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Show Eliot's use of images in 'The Waste Land'
Name : Radha B. Ghevariya
Std. : M.A. SEM-3
Sub : The Modernist Literature
Roll no : 22
Topic : Show Eliot's use of images in 'The Waste Land'
Topic : Show Eliot's use of images in 'The Waste Land'
Submitted to : Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English
Introduction:
Thomas Sterns
Eliot was born on 26 September 1888 in st.louis Missouri. He was known as an
essayist , publisher,playwright,literary and social critic and "one of the
twentieth century's major poets". He was contribution in literature from
1905 to 1965. He win the Nobel prize in literature from the 1948. His childhood
passed nearby a big river. His mother was a social worker namely charolte
champe sterns. His father , Henry ware Eliot (1843-1919), was a successful
businessman , president and treasurer of the hydraulic press brick company in
st.louis. Eliot more attention for his poem " The Love Song Of Alfred
Prufrock"(1915). Which is seen as a masterpiece of the modernist movement.
- The Waste Land
(1922)
- The Hollow Men (1925)
- Ash Wednesday (1930)
- Four Quarters
(1945)
# Five Parts Of The Poem
The poem '
The Waste Land' written by T.S.Eliot. the word 'Waste' it means nothingness , deserted
, something is grow and infertile land and the Land here , eliot talk about the
city of London also T.S.Eliot is modern literature writer but he was also
half American and half English
(Britain). In this poem Eliot talk about the western culture . His location and
notion by the western culture. The poem 'The Waste Land' it id the epic poem of
20th century.
The Waste Land
represents our current world is a mob of faces , of fragmented images also this
all the poem if not find the clear cut picture of the poem. 'The Waste Land'
divided into Five parts of the poem like,
1) A Burial Of The Dead
2) A Game Of Chess
3) The Fire Sermon
4) Death By Water
5) What The Thunder Said
The poem is
Archetype way. A poem made of the collage of images. The title 'The Waste Land'
also suggest the image of London. Here, T.S.Eliot also use the collage of
images in this poem. The poem is written as a tribute to Ezra pound. T.S.Eliot
in this poem was published during so many distraction in his life because his
wife Vivien was suffering from disorder so the frustration of his struggles is
reflected much in this poem.
The poem 'The Waste
Land' is difficult to understand because it has effect of fragmented images.
What we called it as a 'collage'. Now let us discuss about the five parts of
the poem in brief way.
1) A Burial Of The Dead
The
poem 'A Burial Of The Dead' start from season. Season also reflect the
image. In this poem eliot talk about the season of April , Winter, spring
season reflect the something happens and sometime death also. The main idea
about of the poem is "life in death and death in life". Death is celebrated
because now you are free form all the thing.
The speaker also
talk about a true wasteland of 'stony Rubbish’, in it he said , man can
recognize only heap of broken images. The poem scene seems to offers salvation
shade and a vision of something new and
different. Vision is connected with handful dust. The speaker also talk about
the image of water and stone. Water is a metaphor and also the symbol.
Water who don't know the power of
purity. Water as a archetype image.
The image of
Madame Sosostris . She was a fashionable fortune teller. Now we can see the
painting of Madame Sosostris . at the
central part we can see the image of women and her head connected with the
cross. Cross suggested the poem is connected with Christianity . It is my view
about the city of London. The city of london is the image of Christianity
that's why T.S.Eliot talk about christianity in this poem. Also the man and
women who believe in the christianity. I.A.Richard and Cleanth Brooks agree
with the this poem is essentially a religious poem a Christian poem.
The poem ' A
Burial Of The Dead' we can see there are many images like landscape scene like
deserted place, rocks , no water , fear
in handful dust, heap of broken image also the image of unreal city. The unreal
city of London , and the crowd that move's over
London bridge . The unreal city may be any city in the spiritual Waste
Land. The crowds moving over London bridge are the spiritually dead citizens of the waste land going their
daily round of dull routine.
In a handful of dust- the musing
of Tiresias. Tiresias has a blind person. Tiresias has male and female also. It
is mythical character. But i have question about this topic. What is the
purpose of T.S.Eliot character of Tiresias ? Also the image of the red-rock .
Red-rock is symbol of christianity and christian church , and the protagonist
invites the waste landers to seek shelter from the wrath of god by accepting
the message of Christ. This is the only hope of salvation for them. Faith in the
supernal alone can bring salvation.
2) A Game of Chess
Image result for
image of t.s.eliot poem a game of chess
The poem ‘A Game of Chess’ in
this poem there are many images use in the poem. The image of Xylograph in
lady’s chamber . she waits for a lover, her neurotic thoughts becomes frantic
meaningless cries. Her day culminates with plans for an excursion and a game of
chess.
The image of spiritual
death and the wind. Wind is also the symbol of change. The image of Philomela
we can also found that the high and lower class in the poem. This section
focuses on two opposing scenes, one of high society and one of the lower
classes. The first half of the section portrayed a wealthy highly groomed woman
surrounded by exquisite furnishings also one women who spending money of his
husband and one suffering from money. This section like the lady Philomela. The
image of nightingale which is inviolable.
