The Waste Land

What the Thunder Said

Comprehension

·      The journey of Christ’s disciples to Emmaus: “Who is…beside you”

The approach to the Chapel Perilous in the Holy Grail legend: “There is…home”

The present decay of Eastern Europe: “What is… in the air”

·      “Sandy road […] Mountains of rock without water […] Dead mountain…cannot spit […] Dry sterile…without rain […] Dry grass sing […] Cracked Earth […] Dry bones […] Ganga...leaves […] Fishing.

Interpretation

·      The Thunder suggests to give alms (“Datta”), to have compassion (“Dayadhvam”), to practice self-control (“Damyata”);

·      “These fragments” are quotation from other texts aimed at making Eliot’s work traditional (and therefore immortal) as he explained in his essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. In addition quotations create a sense of hope, for instance there is a quotation from Dante’s Purgatorio where sinners are punished to purify themselves and to reach Heaven, or swallows symbolize renew;

·      The final message is a message of hope; renew is possible, but it is possible going beyond rational understanding as suggested by the last words “Shantih shantih". They are in Sanskrit because Eliot’s poem has to embody all previous cultures: as Chaucer marks the beginning of English literature, Sanskrit represents the beginning of culture;

·      I believe Eliot’s experimental poetry is fascinating because it connects different and far cultures;

·      Obscurity is caused by interextual references that imply a deep knowledge of past works of art to fully understand the meaning.  In addition juxtaposition of scenes creates a sense of chaos in the mind of the reader who must find links between scenes;

·      She underline the juxtaposition of scenes and the large use quotations and references to other texts (especially from past);

·      Eliot, Woolf and Joyce are similar because they try to renew literature that does not return life; to reach this aim they experiment new styles (dramatic monologue, stream of consciousness technique, dramatic monologue) that will influence other writers. In addition they make a great effort to find new points of reference in their life after every value crumbled.