Analysis on the first 18 lines of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land

In the present text I am going to analyse the first 18 lines of The Waste Land. First of all the title “the waste land” creates an expectation of absence, abandon and desolation in the reader and the first part title “the burial of the dead” creates an idea that what is going to tell about this section is about death, funeral and someone dying.

The first 4 lines tell that April is the cruellest month because it mixes macabre and beautiful things together creating a sort of melancholic effect. From line 5 to line 7 the theme is winter, that keeps the earth warm covering it like a coat with snow. From line 8 to line 11 the poet tells about summer, arrived with rain but a comfortable one, because after a little they could enjoy the warmth of the sun and the possibility of staying outdoors drinking and talking. Finally from line 13 to line 18 the poet writes about being frightened to go on a sled but remembering that mountain in summer makes him feel free and telling that instead in winter he goes south to search for peace.