It needs to be reckoned that literature goes on to mirror the society and the culture. Innumerable examples can be cited where the authors have delved into the socio-cultural or socio-economic factors of the world around in their texts through their creative eyes. Now, after the Second World War, the literature of the world saw the responses of the creative artist catering to the needs of the post-war era that encompassed human existence with all its surmounting effect. One can take into consideration the works of the stalwart poet, T.S. Eliot, who engaged in exploring the socio-political dynamics during the era of war. A close scrutiny of one of the most famous works by the creative artist, The Waste Land, would let one understand the intricacies of the expression and how the poem delves into the actors of the cultural and political crisis that encompassed the society during the time.
The Waste Land is one of the most significant texts penned by the creative artist as it vehemently takes the route of being radical in its approach and expression. The poet goes on to use non-linear sequence in the narrative of this poem. This poem exudes the literary control of the artist and the prosody is conspicuous. The poem was edited by another stalwart, Ezra Pound, who provided the piece with the much needed focus. It can be opined that what Eliot endeavored to perform with this poem was something similar to what Braque and Picasso had done with the art-form of cubism. The nouveau approach of Eliot lied in his attempt to look at things in a totally new manner by the abandonment of the smoothness of truth that one is commonly used to.
It needs to be reckoned that the poet engages in expressing is deep anguish through the content. This anguish can be traced to have its roots in his personal perspective and his botheration about the wounded culture that had been quarried by him so vehemently. One might need to ponder about parts of the poem’s structure and refer to explications about some obscure references used by the literary artist in the course of this literary work. The utmost significance of this work lies in the fact that the poet penned the poem in the backdrop of the degeneration of the society and the waning belief of democracy and liberalism among the people of the society. One can find the psyche of the poet reflecting the general mood of the society being tattered by the ravages of warfare that only brought misery and disorientation in the institutionalized milieu of peace and prosperity that was supposed to be safeguarded by democracy and the authorities of the state.
One can very well comprehend that the title of the poem in itself is symbolic in nature. The title points to the fact that the society and the world have headed toward degeneration and everything lies in waste. This shows the void of the society and the individual ignited by the war, and echoes the perspective of the society. The ravaging effects of the First World War find an expression in the work of Eliot in The Waste Land. In portraying the societal issues of the time, Eliot exudes his literary quintessence and affective appeal that engages the avid readers to the literary work. A scrutiny of the form of this literary work would explicate the use of literary techniques that work to accentuate the charm of the poetic expression.
It needs to be noted by all that this poem goes on to replace the assumed single voice that can be found in the monologues. Here, one finds a number of speakers in the form of this neurotic woman, the déclassé aristocrats of Europe and also another woman referred to as the “hyacinth girl”, a modern Dante roaming about in the city of London and a couple of cockneys arguing in this pub, along with a couple of Wagnerian tenors and this singer. Thus, one can only image the varied perspectives this literary work has in offer for the avid readers as they go through the expressions of the characters. The poet endeavors to bring out his idea about the modern post-war society through the perspectives of all the characters in context.
The Waste Land exposes the modern culture as a degraded mess. This was more so in the societal milieu of Europe after the First World War. The sign of pessimism is very much conspicuous in the course of this poem. The epigraph of this literary work is taken from the Satyricon that goes on to show how this woman having prophetic powers and destined never to die but age, wishes to meet with her demise looking at the future of things. One can find the parallel between the two scenarios in context. The perspective of the woman named Sibyl stands true for the culture where Eliot is placed. The culture was on the process of getting decayed but would have lived on, only for the people to be reminded of the past glory of the society and people.
It has to be noted that T.S. Eliot was greatly influenced by the story of Fisher King. As per the mythological story, Fisher King was wounded in his genitals. As he lacked potency, the country he ruled went on to become a “waste land.” According to this popular legend, healing the Fisher King would have led to the regaining of the land’s fertility. The healing of this legendary character has been the central theme of a number of mythic tales in Arthurian England. Eliot draws his cue from the popular legend and assimilates the idea in his depiction of the modern society and culture. However, the main difference lies in the fact that Eliot believed that there was no way to treat the degeneration and dysfunctional nature of the society of Europe. It has to be reckoned that this imperfect integration of a legend into the explication of the modern world goes on to portray the lack of any unifying narrative in the post-war modern era of Europe.
