Eng426 20th century english literature

Experimentation: Eliot makes use of complex technique, language, and unusual poetry length. The poem relies heavily on many religious, historical, and philosophical inspirations which includes the Bible, the legend of the holy grail and Greek legends, regeneration of myths and so be found in the poem comes from the many sources that Eliot borrowed from in his poem.


Fragmentation: The poem is fragmentary and shifts between different issues, speakers and occurrences. For example, the first part of Section II dwells on the seduction of the aristocrat woman, in a scene of opulence while the second part moves to a poor neighbourhood where two women discuss another woman. The fragmentary nature of the poem makes it difficult to follow and understand. In order to have a good grasp of the flow of the poem, one needs some basic knowledge of the allusions that are made.
Repetition: Words, phrases and clauses are repeated throughout the poem, creating a feeling of boredom and adding to the pessimistic outlook of the poem. It seems no progress is made, things are almost static, and nothing new happens. From the first set of lines in the second part of Section II to the end, the statement “HURRY UP PLS IT’S TIME” is repeated. The attendant at the bar urges the women to round off their conversation but he is ignored till the end where they round off and bid each other goodnight, almost endlessly:
Goodnight Bill. Goodnight Lou. Goodnight May. Goodnight. Ta ta. Goodnight. Goodnight.
Good night, ladies, good night, good night.
Though these lines are allusions to Ophelia’s parting words in Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
they also attest to the significance of repetitions in Eliot’s modernist oeuvre in the poem.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

“There is little or no difference in how Eliot portrays death and life in The Waste Land.” Discuss.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING\

Brooks, C. (1948). “The Waste Land: An Analysis.” T.S Eliot. Ed B. Rejan. New York: Funk and Wagnall’s.

Eliot, T.S. (1922).“The Waste Land” in The Norton Anthology of Poetry. Ed. Alexander

W. Allison et al. 4^thedn. New York and London: Norton Anthology, 1996, Pp. 1344 – 56.
Menand Loius (1996) T.S.Eliot and Modernity “The New England Quarterly”. Vol.69.No 4 pp554-579