Today's Featured Book:
The Waste Land
by T. S. Eliot
Genre: Poetry
Published: 1922
Page Count: 36 pages
Summary:
The Waste Land is a long poem by T. S. Eliot. It is widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central text in Modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United Kingdom in the October issue of The Criterion and in the United States in the November issue of The Dial. It was published in book form in December 1922. Among its famous phrases are “April is the cruellest month," “I will show you fear in a handful of dust," and the mantra in the Sanskrit language, “Shantih shantih shantih."
Eliot’s poem loosely follows the legend of the Holy Grail and the Fisher King combined with vignettes of contemporary British society. Eliot employs many literary and cultural allusions from the Western canon, Buddhism and the Hindu Upanishads. Because of this, critics and scholars regard the poem as obscure. The poem shifts between voices of satire and prophecy featuring abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location, and time and conjuring of a vast and dissonant range of cultures and literatures.
The poem’s structure is divided into five sections. The first section, The Burial of the Dead, introduces the diverse themes of disillusionment and despair. The second, A Game of Chess, employs vignettes of several characters—alternating narrations—that address those themes experientially. The Fire Sermon, the third section, offers a philosophical meditation in relation to the imagery of death and views of self-denial in juxtaposition influenced by Augustine of Hippo and eastern religions. After a fourth section that includes a brief lyrical petition, the culminating fifth section, What the Thunder Said, concludes with an image of judgment.
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
T.S. Eliot. The Waste Land, p. 1. Kindle Edition.
THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky.
O Lord Thou pluckest me out
O Lord Thou pluckest
burning
T.S. Eliot. The Waste Land, 56%. Kindle Edition.
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In The Waste Land, a poem some have called his masterpiece and the world's toughest poem, T. S. Eliot explores both the broken world we live in and the wisdom of the world, and he tries to find a way to use the wisdom of the world to give us consolation and reconciliation as we move through our lives. Eliot uses references from Western writers like Shakespeare and Baudelaire as well as ancient stories like that of Philomel and the search for the Holy Grail. In addition, he brings in references to Buddhist texts and Hindu mysticism.
I attended a two seminar on The Waste Land and listened, rapt, to an old English professor riff on this poem for hours. What a delight it was.
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July 25th - 31st - If you set a goal on Goodreads, do you place it realistically, lower than what you think you will read, or higher than you think you will reach? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Review)
I set a goal of 100 books. I always go way over my goal, but that does not make me happy---I wish I read fewer books more slowly. Sigh.
Nice! I used to be able to read 100 books in a year, then I guess I started reading slower or something. Lol. There have been job changes though that have effected my reading time so there's that to consider as well. 100 used to be my goal in those days, now I aim for 50 and I usually go over it a little but still never 100 again.
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Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Huh! Thanks for introducing me to it!
ReplyDeleteI read The Waste Land in college but wow... that was a few decades ago, haha.
ReplyDeleteI know the high regard that this poet and his chef-d’oeuvre are always given. But I still feel that there’s something a bit show-offy in the ponderousness and in the numerous (maybe excessive) references to obscure sources. But that’s just me. Your summaries are interesting. Like Tina, I haven’t read or thought about it in ages.
ReplyDeletebest… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I well remember my introduction to this poem in a college English class. I had a very talented and knowledgeable professor who made it live for me. I am forever grateful for his teaching of this and much other literature.
ReplyDeleteI thought I' read Waste Land a few years ago while sitting in my library. But now I think I read his other Four Quartets. Not sure I am willing to tackle this one without the help of some scholarly professor.
ReplyDeleteI usually set my goal at 100 books too and most years I meet that goal.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of the opposite when it comes to reading pace. Normally if I'm behind in my reading or not reading as much it's because either I haven't had any time to read or haven't gotten really pulled into a book so I'm kind of plodding through. Reading more books normally for better reading for me - but then I'm primarily an escapist reader so that probably contributes to that. I haven't read this though I did find a copy of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats in my grandmother's bookshelves one summer and read it until it basically fell apart! I should revisit Elliot.
ReplyDeleteI do love to read and I only read non fiction, but I have to be honest in saying that I don't set goals on how many books I will read. I try to put all my attention in whatever book I am reading, and then when I am finished that book, I start another one.
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