Paper : 107 Assignment

 Paper : 107 Assignment :

Existential Elements in ‘Waiting for Godot

Name - Hina Parmar

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

Enrollment no - 40692064202221

Roll no - 10

Subject code - 22400

Paper no - 107

Paper - The twentieth century literature from World War 2 to the end of the century

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 written as  an assignment on paper no - 107 The Twentieth Century Literature from world war 2 to the end of the century. 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 discuss about the Existential Elements in ‘Waiting for Godot'.

About the Author

Samuel Beckett whose full name is Samuel Barclay Beckett born on April 13, 1906, Foxrock, County Dublin, Ireland and died on December 22, 1989, Paris, France. He was a famous author, critic, and playwright, and also winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. He wrote in both French and English and is perhaps best known for his plays, especially an attendant Godot.

Samuel Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin. Like his fellow Irish writers George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats, he came from a Protestant, Anglo-Irish background. When he turned at 14 he went to the Portora Royal School, in what became Northern Ireland, a school that catered to the Anglo-Irish middle classes. From 1923 to 1927, he studied Romance languages at Trinity College, Dublin, where he received his bachelor’s degree. In  1945, he  was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his resistance work.

Introduction of the play

'Waiting for Godot' is a complex play, and it has evoked a variety of critical responses. Here are some critics responses about this play.

 Charles s. McCoy has noted that much of the comment in this country has seen in the play a message of meaninglessness, despair, and ugliness, 

McCoy himself, however, does not agree that the outlook of the play is one of nihilistic existentialism. It may rather be that the play's point of view is essentially biblical.

Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' is a play about two tramps who are Vladimir and Estragon. They stand beside the road near a tree, which is dead in act one, and they wait there for Godot. They didn't know anything about Godot and they are not absolutely sure that  they are at the right place ? or that this is the right day ? nor are they sure whether Godot is coming ? or what they asked him for or whether they have his name right? But one thing they continuously do is wait. 

This play is  a controversial  play whose reception in its  early days fluctuated between ambition and rejection due to its unusual form. This is a play that is plotless and characters of this play are dull and simple, that nobody would think to identify with. Later on this  play  became popular as it was  performed in different cities  and raised heated  debate among  critics after interpretations started to relate it to Christianity. 

The idea of the waiting became clearer when the play was performed in San  Quentin’s  prison  in  1957,  as  the  prisoners  made  direct  reactions  to  the  play  because  they identified with it, unlike the viewers who only watched it in theaters. The prisoners  “understood what waiting was at a deeper level than any of us could comprehend”

There is just one set, if we may use the name 'set' for that rock and that emaciated looking tree which are the only points of reference in the empty extent of sands. In this play there are only five characters, of which three are purely episodic. 

When the curtain raises there are two men present, Vladimir and Estragon. Once again they meet each other in this desolate place where, time is immemorial, they seemed to have taken residence. They are two poor tramps, rigged out in battered and dirty, ragged overciats, collected from some refuse can.

They are continuously repited things, they turn round and round like animals in a cage. They carry on a disconnected and meaningless discussiin. They take off their shooes for a while, they gnaw on a raw carrot to deceive their hunger. There were also two another characters who are Pozzo and Lucky. Pozzo is a kind of character who is cruel and he carry his cape, hangs from his sholders. He holds the unfortunate Lucky, who is as barridan, and is dreesed in the faded red livery of a servant.

What is Existentialism?

Basically Existentialism is a philosophical discourse that points out the theme of human existence and prioritizes personal experience.  This also refers to the existence of sorrow and suffering. This philosophy is about freedom, believes in individualism and human rights with no external barriers. 

In the 20th century, prominent existential thinkers were -

• Jean- Paul Sartre
• Albert Camus
• Martin Heidegger
• Karl Jaspers
• Gabriel Marcel

A primary virtue in existentialist thought is authenticity. There were many things which were outside of this philosophy such as drama, art, literature and psychology were greatly influenced by existentialism.

