The aim of the present essay is to provide an analysis of the first section of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot.

The text is preceded by a quotation written in two different languages: Latin and Greek. It refers to the religious code and mentions mythological figures and priestesses. Moreover, the quotation is a clue to identify the ideal reader because he or she is supposed to know Latin, Greek and also English in order to understand the entire poem. The quotation is followed by a dedication to Ezra Pound defined as “il miglior fabbro”. It is interesting to highlight that the same expression was also used by Dante Alighieri in his poem La Divina Commedia, referring to Guido Guinizzelli and with the aim to recognise his greatness.

The first section is titled The Burial of the dead. It suggests a melancholic and sad atmosphere because the main topic is the death. Moreover, the number one near the title anticipates that there will be additional sections.

The first line starts saying that April is the cruellest month; this sentence is unexpected because this month is usually associated with the regeneration of nature and start of spring. It is possible to identify a reference to Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales who wrote about April as the sweetest month, which is usually how most people perceive this month of the year. Therefore, the intelligent reader can identify an overturning message returning back to roots.

In the sentence where April is defined as the cruellest month, it is important to underline the use of the superlative adjective that reinforces the message, because while nature is reborning, also people are waiting for a rebirth, but it does not always happen. There is also an interesting reference to Lilacs which shows a pessimistic way to refer to the blooming of flowers, this is because Lilacs are the typical flowers of death because they grow up from dead land.

At line three, memory and desire refer respectively to past and future. At line four, the expression spring rain referring to water as a natural phenomenon that allows generation may represent a metaphor to suggest something that is going to purify.

Going on, snow is characterized by the adjective forgetful. It follows that snow as well as cover things, it also makes them become forgotten. With these lines, the intelligent reader may think that Eliot wants to communicate that human beings are living in a condition where there is no hope. 

Line eight starts with the juxtaposition of a new scene. The new scene displays the verb surprised us that seems to bring a positive connotation. Reading the scene, the reader can understand that it is set in Summer and it is the record of two young people. Summer surprised them with a shower of rain, a possible metaphor for saying deluge. Later, when the sun came out again they went to the park of Hofgarten where they had some coffee and they talked.Then comes a German line. 

After the German line, a deeper memory of childhood can be noticed. In particular, the speaking voice remembered when her cousin took her on a sled and said her hold on tight. The scene concluded with a significant expression In the mountains, there you feel free. It may mean that the speaking voice has not experienced freedom before being in the mountains.

To conclude, it can be said that sections analysed works on the opposition of life and death taking into consideration the possibility of a regeneration.