" Myths In The Waste Land"

                           

Introduction:

T.S.Eliot was born in 1888, in St. Louis, Missouri. His first work was “The love song of J.Alfred Prufrock” in 1915.he wrote the poem “The Waste Land” while recovering from the exhaustion. From 1911 to 1914 he returned back to Harvard where he expanded his knowledge by reading Indian philosophy and studying Sanskrit. In 1919, Eliot published poems which contained “ Gerontion”.In 1922 his another poetic work comes out in shape of “The Waste Land” a complex examination of 19th century. He founded what would become an influential literary journal called ‘Criterion’ (1922-1939).His major works are “Ash Wednesday” (1930), “Four Quartets”(1943),”Use of Criticism”(1933), “After strange Gods”(1934) and received Nobel Prize in literature in 1948.

These works were immediately spread like a virus in all literary corners and it is frequently considered as the most influential work in 20th century.

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 20^th 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:     

On the eve of the composition of “The waste land” T.S.Eliot has been reading about two famous writers and their works like Jessie Weston’s book ‘Ritual to Romance’ and James Frazer’s ‘The Golden Bug’. Eliot himself has acknowledged that he was deeply influenced by these works or anthropology and primitive myths and legends which from the mythical background to this poem are derived from these books. Miss Weston’s book supplied him with the legend of the Grail and the Fisher king and from the Golden Bough he derived his knowledge of a number of vegetation and fertility myths and rituals, especially those connected with Attis, Adonis and Osiris. These myths are very much important to understand of the poem as they are the “objective co-relative” for the poet’s emotions.

There are five myths as shown in above. Let’s discuss in detail about these.

The Grail Legend:

The Holy Grail (cup or dish) legend is associated with the king of Arthur and his knights of the round table. The Grail was the cup or plate used by Christ for his last supper, in that cup the blood of the saviour was gathered when he was crucified. The Myth about this vessel was that it acquired medicinal and miraculous properties so the result is that it became an object for purity or one kind of devotion and worship. The lance used to pierce the sides of Christ and kept with it. But a time the original Grail was mysteriously disappeared and many of the bold Knights staked their lives and they searching for this vessel. It was generally believed that the grail was sometimes could be found in the sky as the floating saucer but it could only see by those, Knights who were virginal beauty. Tennyson treated his theme as the theme final of his ‘idylls of the king’ making Sir Galahad the immaculate Knight of King Arthur round Table. So conclude that the Grail was originally connected with the fertility myth, as it witnessed by its sexual symbols (cup and the lance symbolising the male and female organs respectively) but later on it suffered a sea- change through its association with Christ.

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 20^th 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.