Circle all the images associates with sterility.

·        Agony in stony places

·        Dead / dying

·        No water but only rock

·        Mountains

·        Rock without water

·        Sweat is dry

·        Dead mountain

·        Dry sterile thunder without rain

·        Mudcracked houses

·        Dry grass

·        Decayed hole

·        Ganga was sunken

 What is the Thunder's advice?

The thunder advices to give alms and charity, to have compassion end to practice self-control.

What do you think "these fragments" are?

Eliot in the last sequence of the poem wants to present the decay of Eastern Europe, in particular pointing out the fragmented and chaotic idea of life. With "these Fragments" the poet wants to  provide the reader with some supporting images that can guide human being.

The journey has come to an end. What final message is convey in the concluding lines? Why do you think the last words are in Sanskrit?

All this section is written in reference to the Hindu religion. In the text Eliot uses some word taken by the Hindu holy book and In my opinion the last words are in Sanskrit in order to close the circle. Besides the word Shantih is also the formal ending of the Upanishad, in this case the word is the end of the poem.

What is your reaction to Eliot's experimental poetry and the mass of notes you need (or do not need ) in order to understand it?

The Waste Land is a poem that's very difficult to understand. Eliot used a lot of intertextual references, that only a few people can catch easily. For this reason T.S. Eliot wrote a lot of notes. In my opinion the notes were necessary for a common reader, to allow him to better understand the poem's meaning. All considering I think it's the most difficult poem  I've ever read, but it's also the most interesting one.

What causes obscurity in Eliot's poetry?

I think that the obscurity in Eliot's Poetry is given by the juxtaposition of scenes, without any logical connection. Secondly there're a lot of cultural references, quotations and  intertextuality.