Paper : 106 Assignment

Paper 106 : Assignment -

Major Allusions and their Significance in 'Waste Land

Name - Hina Parmar

Batch - M.A. Sem 2 (2022-2024)

Enrollment no - 40692064202221

Roll no - 10

Subject code - 22399

Paper no - 106

Paper - The twentieth century literature 1900-1945

Email address - hinaparmar612@gmail.com

Submitted to - Smt.S.B. Gardi Department of English M.K.B.U.

Date of submission - 31 march, 2023

This blog is an assignment on paper no - 106 The Twentieth Century Literature 1900-1945. This assignment is assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad sir H.O.D of English Department M.K.B.U. In this particular blog I am going to illustrate major Allusions and their significance in 'Waste Land' by T.S. Eliot.

T.S. Eliot (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965)

T. S. Eliot (Thomas Stearns Eliot) was a great poet of the twentieth century and essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. He was Considered one of the 20th century's major poets, he is a central figure in English-language and Modernist poetry.

He is also regarded as a rebel poet, who discusses city life, its barrenness, hectic activities, sex perversities, immoral attitude of the city people, and loss of faith in religious traditions, spiritual sterility, snobbery and so on. He uses both traditional as well as personal symbols in his poetry. He is an obscure symbolist and an ordinary reader can never easily understand his symbols. Most of allusions in his poetry are concerned, he uses Shakespearean and Miltonic as well as Dante's and Lord Buddha's references in his art. He also uses some particular Christian myths and at the same time he introduces us to Greek mythology.

In 1948 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry".

'The Waste Land'

It has been over 40 years since the 'Waste Land' appeared. Through the passage of time and partly through a growing familiarity with Eliot's subsequent poetry much of the original obscurity has disappeared. This poem is generally recognised to be a landmark in English  poetry. A seminal influence on much of the verse written during the last three decades. 

In this poem there is first a poetic analogy to the composer's use of motif and theme to relate the separate parts of a composition. Secondly, the use of psychological association deriving from the poet's insight into the complex structure of our feelings by which apparently opposed feelings are connected or apparently similar feelings are opposed, and thirdly, the unifying effect method. The significance of myth in Eliot's poetry is overriding.

The Wasteland was published in 1922, this poem is a remarkable poem in the history of English Literature, written in 433 lines. 

The poem consists of five section 

• "The Burial of the Dead" - This section deals with spiritual decadence and death of waste-landers. 
• "A Game of Chess" - In this section the game is played to hide the seduction of a young girl by a noble man.
• "The Fire Sermon" - This section is a reference to Buddha's famous sermon, which suggests that the whole world is on fire of hatred, lamentation, misery, grief and despair. 
• "Death by Water" - In this section water is a symbol of life but for waste-landers it’s a symbol of death.

• "What the Thunder Said '' -  In this section we find a solution to get rid of the barrenness and sterility of waste-landers or modern man.

Major Allusions and their Significance in 'Waste Land'

First of all we have to understand 

What is allusion ?

The use of already existing literary text in newly created literary text is known as allusion, sometimes we call it reference or an obscure mentioning.

Harmon maintains that an allusion is “a figure of speech that makes brief reference to a historical or literary figure, event or object”

Oxford Dictionary of English defines 

an allusion as “an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly”

Allusion is one of the widely used literary devices. Detecting allusions in this poem is like detecting myths and anecdotes in Srimad Bhagavatam by Srila Vyasadeva, because both texts are obscure. The more we go through them, the more we explore interesting and enigmatic things. It is a long poem which includes occidental as well as oriental literature and culture. It reflects the poet’s profound knowledge and interest in Vedic literature and its teachings.

Basically Eliot was influenced by Jessie Weston’s book From Ritual to Romance (1919) which supplied him with the legend of the Grail and the Fisher King. He was impressed by James Frazer’s book The Golden Bough (1890) which provided him with the knowledge of a number of vegetation and fertility myths and rituals, especially those connected with Attis, Adonis and Osiris.

