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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Fun read! But my brain hurts
Wasted in the quarentine wasteland, decided to splurge
In some poetics.
T. S. Elliot, a name oft' heard,
"The Wasteland,"
Have you heard?
With a warm coffee in hand,
And thinking cap
Dawned, I began.
Feeling as though I've traversed
All of time
Itself, I return
To a world that seems burned
Into a crisp
Tangle of history.
My brain, now a wasteland itself,
Is satisfied with
My impulsive purchase.
Wasted in the quarentine wasteland, decided to splurge
In some poetics.
T. S. Elliot, a name oft' heard,
"The Wasteland,"
Have you heard?
With a warm coffee in hand,
And thinking cap
Dawned, I began.
Feeling as though I've traversed
All of time
Itself, I return
To a world that seems burned
Into a crisp
Tangle of history.
My brain, now a wasteland itself,
Is satisfied with
My impulsive purchase.
"For you know only a heap of broken images"
Regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th-century and a central piece of modernist poetry, The Waste Land is a 434-line poem published in 1922. It first appeared in the October issue of "The Criterion", a literary magazine created by T. S. Eliot himself. Shortly after appearing in the magazine, it was published in book form.
When I started to read this poem, my first impression was that this clearly was a modern poem. But, instead of being another run-of-the-mill modern poem, The Waste Land is quintessential modern poetry. From the start is very clear why this poem is considered to be a central piece of 20th-century poetry. Modernist poetry (and Modern literature in general), is a reaction to the previous literary era, Romanticism. Unlike the previous literary era, Modernists believed that it was essential to break with the past, tradition, and culture. As a result, modern poetry developed out of a tradition of lyrical expression. And this poem is the perfect example of that.
The Waste Land is notable for not having a clear poetic structure. Instead, it explores the possibilities of dramatic monologue within poetry. Throughout the poem, there are constants jumps from one voice or image to another without clear delimitation of those shifts to the reader. There's also references from poets like Baudelaire, Dante Alighieri, Shakespeare, Ovid, Homer, etc, and the use of multiple languages (Latin, Greek, Italian, German, French, and Sanskrit). This is what makes this poem quintessential modern poetry.
Overall, I really liked this poem. I think that it's an interesting approach to dramatic monologue within poetry. However, this is a complex text. Besides the use of multiple languages, the poem is full of dark imagery that relates to themes of death and the Christian concept of rebirth, disillusionment and despair, the connection between lust and sex, the destructive power of love, and the repetitive cycle of History. Because of these themes and the structure, the tone tends to shift a lot, something that works within the context of the poem.
As I said, I really liked this poem. However, this isn't something that I would recommend to start Eliot's poetry, but if you are already familiar with the author's style and modern poetry, then I fully recommend this. It's the perfect example of quintessential modern poetry.
Regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th-century and a central piece of modernist poetry, The Waste Land is a 434-line poem published in 1922. It first appeared in the October issue of "The Criterion", a literary magazine created by T. S. Eliot himself. Shortly after appearing in the magazine, it was published in book form.
When I started to read this poem, my first impression was that this clearly was a modern poem. But, instead of being another run-of-the-mill modern poem, The Waste Land is quintessential modern poetry. From the start is very clear why this poem is considered to be a central piece of 20th-century poetry. Modernist poetry (and Modern literature in general), is a reaction to the previous literary era, Romanticism. Unlike the previous literary era, Modernists believed that it was essential to break with the past, tradition, and culture. As a result, modern poetry developed out of a tradition of lyrical expression. And this poem is the perfect example of that.
The Waste Land is notable for not having a clear poetic structure. Instead, it explores the possibilities of dramatic monologue within poetry. Throughout the poem, there are constants jumps from one voice or image to another without clear delimitation of those shifts to the reader. There's also references from poets like Baudelaire, Dante Alighieri, Shakespeare, Ovid, Homer, etc, and the use of multiple languages (Latin, Greek, Italian, German, French, and Sanskrit). This is what makes this poem quintessential modern poetry.
Overall, I really liked this poem. I think that it's an interesting approach to dramatic monologue within poetry. However, this is a complex text. Besides the use of multiple languages, the poem is full of dark imagery that relates to themes of death and the Christian concept of rebirth, disillusionment and despair, the connection between lust and sex, the destructive power of love, and the repetitive cycle of History. Because of these themes and the structure, the tone tends to shift a lot, something that works within the context of the poem.
As I said, I really liked this poem. However, this isn't something that I would recommend to start Eliot's poetry, but if you are already familiar with the author's style and modern poetry, then I fully recommend this. It's the perfect example of quintessential modern poetry.
You guys. YOU GUYS. So this is where all those lines come from? “April is the cruelest month”, “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” and “Consider Phlebas”?
Well, damn.
I was a science major in college, and took humanities courses for fun, but neither one of my two required English classes covered this poem. And so I missed out on deep analysis or even just not too deep explanation. Because I just read it four times in a row — and no, I don’t get it. I tried to read some annotations, and I just don’t get it. I even found three different Russian translations of this poem hoping that a different language would help elucidate meaning. And still no luck — even after resultant seven(!!!) times reading it. Individual bits make sense (sometimes) but the big picture, the gestalt, escapes me. Unless it’s not supposed to come together, in which case I’m cool.
I may be a tad suspicious of poetry that requires extensive annotations to get it. Apparently the poem alone is under 20 pages but there is a 320 page book with annotations for it??? I can just picture Eliot rubbing his hands together and giggling in the supervillain-like manner over the image of generations of English scholar mining the poem for meaning.
But hey, the opening four lines are just amazing; there’s absolutely nothing about them that isn’t perfect:
I mean, I don’t even care that reading it seven times in a row, in two different languages, left me confused. Those four lines with that rhythm and cadence and whatever that literary trick of ending those lines like that — those alone are worth it.
Oh, and this one caught my attention:
Yeah. Beautiful. And frustratingly difficult.
But now I can feel all smug knowing where the quotable lines come from, even if I still have no clue about what it actually *is*.
Star ratings? These are meaningless here. So 4 stars for 4 perfect opening lines.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
Well, damn.
I was a science major in college, and took humanities courses for fun, but neither one of my two required English classes covered this poem. And so I missed out on deep analysis or even just not too deep explanation. Because I just read it four times in a row — and no, I don’t get it. I tried to read some annotations, and I just don’t get it. I even found three different Russian translations of this poem hoping that a different language would help elucidate meaning. And still no luck — even after resultant seven(!!!) times reading it. Individual bits make sense (sometimes) but the big picture, the gestalt, escapes me. Unless it’s not supposed to come together, in which case I’m cool.
Ahhh, that’s a good line.
I may be a tad suspicious of poetry that requires extensive annotations to get it. Apparently the poem alone is under 20 pages but there is a 320 page book with annotations for it??? I can just picture Eliot rubbing his hands together and giggling in the supervillain-like manner over the image of generations of English scholar mining the poem for meaning.
But hey, the opening four lines are just amazing; there’s absolutely nothing about them that isn’t perfect:
“April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.”
I mean, I don’t even care that reading it seven times in a row, in two different languages, left me confused. Those four lines with that rhythm and cadence and whatever that literary trick of ending those lines like that — those alone are worth it.
Oh, and this one caught my attention:
“And upside down in air were towers
Tolling reminiscent bells, that kept the hours
And voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhausted wells.”
Yeah. Beautiful. And frustratingly difficult.
But now I can feel all smug knowing where the quotable lines come from, even if I still have no clue about what it actually *is*.
Star ratings? These are meaningless here. So 4 stars for 4 perfect opening lines.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A