Introduction:
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T.S.Eliot ‘The Waste Land’ is an important achievement in
the history of English poetry and one of the most talked poems of the 20th
century by Thomas Stern Eliot. This poem is very long one including four
hundred forty lines which is divided into five parts. They are given below:
It
was written during the autumn of 1921, in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the poet
was just recovering after a serious breakdown in health, caused by domestic
worries and over-work. Personal health-crisis, the mental derangement of his wife,
who untimely died in a mental hospital by shattering the influence
of World War 1. On account of this gloomy image of World War 1 the poet presented
that the poem expresses the ‘disillusionment of a generation’. The gloom and
despair of the poet are mirrored in the poem.
What is a Myth?
“A traditional story,
especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural
or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events”
An exaggerated or
idealized conception of a person or thing: ‘The book is a scholarly study of
the Churchill myth’
A fictitious or
imaginary person or thing: ‘nobody had ever heard of Simon’s mysterious friend
– Anna said he was a myth ‘
“The waste Land” The mythical
background:
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There are five myths as shown in above. Let’s discuss in
detail about these.
The Grail Legend:
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The Fisher King: His Desolate Land:
In the Waste Land T.S.Eliot depicts some myths and with the
help of myth he conveys his ideas
through myths and therefore The Fisher King is a myth which can be observed in
this epic like poem. It is said that in the course of their hazardous quest
Parsifal the Quester and his fellow adventures happened to arrive in a country
ruled over by a prince named the Fisher King. It was one of the regions where
Grail worship had been anciently vogue, and a temple Known as Chapel Perilous,
still stood there, broken and dilapidated, as a mournful memorial of what once
was, but later had ceased to be. It was said that the lost Grail was hidden in
this chapel. At that time the king himself had become a physical wreck, maimed
and impotent, as a result. It was whispered, of a sin committed by his soldiery
in outraging the chastity of a group of nuns attached to the Grail chapel. The
impotency of the Fisher King was reflected sympathetically in the land of which
he was the head and ruler. It had become dry and barren, the haunt and home of
want and famine. The King, however, was waiting with hope, despite his illness,
that one day the Knight of the pure soul would visit his star-crossed kingdom,
march to the Chapel Perilous, answer questions and solve riddles. This would be
followed by a ritual washing of his, King Fisher’s riddles. This would be purge
it and renew its health and energy. It was also hoped that this rebirth of the
king would be followed by the life-giving rains to the parched land and the
thirsty kingdom, which would once more enjoy its earlier fertility.
This myth also symbolically connected with contemporary
decay and spiritual sterility. The sick King symbolises the sick humanity and
this sickness results. The sick humanity and this sickness result as in the
case of the Fisher King from its sexual sins. Sex which is the source of life
has been denied its proper function. It has been degraded to mere ‘Animal
copulation’ and this sexual perversion has lead to spiritual death. Spiritual
health can be regained only through penance, suffering and self discipline.
Tiresias and his significance:
According to Eliot, Tiresias comes out as the central figure through this poem, what Tiresias sees is the substance of the whole poem. The importance of Tiresias is complex and varied but it is connected with history with the story of King Oedipus, Thebes the classical legend of a waste land. Let’s see the story of King Oedipus in the context of Tiresias and see how it is connected with waste and as a myth.
King Oedipus and his
Waste land:
Tiresias serves, in the first place to complicate the
mythical frame of the poem and in the second place to universalize. Oedipus
unwittingly kills his father and marries with his mother and thus call down
upon his supposedly innocent head the curse of the gods in form of virulent
plague, epidemic an destructive which neither king nor commoners fails to
regard as a punishment for some dark and hidden crime. Tiresias, the blind
prophet is summoned and when compelled by the king tells the shocking truth
that he, the king himself, is the plague spot.
Such is the conspiracy of circumstances that the king is slowly but
irresistibly, driven to the realization of this horrible truth. Nothing remains
for the king but the duty of expiation, self mutilation, self-exile,
self-abasement and a prolonged penance which eventually result in spiritual
calm and inner illumination.
Tiresias is represented as a bi-sexual in The Waste Land as
he was blind but he has the gift of prophecy and immortality. Many stories are
same like Tiresias story. According to one story this wise Theban soothsayer in
his youth once saw the goddess Athena naked in a pond and goddess struck him
blind but his mother was a friend of hers so she bestowed upon him. According
to another story, Tiresias saw two snakes copulating them with his stick and
the snakes in wrath transformed him into women. Later on, he was questioned by
love and juno as to whether Man is more passionate or woman. He declared that
woman is more passionate. At this Juno was angry and stuck him blind but Zesus
or Love compensated him by conferring upon the twin gifts of prophecy and
immortality.
Importance of Myth In waste Land:
Tiresias is both past and present and also connected with
waste Land with including both Oedipus and King Fisher myths. He has seen all
and for-suffered all. He is bi-sexual with a fuller experience of life than any
normal man or woman and his physical blindness is more than compensated for by
his prophetic vision. Many symbols are also found there is one symbol that
Tiresias is the fittest symbol of human consciousness.
