The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
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The Waste Land can be difficult to comprehend; this poem is made up of a series of perplexing, seemingly absurd statements, along with several cultural, literary, and biblical allusions. While many have tried to interpret Eliot's poem, I find that Eliot's notes are the most valuable resource in understanding The Waste Land. Though we may never have a definitive answer to The Waste Land's meaning, Eliot's citations provide helpful insight. Many of these references can be found on this website, which has been very helpful to me: http://eliotswasteland.tripod.com/ The Waste Land can be read in two ways: it can be read by ignoring Eliot's allusions, acknowledging merely the literal text, or it can be read by keeping Eliot's allusions in mind. I, personally, believe that the allusions are crucial to understanding the poem.
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As for the video, I have tried to keep my interpretation fairly true to the literal text. I have tried to avoid inserting my own personal hypotheses of the poem's meaning into this video. I have not suggested any insight to the greater "meaning" of the poem, assuming a definite meaning exists, but I have suggested certain themes; I have tried to emphasize the idea of fertility, new life, resurrection, etc. (In my "Background" notes below, I have noted the sources that Eliot has cited as influences of his work; The Burial of the Dead has many fertility/resurrection-based allusions.)
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BACKGROUND
~Eliot cited the book From Ritual to Romance by Jessie Weston as a major influence of The Waste Land. This book is about the Holy Grail legend, and draws connections between pagan and Christian elements. Another book commended by Eliot is The Golden Bough, which highlights ancient fertility rituals and the idea of sacrifice. (These themes of with recur in The Waste Land, thus I feel they are significant to note)
~The epigraph (which I have not included in the video) begins with the following: "I have seen with my own eyes the Sibyl hanging in a jar, and when the boys asked her 'What do you want?' She answered,
'I want to die." —Petronius, Satyricon. The Sibyl is immortal, yet she wishes to die. I consider this important to keep in mind-- What is Eliot suggesting by including this?
~"The Burial of the Dead" is the title of the first of the poem's five sections; the title itself should never be overlooked.
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ALLUSIONS-- Here I have highlighted those allusions that have helped me best understand the poem. (There are several other allusions that can be found on the website mentioned in the introduction.)
~"With a wicked pack of cards." - This is referring to tarot.
~"I do not find The Hanged Man." -- In tarot, the Hanged Man "symbolizes the self-sacrifice of the fertility god who is killed in order that his resurrection may bring fertility once again to land and people." (http://eliotswasteland.tripod.com) -- What does the absence of the Hanged Man imply?
~"I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled" -- These lines come from Dante's Inferno, Canto iii. Canto iii describes the Vestibule, a place in Hell where Dante places those who fail to choose either Heaven or Hell. In the Vestibule, souls are not tortured as they are in Hell, yet they are not with God in Heaven, which Christians believe is the ultimate means of fulfillment for the soul.
~"Or has a sudden frost disturbed its bed?" -- "Both Flower or planting bed, but also with a suggestion of bed in its usual sense. The word fuses ideas of sexuality, death(bed) and vegetation - an example of Eliot's use of the Rituals Eliot found in Weston and Frazer." (http://eliotswasteland.tripod.com)
~"O keep the Dog far hence, that's friend to men,
'Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!" -- This is modeled after an excerpt from White Devil by John Webster. Webster describes "friendless bodies of unburied men" being covered by leaves and flowers. So, keeping this image of a sort of graveyard in mind: If a dog digs up the bodies of the dead, are these bodies being, in a way, resurrected? -- It is for this reason that I have included the image of the tarot Hanged Man card at 3:39. Remember, in tarot, the Hanged Man represents a fertility god's resurrection; his resurrection returns fertility (life) to a land void of such.
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Video Sources:
http://www.archive.org/details/BerlinSymphonyofaGreatCity
http://www.archive.org/details/PlayInTheSno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ls8SPpRXgU
http://www.archive.org/details/AmericaG1918_2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVAp8l5aE-c
http://www.archive.org/details/trip_by_boat_through_grand_canyon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE7PwvMSmdo
http://www.archive.org/details/EuropeanTrip
Cleo A 5 De 7
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The imagery in the background really adds to the overall effect of the already powerful poem. Thanks for this video!
ballerbird73 1 year ago 8
What a marvelous work have been done,
Bahacino 2 years ago 4