Allusions and their Significance in 'Waste Land'

There are various themes of this poem, but the major themes are spiritual crisis, pessimism, sexual perversion, infertility and despondency in the Modern World. Here in this poem Eliot has revealed these thematic aspects through the use of allusions. 

Allusions in First Section "The Burial Of The Dead"

April is the cruelest month.

In literature, April is consider the month of rebirth or regeneration but for waste-Landers April is the cruelest month as they are not willing to revive.

This is an allusive line taken from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. April falls in the spring season. It is the season of fertility and creativity. It reminds the modern waste landers of life and activity which they do not like, therefore this month is the cruelest month for them. This allusion is significant, because it reveals infertility that is one of the themes of this poem.

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow/ Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man

Eliot borrows this phrase ‘son of man’ from the chapter ‘Ezekiel’ of The Bible. From Ezekiel, in which God addresses Ezekiel, whose mission will be to preach the coming of the Messiah to unbelievers, saying "Son of Man, stand up upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee." Here in this allusion Eliot visualizes the modern world as a waste land where branches do not give a shade, and the waste landers do not pay attention to the teachings of God. 

A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, / And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief.

 

These lines describe  to Ecclesiastes om of The Bible to show us that modern men have no faith in God. They believe in broken images. The broken images refer to false ideologies and idols. It is the land where the trees are dead and they can’t give shelter. These references point out spiritual crisis, desolation and pessimism.

The Lady of the Rocks. / The lady of situations.

This allusion represents an ironic reference to Leonardo da Vinci's painting Madonna and the Rocks. The woman is also called "the lady of situations". She can be either beautiful or dangerous. She is an expert in manipulating sex-intrigues. This allusion is used in this poem to hint at sexual perversion in the Modern World.

Unreal City

This phrase is described in Les sept vieillards by poet Charles Baudelaire, it also refers to the "City" that is the name for London's financial district, located to the north of London Bridge. The speaker mentions "Unreal" or fake modern city whose "brown fog" suggests that it isn't the cleanest of places. The city is unreal because it is cut off from both natural and spiritual sources of life. By this allusion the poet represents people who are running behind money and material facilities.

Allusions in Second Section "A Game Of Chess"

This section is about the rap of a young girl and problems of married life in lower class families. The title of this section is allusive which is taken from Middleton's play "Women Beware Women".

"Jug Jug" to dirty ears.

"Jug Jug" is a French term which symbolizes sexual intercourse. In Elizabethan poetry, this was a conventional representation of a nightingale's song. It depicts the story of Philomela as narrated by Ovid in his Metamorphosis. She was raped by the barbarous king Tarus, her own brother- in-law. Her tongue was cut by him. It reflects the situation of sexual perversion and cruelty existing in the present world.

Allusions in Third Section "The Fire sermon"

This section is about the sex perversities in modern man, and tells about the rape of three daughters of River Thames. The title of the poem is allusive and is taken from the Sermon of Lord Buddha.

The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear. 

This allusion signifies Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress: "But at my back I always hear, Time's winged chariot hurrying near". This line hints at the hurried condition of modern men who do not have time for spiritual advancement or for the purification of their heart.

To luncheon at the Cannon Street Hotel Followed by a weekend at the Metropole. 

The Cannon Street Hotel and Hotel Metropole were two luxurious hotels of Eliot's time, although both had reputations for being places of questionable sexual activities. In the modern era, there are several grand hotels where sexual activities take place for money. Such sexual activities are done only for sensual satisfaction, not for creation.

When a lovely woman stoops to folly . 

This is an allusion to Oliver Goldsmith's novel The Vicar of Wakefield, in which Olivia, returning to the place where she was seduced, sings, "When a lovely woman stoops to folly, and finds too late that men betray… It represents the modern world where seduction is common. It is an indication of cruelty and sexual perversion. 