Tiresias thus is a complex and many sided persona or symbol, and he provides whatever unity the poem may be discovered to have. But because of his presence throughout the poem would have become a phantasmagoria, a nightmare, a medley of scenes and meaningless snatch of talk, almost overwhelming in its confused impression.
“Tiresias although a mere spectator and not indeed a character,
is yet the most important personage in the poem uniting all the rest. Just as
the one-eyed merchant, seller of currants melts into the Phoenician sailor and
the letter is not wholly distinct from Ferdinand, Prince of Naples, so all the
women are one woman and the two sexes meet in Tiresias.
The Vegetation and Fertility Myths:
Form the study of ‘Golden Bough ‘and ‘From ritual to
Romance’ all these made Eliot to think that these all are nature myths which is
followed by a common pattern- Death-Rebirth-Death. This recurrent pattern is
going continuously. Thus winter is symbolically connected with death and spring
connected with rebirth. There is loss of land’s fertility in winter, but rain symbolically
shows that is reborn. This process was re-enacted in a number of vegetation
rituals and ceremonies. Thus in Egypt the effigy of the vegetation god, Osiris,
was stuck with corn grains and was buried in the earth. this symbolised the
death of vegetation god very soon the grains sprouted, symbolising the re-birth
of the God. This is found in the opening line of death stood for spiritual death,
as a result of sin and sexual perversion, and spiritual regeneration, the
result of suffering and penance. This recurrent pattern has been taken over in
the Christian myth, in the birth of Christ, his affered and his resurrection. Today is
not with hope but fear and apprehension. There are some phrases suggested the
same things, like “dead
land”, “dull roots”,
“dried tubers
and “forgetful
snow, these four phrases suggest the barrenness of earth and vacuity of
life. The
symbols of season have direct connection with birth-death-rebirth. The spring
symbolizes birth, the winter death, the rain spiritual fertility and draught
spiritual dryness. The water symbolizes in two ways, it show destruction and
purification too. The same can be said of the fire. The rock, without grass is
a symbol of desolation.
To
add one more in the list of symbols, tarot card may seem to us that it has no
connection with ancient myth or modern generation’s
scepticism and desolation. It is the age-old system of fortune telling and used
appropriately in Egypt to know the rise and fall of the river Nile, the source
of life and fertility. Now the tarot card is reduced to dull and prohibited
forecasting. Madam Sosostris, the clairvoyant herself suffers from cold and
living under the constant fear of police. She says to other lady,
“One must be so careful these days”
Adonis and Atis, like Osiris were also corn
gods connected with vegetation ceremonies, both in Egypt and in other countries.
In some ritual as in the above given information that the corn-god was totally
buried, while in the others rituals his image was totally disappeared in the waters
of some rivers. So from this perspective we can say that the coming up of the
effigy signified the re-birth of vegetation god. The ceremony marked the
commencement of his sowing of the crop and was celebrated with singing dancing
and merry making. The Death by Water section of ‘The waste Land’ conjures up
the image of ceremony.
The Biblical waste land:
We
very well go through the two Starting waste lands
(1)
The waste land of King Fisher
(2) The waste of King Oedipus of Thebes
But
apart from these two lands Eliot also mentioned a third land and it was the
Biblical waste land or evil land of Emmaus, mentioned in Ecclesiastes and
Ezekiel parts of the Old Testament. The prophet Ezekiel warns his followers to remember
God and given up idolatry. Their sins have laid the country waste land and regeneration
will come only when they return to God. ‘The dead tree’ ‘The handful of dust’
the dry grass’ ‘the cricket’ The rack’ etc. All are derived from Biblical imagery
of decay and desolation in the parts mentioned above.
The Myths as ‘Objective Co-relative’:
These three
waste lands with the mythical background to the contemporary waste land describe
the chaos and the anarchy which is found in the contemporary Europe. In this
way Eliot very well described linked up the past with the present, and
universalised the topical. He has depicted the image of sterility of modern age
is nothing peculiar to it. Sin, especially sexual perversion has always
resulted in spiritual decay and desolation. Spiritual regeneration will result;
life giving rain will come only when humanity is prepared to pay the price in
form of suffering and penance.
By
the use of pagan and medieval myths as ‘objective correlatives’ the poet has
succeeded in depersonalising his emotions and thus has imparted to ‘the waste
Land’ the impersonality of great art.
Conclusion:
The
waste Land is an important achievement of 20th century. In this poem
Eliot described the mythical background of including various myths as like the
Grail Legend (cup or dish) , The Fisher King desolate Land, Tiresias connected
with King Oedipus of Thebes, vegetation
myth connected with chain of human being, and a third Biblical myth. Throughout
these myths Eliot tried to give the real image of contemporary Europe and its
chaos and anarchy and shows the link up of past with the present. He also
spread glance on the chain of human beings that Death-rebirth-death.
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