Jean Paul Sartre, who is a famous philosopher, maintained that a central proposition of existentialism is that existence precedes essence. On the other hand Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard opposed western materialism, industrial revolution, scientific research and machine culture.

Frederich Nietzsche, the German philosopher said that the social and moral values are of little human existence, he also said that "God is dead" and man is in a Godless universe, alone and helpless.

Many Existentialists said that man is because man exists. They all believe that Man is more important than all rules, regulations, laws or values. Man’s existence in reality is miserable, lonely and alienated, the desire for happiness is a myth and there is no escape of man from suffering. Nothing can relieve and alleviate man’s suffering. Man should be free to do what he wills and desires. Death is an inevitable and essential part of life. So, themes related to alienation and suffering abound in existential literature.

Existential Elements in ‘Waiting for Godot

Basically Existential literature deals with man’s melancholy, the meaning of existence and the problem of death.

In the play, ‘Waiting for Godot’, there were two central characters, Estragon and Vladimir. They choose to wait for a Mr. Godot whose identity is unclear to them. Estragon talks about his incapability and ignorance to recognize Mr. Godot. Estragon does not absolutely know who Godot is but he waits because Vladimir said to wait. He says- 

“personally I wouldn’t know him if I ever saw him”.

Estragon and Vladimir have chosen waiting. Vladimir was not sure Godot would come but they were both waiting for him. Vladimir says - 

“He didn’t say for sure he’d come.”

Estragon was not much interested in waiting, he wanted to leave but Vladimir held him to wait. In a way waiting is meaningless but it became their ultimate goal.

Estragon : “let’s go !”

Vladimir : “ We Can’t”

Estragon : “Why not?”

Vladimir : “We’re waiting for Godot.”

The play ‘Waiting for Godot’ deals not only with existence and also with momentary and internal time. In this play the tramps have a major problem and that problem was time passing. They are repeatedly thinking and complaining of boredom due to the slowness of time passing. They were trying to pass time , but all their efforts remained  in vain. This condition makes them helpless and hopeless. They are very much frustrated because of their condition. Here in this line Estrogen express his awful condition. 

Estragon says: “Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful.”

In continuous waiting, the tramps have almost attained a God-like timelessness. They began doubting their existence and identity after they doubted even time.

In a way in this play ‘Godot’ is nothing but a symbol of life which goes on pointlessly and aimlessly without having any meaning. This play is about the meaninglessness of life. Those two characters symbolize endless suffering and frustration. Frustration of that two characters appeared when Estragon suddenly offers the suggestion-

“Let’s hang ourselves immediately!”

They are continuously making meaningless conversation and meaningless actions. Nothing happens when Estragon takes off his boots and gropes inside in the expectation of something to fall out. Vladimir imitates this action with his hat and gets frustrated with no result. In this play The Pozzo and Lucky represent a tragic quality and helplessness and hopelessness.

Conclusion

To conclude the play ‘Waiting for Godot’ presents the deal of waiting, ignorance and boredom and also It deals with the problem of man’s essential misery, suffering, frustration, loneliness, alienation and failure. In this play Godot symbolizes rest, peace, happiness, death, heaven and even God. The endless waiting symbolizes the futility and meaninglessness of human existence. All that things and discussion proves the presence of existentialism in Samuel Backett’s play ‘Waiting for Godot’.

Work Cited

Esslin, Martin J.. "Samuel Beckett". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Dec. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Beckett. Accessed 27 March 2023.

Gordon, Lois. The World of Samuel Beckett, 1906-1946. Yale University Press, 1996. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt32brdh. Accessed 12 Mar. 2023.

JOSBIN, RAOUL, and Joseph E. Cunneen. “‘WAITING FOR GODOT.’” CrossCurrents, vol. 6, no. 3, 1956, pp. 204–07. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24456672. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.

Meena, Mukesh Kumar. “International Journal of Education, Modern Management, Applied Science & Social Science (IJEMMASSS).” EXISTENTIALISM IN SAMUEL BECKETT’S WAITING FOR GODOT: AN ANALYSIS, vol. 04, July 2022, pp. 88–91.