This music crept by me upon the waters. 

This line alludes to Shakespeare's The Tempest. The music of the gramophone reminds Tiresias of the music which he once heard as he walked on the bank of the river Thames. 

The river sweats,Oil and tar, Weialala leia ,Wallala leialala. 

Eliot takes this song from Götterdämmerung, the last opera in Wagner's “Ring Cycle”. People have defiled the purity of the river. It has been completely polluted and commercialized. 

Burning burning burning burning.

Eliot takes this line from the Buddha's Fire Sermon which describes the burning of passion, attachment, and suffering. According to most accounts, the Fire Sermon was preached by the spiritual teacher known as Buddha. It was intended to encourage people to give up the "fire" of lust for sex and worldly possessions. 

Allusions in Fourth Section "Death by Water"

This is the smallest section of the poem, Eliot wants to tell us that we are like dead bodies although we are physically alive, yet spiritually dead.

"He passed the stages of his age and youth” 

This is allusion towards the captivation of the image of nice Osiris who gets old as he rises and falls on the waves, later he is reborn.

Allusions in Fifth Section "What The Thunder Said"

This is the last section of the poem and about how the modern man can get deliverance. The title symbolizes hope and rebirth.

Who are those hooded hordes swarming / Over endless plains, stumbling in cracked earth.

These lines allude to Herman Hesse’s essays The Brother’s Karamazov. These lines refer to rude, uneducated and filthy people who pollute the modern world. They also refer to the troops of the First World War sweeping across Europe and destroying everything. 

DA / Datta: what have we given?

The line is a reference to the Hindu fable in which gods, men, and demons each in turn ask the lord of creation, Prajapati, "Please instruct us, Sir." To each he utters the syllable "Da" and each group interprets the answer differently. The people in the modern time are sad, because the more they get, the more they desire. They don’t want to give, but just want to take. The divine voice advised them to give others. Giving means gaining contentment.

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. 

This famous nursery rhyme was prevalent in Eliot' time, and still well-known in many places today. It depicts the decay and destruction of civilization. Social norms and values are falling down in the name of progress and modernity. 

Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata. 

The terms “Datta”, “Dayadhvam” and “Damyata” are taken from the first line of “The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad” in which God presents three sets of disciples with the mystic syllable DA. “Datta” means (give) for men who are avaricious, “Dayadhvam” (compassion) for the demons who are cruel and “Damyata” (control) for the gods who are naturally unruly. Then the poem closes with the repetition of the three words the thunder said, which again mean: "Give, show compassion, and control ". These are Eliot's final words of advice to his audience. 

Shantih Shantih Shantih. 

It is a final chant of benediction. It is the traditional ending to The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Eliot regards this chant as the peace which passes understanding that is the expression of ultimate resignation. It indicates that “Shantih” is necessary in our life, but it is missing from our life.

Conclusion 

To conclude, one could say that the poem 'Waste Land' is an allusive poem that contains literary allusions, religious allusions, mythical allusions, cultural allusions and so on. These allusive references are exploited to reflect the situations, deeds, notions and manners of men and women of the Modern World which resembles the waste land. 

Citation

Khan, Abdul  Bari, and Hafiza  Sana Mansoor. “International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Modern Education (IJMRME).” CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF ALLUSIONS AND  SYMBOLS IN THE POEM "THE WASTELAND"  BY THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT, vol. 1, no. 1, 2015.

OWENS, R. J. “T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land.’” Caribbean Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 1/2, 1963, pp. 3–10. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40652841. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

Sharma, Lok Raj. “Journal for Research Scholars and Professionals of English Language Teaching.” Detecting Major Allusions and Their Significance in Eliot's Poem The Waste Land, vol. 4, no. 21, 2020, https://doi.org/10.54850/jrspelt.

Tate, Allen , Davies, Hugh Alistair and Gardner, Helen. "T.S. Eliot". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/T-S-Eliot. Accessed 27 March 2023.

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