Tag Archives: The Wasteland
The Burial of the Dead
“April is the cruellest month, breeding/ Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/ Memory and desire, stirring/ Dull roots with spring rain./ Winter kept us warm, covering/ Earth in forgetful snow, feeding/ A little life with dried tubers./ Summer surprised … Continue reading
Worse than Rape
Today when we were discussing the Tiresias passage of the poem, with the banal sexual encounter between the typist and the clerk, I refered to what happened between them as “worse than rape.” I was challenged on this point, and … Continue reading
Double Imagery
Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together But when i look ahead up the white road There is always another one walking beside you Gliding wrapt in a … Continue reading
Form in a Wasteland
The form of T.S. Elliot’s “The Wasteland” varies almost from chapter to chapter. As we discussed on Monday, form is an important part of the book. The first two chapters saw less unified form whereas the last three chapters showed … Continue reading
Against Simple Interpretations
The Waste Land: okay, so this is about death or the decline of civilization or something. Is that Greek? Whatever. Skip it. “1. The Burial of the Dead”: I was right about that death thing. Go me! “cruelest month”,”out of … Continue reading
On Difficulty: Mary Karr on Reading T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland
The Wasteland is one of the most famous and most difficult poems written in English during the 20th c.; and I think what Mary Karr has to say regarding this difficulty and how one might approach reading it in her … Continue reading →