changes that have occurred in society and have beautifully illustrated to his readers how the major events of that time completely shook peoples’ morals to the core, creating grim realities out of all the aspects of life that made it beautiful such as intimacy and love, culture and traditions, religion and faith.
Thus, he not only describes the problem in
modern societies but also the way to solve this problem, by reigniting their
belief and rekindling their spirituality to acquire the hope and ambition that
people of the past had.
Critical Analysis:
T.S Eliot uses a unique method of presenting different themes by
dividing the poem into five sections that tackle multiple messages. The first
section, The Burial of the Dead deals
with memories. It begins by discussing the memories that are brought back by
spring after winter had buried all those memories and given warmth to the
writer. It shows us the childhood of a character named Marie, and it describes
the conditions of the world, barren and desolate, and the conditions of people’s
hearts, empty and silent like the lover of the hyacinth girl. It shows the
doomed reality of that era by introducing a fortune-teller Madame Sosostris
and the undone conditions of the people who survived the war, how it alienated
and destroyed them.
A Game of Chess leads us to a world of emptiness, where feelings of love
and intimacy are lost, and the former passion and affection which made
relationships so full of wonder are forgotten by society. It shows this through
couples who had lost communication and followed the same tired routine, how the
war impacted their thoughts and feelings and how even young women had stopped
caring about their lives and looks. Eliot beautifully used allusion by
introducing Philomel from Greek mythology, who was transformed into a
nightingale after being raped by a cruel king.
The third section, The Fire Sermon deals with
topics such as pollution and how it destroys nature and ultimately humanity,
and of people who are reminded of death by the rattling of bones. It also
discusses how actions such as sex became meaningless in the modern world by
introducing robotic characters who don’t feel the former desire and passion for
their lovers.
Death by Water discusses the theme of death, through the character of Phlebas
the Phoenician, who died a gruesome death at sea. This message reminds us of
the inevitability of death and the uselessness of material possessions and
physical beauty.
Lastly, What the Thunder Said continues with the theme of a barren and destroy the world, with droughts and hallucinations. It shows how humanity suffered from the pitiable state of the world through the empty chapel. However, it continues forward by introducing the theme of hope for the readers, in the form of rainfall which would soon restore the original glory of the rivers and the mountains.
It takes the
readers to India, where it incorporates the themes of religion and philosophy
into the poem by driving the message of “Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyata” or “give,
sympathize, control”. Eliot adopts an advisory tone with the audience, telling
them of the necessity of these qualities to lead life and, ends the poem on a
chant of the word “Shantih”, which, according to Eliot, means “the peace which
passeth understanding”.
Thus, that although Eliot has portrayed multiple themes which
illustrate how society has deterred from the traditional beauty of life, he
still ends the poem on a theme of hope for the people, encouraging them to
return life to its former splendor.
This article is written by Madiha Naz, one of the contributors
at the School of Literature.
