The stanza I am going to analyze belongs to the first section of The Waste Land by T.S.Eliot: The burial of the Dead.
The stanza can be divided into two big parts: Madame Sosostris ‘introduction and symbolism of Madame Sostris'cards.
In the first part, Madame Sosostris is ironically introduced. As the matter of fact she is presented as a "famous clairvoyant" and "the wisest woman in Europe" who "has a bad cold". Moreover the connotation of the pack of cards as a "wicked" one suggests the idea that Madame Sosostris is a cheater. Right from the start the reader as a vague idea of the unusual character she is.
As the reader goes on he will find Madame Sosostris displaying her cards: a drowned sailor; the Lady of the Rocks; the man with three staves; the wheel; the one-eyed merchant; the hanged man she cannot find. The intelligent reader will observe that the choice of these cards is not random: each card has its own meaning and symbolism.
It is important to underline that symbols on Tarot cards date back to ancient Egypt and fertility rites, in order to better comprehend the poem.
The first card, the "drowned sailor" introduces the theme of death by water and anticipates line 55: "fear death by water". It follows that water has not only the function to regenerate, has it happens in the first stanza (“spring rain”) but it can led people to death. Such a confirm is given by the contraposition with the quotation by William Shakespeare: ("Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!"). Indeed it reminds to the theme of symbolic and miraculous regeneration: eyes become pearls and bones become coral.
The second card is the Lady of the Rocks which refers to "Madonna of the Rocks" by Leonardo Da Vinci. She is also identified as "Belladonna" and "the Lady of situations". Belladonna is a poisonous plant, also known as Deadly Nightshade (deadly if eaten but it was used as a cosmetic in the past). As a result the intelligent reader may think that the plant symbolizes the double face of women's nature in The Waste Land: beauty and dangerousness.
The first and the second stanza are later in the poem connected by the theme of drowning. As the matter of fact the hyacinth girl and the woman at the beginning of ‘’A game of chess’’ are both connected to Belladonna: ‘’And drowned the senses in odours ’’ (line 89) suggests a connection between the woman and water which also refers to death ("drowned").
The theme of drowning brings the reader's mind to The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock: "Till human voices wake us, and we drown’’. It seems as if people in the desolated Waste Land, desire to live, desire water and fertility but they are too afraid as well as Prufrock ("And in short, I was afraid". The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock, line 86).
The third and the fourth card are "the man with three staves" and "the wheel". T.S. Eliot declares that "the man with three staves" refers to the sterile Fishing King. Again the theme of fertility in contraposition with the King's sterility is brought up.
The fifth card is "the one-eyed merchant" who carries something that Madame Sosostris is "forbidden to see". In the previous centuries the merchant used to bring commercial duties and spread his religion connected to rites of vegetation all around the Mediterranean Sea (again the themes of water and fertility come out): On the other hand, in the modern age, he doesn't carry duties but "currants", unnecessary things and that is why Madame Sosostris is not allowed to see.
The last card she cannot find is "the hanged man". The card represents the God of sacrifice and redemption in fertility rites. The hanged man is the hero who would save the kingdom of the Fishing King from desolation and wastefulness. The intelligent reader will comprehend the importance of the absence of this card. Indeed without the hanged man it is impossible to regenerate and to save the kingdom.
Last but not least Madame Sosostris focuses her attention on a "crowd of people, walking round in a ring". The image reminds to the sacrifice of Christ and his "Via Crucis".
In conclusion the intelligent reader will realize that the main theme is fertility. However it cannot be reached because of the absence of "the hanged man". As a result it is impossible to save "The Waste Land". Referring to reality, T.S.Eliot wants to convey the desolation that inhabits the first decades of the XIX century, the fragility of moral values (if not the complete absence) and the impossibility to escape the cruel reality.