Via, Dan O. “‘Waiting for Godot’ and Man’s Search for Community.” Journal of Bible and Religion, vol. 30, no. 1, 1962, pp. 32–37. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1460533. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.

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Paper : 108 Assignment

 

Paper : 108 Assignment

'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' by - Robert Frost

Name - Hina Parmar

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

Enrollment no - 40692064202221

Roll no - 10

Subject code - 22401

Paper no - 108

Paper - The American Literature

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 written as  an assignment on paper no - 108 The American Literature. 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 discuss Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".

Robert Frost

Robert Frost whose full name is Robert Lee Frost was born on  March 26, 1874, San Francisco, California, U.S. and died on January 29, 1963, Boston, Massachusetts. He was one of the most famous American poets who was much admired for his depictions of the rural life of New England, and  his command of American colloquial speech, and his realistic verse portraying ordinary people in everyday situations.

Frost did his college education at Harvard University. His reputation was enhanced by New Hampshire (1923), which received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. 

Robert Frost  is also regarded as an American nature poet. He spent his whole life amidst the fields and nature. He is popularly known for dramatic monologues and for expressing the philosophies of life through poetry. His style is unique with rare content. 

 The poet and critic Randall Jarrell praised Frost's poetry and he wrote that-

 "Robert Frost, along with Stevens and Eliot, seems to me the greatest of the American poets of this century. Frost's virtues are extraordinary. No other living poet has written so well about the 

actions of ordinary men; his wonderful dramatic monologues or dramatic scenes come out of a knowledge of people that few poets have had, and they are written in a verse that uses, sometimes with absolute mastery, the rhythms of actual speech."

He also praised - 

"Frost's seriousness and honesty,"

To added more In Contemporary Literary Criticism, the editors state that- 

"Frost's best work explores fundamental questions of existence, depicting with chilling starkness the loneliness of the individual in an indifferent universe."

'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' 

The poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ is all about how beautiful nature is, and it is filled with snow in the beautiful hours of dusk. But the poet has to travel to his place before it's dark as he has many promises to keep. There is the metaphysical element in the poem that explains how beautiful life is but one also has responsibilities to perform before they die.

 Poetry Analysis

The Elements of Diction in "Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening"

Here Frost emphasizes the lyrics and inner feelings, so he takes into account the use of diction. For example, to develop wood which is the main word in poetry, Frost strengthens with the words snowy evening, darkest evening, frozen lake, without  a farmhouse, and queer. In other words, the forest seems to be very quiet and isolated. The air temperature was really cold when it was approaching that evening. 

In the last verse of the poem "Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening", Frost said that two dictionaries have many interpretations. These words are miles and promises. The word miles in this poem can be interpreted as the journey of life for many years the I Character must pass before Death comes. Meanwhile the word promises can be interpreted as a duty and obligation.

The Elements of Imagery in "Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening"

By the title "Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening", the reader has got a clear imagery of the forest where the Character stops, which is dark and at the same time very cold. This impression is further strengthened by the words the frozen lake and the darkest evening. The state of the forest is also still explained again with lovely words, dark and deep.

The Elements of Language Style in "Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening"

The Language Style Elements that most appear in the poem "Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening" is a symbol. Although words that are used are simple but contain deep meanings. Words that have symbols in this poem are woods, snow, harness bells, promises, miles and sleep.

Basically the word promises is the key to understanding this poem "Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening" after the I Character was awarded from the world of his dreams. As a human being, the I Character realized his existence as a creature of God who lives in the midst of society. The word promises can be interpreted as a symbol of human duties and obligations during life in the world. 

Themes in the poem 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' 

Journey in The Poem

In  this poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ the poet narrates his journey, how he halts for a moment mesmerized by the beauty of woods in that snowy evening. He knows the owner of the woods but nothing stops him to stand and stare at the beauty which was momentary. He watches the woods fill up with snow. Though he stops there for some time, the poet knows very well that this cannot be eternal. He has to go miles before he sleeps because he has promises to keep. His companion in the journey is a horse. The line - 

 ‘And miles to go before I sleep’

This line is continuously repeated in this poem and shows how long the journey is. Here the journey is from life to death.

