The Waste Land

Poetry | T. S. Eliot

Justify the title of the poem “The Waste Land.”

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Justify the title of the poem The Waste Land NU Or The Waste Land is a sigh for the vanished glory of the past Explain NU To justify a literary title is to explain how it suits the story T S Eliot published The Waste Land in The title suggests a land of barrenness death and despair It reflects modern Europe after the First World War The poem shows both present sterility and the lost glory of the past Thus the title is fitting and deeply symbolic Spiritual Barrenness The land is spiritually empty Eliot writes of a heap of broken images where nothing grows The Wastelanders are lifeless like ghosts crossing London Bridge April usually a joyful month becomes cruel here April is the cruellest month The barrenness of the soul makes the title justified Moral and Sexual Corruption Love has become meaningless In The Fire Sermon the clerk

and the typist meet without passion Lil s story in A Game of Chess shows the same emptiness Corruption of sex and loss of purity reflect a true wasteland of values Echo of Lost Traditions The poem often recalls the glory of past culture Eliot mentions myths of the Fisher King Philomela and the Holy Grail These symbols once meant hope fertility and meaning But in the present they survive only as fragments This shows a sigh for the vanished past Search for Renewal The Waste Land is not only death but also desire for rebirth Eliot ends with the Upanishadic words Datta Dayadhvam Damyata The repetition of Shantih shantih shantih suggests hope for peace Thus the poem longs for the regeneration of the dead land In conclusion the title The Waste Land reflects a world of death sterility and despair It also mourns the lost cultural glory of the past At the same time it sighs for renewal waiting for peace Thus the title is perfectly justified

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