The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot is an extremely dense poem which describes life in a very critical way. In this first section I get a feeling of hopelessness. The amount of unexpected things that society does that end up causing a negative effect and can bring environmental reactions you can’t control. In this first section there is a clear example of something unexpected:
"And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man . Fear death by water."
"Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:
One must be so careful these days." (Section 1 lines51-60)
The idea of the Horoscope is very unpredictable and shows the lack of control humans have over life or death, or over the forces of nature and the order of things. The idea that you get a blank card as in nothingness, the lack of something or just something you have, but either don’t know you do or is out of your control. You can’t control nature but you can leave it unaltered, in order for it to have its own natural order.
The first stanza is very interesting because it talks about death in a time of supposed rebirth:
"April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain." (Section 1 lines 1 to 4)
April marks the beginning of spring and the end of the lifeless winter. As in Inferno by Dante, winter and cold are the cruelest of punishments. There is also a contrast between life and death in which Lilacs are born from a dead land. This idea reminds me to the Phoenix a mythological creature that dies and is born again from its ashes. This happens after winter to all living creatures.
Something I found odd about this poem was that the author changes language in the middle of the text
"Frisch weht der Wind
Der Heimat zu.
Wo weilest du?" (Section 1 lines 31-34)
What kind of reaction does the author expect from this type of writing, what is the feeling he wants to create?
What kind of reaction does the author expect from this type of writing, what is the feeling he wants to create?
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