At last the line of the
play ‘Hamlet’ taken from the ‘Hamlet’,
“ Ta Ta good night , good night, good night ladies, good night sweet
ladies, good night, good night”
Interestingly this
section ends with a line echoing Ophelia’s suicide speech in hamlet ; this line
lil to the woman in the first section of the poem who has also been compare to
famous female suicide.
3) The Fire Sermon
Image result for image
of t.s.eliot poem the fire sermon The
poem title also suggest the image this section is taken from the from the
famous sermon. Sermon is the image of lord Buddha in which the world is shown
burning with last and passion and hatred and a thousand other evils.
" Burning burning burning
burning
O Lord thou pluckest me out
O Lord thou pluckest
burning"
It also reminds
one of the confession of St. Augustine
wherein he represents last as a burning cauldron. Thus, the east and the west
lust has been condemned as a source of all evil.
The also one more
image like 'Tiresias'. Tiresias historically connected with the story of king
Oedipus and Thebes. Tiresias the blind prophet, Tiresias surveying the Thames
scene in the autumn. The Autumn leaves have fallen down and the wind moves
without any rustle. Autumn also the symbol of death. The Thames is deserted.
In the summer, it had the haunt of nameless ladies in sea of momentry
pleasure , and rich sons of business directors equally in need of pleasure. The
another image like water. The water is a source of purification and
regeneration but degenerate modern man does not realize this and so does not
hesitate to defile the purity of the river. " sweats oil and far"
also the another image of River. The
pollution of the river symbolizes spiritual degeneration. The River Thames
but a dirty the protagonist mourns the pollution of the river water. Water and
Fishing were symbol of transformation and regeneration in the past, but now
they have lost their spiritual significance. Also one more image like Mrs.
Porter references to a prostitution. Mrs.Porter and her daughter wash their
feet in soda water, not for their spiritual purification but to make their
flesh fires to attract more males. The another image of the song of nightingale
does not suggest a story of suffering and purification but one which sanctioned
man's sexual brutality thus there is complete vulgarization of values.
The fisher king was one
of the region where grail worship had been anciently in vogue , and a temple
known as chapel perilous, still stood here, broken and dilapidated as a
mournful memorial of what one was , but later had ceased to be. The impotency
of fisherking was reflected sympathetically in the land of which he was the
head and the ruler. It had become dry and barren , the haunt and home of want
and famine. The king however, was waiting with hope, despite his illness that
one day the knight of the pure soul would visit his star-crossed kingdom march
to the Chapel perilous, answer questions and solve riddle.
4) Death by Water
Image result for image
of t.s.eliot poem death by waterDeath by water describes a man Phebas the
Phoenician who has died apparently by drowning. The Death by Water it is also
reflect the archetype image and the tragic water world. The water as a part
of human life. Because human was not
leave without water. So, it is the main important of human life. The Cleanth
Brook's poem "Life in Death, Death in Life". The theme of the poem is
the spiritual and emotional sterility of the modern world. Cleanth Brooks says
that its theme is life-in-death , the living death of the modern waste landers.
Man as lost his passion that is his faith in god and religion his passion
participation in religion and this decay of faith has resulted in the lost of
vitality , both spiritual and emotional.
However, the life
in the modern waste land is a life-in-death , a living death , like that of the
Sibly at came.
T.S.Eliot idea about
the life-in-death he says that Eliot's philosophy , in so far as we are human
being we must act and do either evil or good , and it is better to do evil than
to do nothing.
At last we can say that
their is a life-in-death a life of complete inactivity , listlessness and
apathy. That is why winter is welcome to them , and April is the cruelest of
month. Also one more suggest the birth and death for it reminds them of the
stirrings of life and ," they dislike to be roused from their
death-in-life"
5) What the Thunder said
The poem ‘what the
thunder said’ it is entire leads to the ideas of Jesus Christ. The Christian
imaginary use in this poem. Also we can say that the waste land poem connected
with the Christianity. The image of water and the Jesus was carried away
religion. The poem also reflect the surrealistic image like the toll a ringing
of church bell. The tolling bells it is the imagery of someone death . and at
the morning lock it is reflect something bright in our life.
“He who was living is now dead”
The image of dead mountain the reflected
the recurring time and again. However the idea about the death of god and god
never dies. We can find that all human being believe in god so, human can’t
believe the death of god so it is conflict between the god and human.
“…….so far as we are human what we do must be either good or evil; so
far as do evil or good , we are human; and it is better in a paradoxical way,
to do evil than to do nothing : at lest we exist……”
-Baudelaire(1921)
-A French poet
-Critic/ translator
There are many image use in
the poem like, falling towers: capital of post civilization, and the three more
important image like,
1) Datta = God
2) Dayadhvam = Human
3) Damyata = Demons
The word ‘Datta’ it
means given and Dayadhvam connected with human and the Damyata is connected
with the demon it is like the pity- sympathy- empathy.
At last we can see the
use of words like……
“ Shantih Shantih Shantih “
The word ‘Shantih’ it means
the peace that passes understanding it a silent and muteness.
Conclusion:
We conclude that the poem
‘waste land’ divided into five parts. And the poem uses the various images,
theme, symbol etc…… there are many great images use in five poems.
The all these poem not
end with hope but end with despire but with a message of hope or the inhabits
of the modern desolate land spiritual regeneration is possible and poet shows
the pathway.
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