Nature in The Poem

In this poem there were words like woods, snowy, evening, farmhouse, frozen lake, snowflakes etc. Those words showcase the poet’s admiration for nature. The poet enjoys the view of woods filling with snow in the darkest evening. The lakes are frozen because of the snowfall. The only sounds of nature he can hear are the sweep of wind and the falling of snowflakes. He enjoys them amidst the silence of the darkest evening. The line ‘The Woods are lovely, dark and deep’ represents layers of meaning. At one instance, he is obssesed with the beauty of nature. Secondly, the poet realizes that this is momentary and he has to move on as he has responsibilities to perform. Thirdly, the sentence metaphysically denotes the journey and beauty of life or life itself.

Life and Death

In ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ the poet reveals the process of life and how life is full of duties amidst the temporary moments. The poet clearly showcases the realities of life and the beauty, which is short living. In  the last stanza, the poet describe about the philosophy of life in four lines. The lines are as follows.

 “The Woods are lovely, dark and deep

 But I have promises to keep

 And miles to go before I sleep

 And miles to go before I sleep”.

These lines are evergreen and eternal in the world of English literature as they are open ended with layers of hidden meanings. These four lines talked about the complete meaning of life and death. The first two lines are all about the life and nuisance attached to it whereas the next two lines depict the death.

Rhyming Scheme in The Poem

In this poem the poet uses  alliteration and cacophonic sounds.  The poem shows a unique rhyming scheme aabbccdd with 16 lines each word having 2 syllables.

Tone modulation in the poem 

Tone modulation is also there in the poem as the writer starts the poem with a question as -Whose woods these are I think I know With rise and fall of tone it looks that the poet is in a state of confusion so the poem follows some kind of stress pattern and loudness. In this way tone modulation has been used to capture the attention of the reader to focus on the imagery.

Connotation in the Poem

Woods	Symbol of Nature
Village	Society and Civilization
Snow	Death
Little Horse	Poor soul
Frozen Lack	Death
Darkest	Worse point
Evening	Ending of life
Sheep	Deat

Metaphor

 Frost depicts his point of view with the  use of figurative language as he says "between the woods and frozen lake". Here, the poet explains the idea of birth to death to highlight the importance of his presence in those woods.

Personification 

In the 1st line of 2nd stanza the poet says -

" My little horse must think it queer"

 

As thinking is a human quality and frost personified it to horses. This is to depict the idea of strangeness and weirdness.

Symbolism

 

Frost has used many symbols to explore the intended theme of the poem as follows. 

• Snow and frozen lake 

• death and dismay Dark

•  complexity and despair Sleep: death

Conclusion

To conclude, in the poem “Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening”, Frost tries to remind  humans not to be easy in the world of imaginary dreams due to unsatisfactory real-world conditions. He tried to say that Human life in this world is full of challenges in carrying out the mission of life from the Creator. Humans are required to be able to overcome various obstacles and obstacles that exist.

Work Cited

Gerber, Philip L.. "Robert Frost". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Frost. Accessed 28 March 2023.

Hashmi, Muhammad Ahmad, et al. “Stylistic Analysis of Robert Frost’s Poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.’” International Journal of English Linguistics, vol. 9, no. 3, 2019, p. 373., doi:10.5539/ijel.v9n3p373.

Jumino, Jumino. “Human Existence as Individual Creature Based on Robert Frost’s Poems, ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ and ‘The Road Not Taken’, through Stylistic View.” Culturalistics: Journal of Cultural, Literary, and Linguistic Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 28 Feb. 2019, pp. 22–28., doi:10.14710/culturalistics.v3i1.4076.

Kallimani, Dr. Madhushri. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' by Robert Frost and 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death' by Emily Dickinson: A Comparative Study.” SMART MOVES JOURNAL IJELLH, vol. 8, no. 4, 28 Apr. 2020, p. 127., doi:10.24113/ijellh.v8i4.10529.

Words - 1,713

Pictures - 2

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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