Also, as per the legend, the character of Fisher King was the ruler of the land and the fate of the entire population and the country depended on his condition. As such, Fisher King can be seen as the figure of authority responsible for the well-being and development of the subjects and the land. In the post-war modern day context, the democratic authority at the helm of the nation and the society was responsible for the prosperity and well-being of the people of the land. However, Eliot’s scathing reference to the legend aptly points to the fact that the modern day liberal ideology and institution of democracy had failed the hopes of the people of the society. The institution of democracy had only led to the degeneration of the culture, society and economy of the land after the First World War. However, unlike the legend of Fisher King, there was no hope of redemption from the “waste land” in the modern day scenario of the society.
One has to take a note that this poem by Eliot goes on to draw inspiration from a number of sources. The author of the piece even put the footnotes in the published version of the literary work. It is truly intriguing to see how Eliot has drawn his reference from the Bible as well. Thus, the readers can find a number of allusions in the course of this poetic work. But, these allusions are not aimed at pointing to any overarching paradigm. Rather, the varied allusions in the poem point to the fragmentation of the society and culture in the post-war era that needed to be put together for the purpose of forming the whole with coherence. It needed to be opined in this context that the obscure references and allusions are intended to provide the avid readers of the poem with this mimetic account of life in the post-war era of the 20th century.
This poem in context finds its inception with a reference to the Canterbury Tales penned by Chaucer. However, in the case of the poem by Eliot, April is not this happy month of storytelling or pilgrimages. Rather, it is portrayed to be the time when the land should regenerate after the winter season. The poet writes,
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
The regeneration is something that brings back the memories of the past times that were much happier. Winter is taken to be the time of numbness as well as forgetfulness in the modern world. Now, in the context of this poem, The Waste Land, memory plays a vital role in taking the narrative ahead. It needs to be reckoned that in this poem, memory comes to create this confrontation between the past times and the present time. This comes to portray the extreme decay that has come to haunt the present times after the war.
Thus, one finds how Marie is reminiscent of the times before war in stark contrast to the hard times that have been brought about by the social and economic issues of the land. Marie is found to read for a major part of the night. She has been ostracized by politics and is not able to do other things as such. The process of reading can be seen as the symbolic gesture of reminiscing the past times. The endeavor is to reach this coherence via the literary culture that reflects the societal ambiance. Thus, the points to the fact that the post-ear era has seen degradation of the society and economy leading to the nostalgia of the glorious past that offered prosperity and happiness to the people of the society.
In the second episode of this poem, Eliot goes on to portray this troubled religious proposition. There is a description of the wasteland of “stony rubbish” where man can only identify a “heap of broken images.” Nonetheless, this scene offers salvation through portraying something new. The vision in context is truly frightening as it consists of this void and nothing else at all. In this part of the poem, the speaker is reminiscent of this female figure from the previous times that had a romantic involvement with the speaker. One cannot miss the stark contrast between the two imageries of void desert and a flowers, water and lushness. The images of flowers and water represent the past times which come across to be happy and prosperous for the character in context.
Thus, the poet leaves no stone unturned to point to the fact that the post-war era has only bought desolation, decay and degeneration in the lives of people and the society at large. The poet pens to portray the isolation of the human mind,
So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale
Filled all the desert with inviolable voice
And still she cried, and still the world pursues,
"Jug Jug" to dirty ears.
One cannot deny the omnipotent role played by memory to ascertain the contrast between the past and the decaying present. In this particular case, memory also works to show the coherence between the two states of mind and the respective conditions. But, there is no scope of redemption or rejuvenation and the waste is all that encompasses the present and the future of things. The avid readers have to understand how the poet figuratively points to the bankruptcy of the democratic ideals and the liberal views of the nation states that had failed to live up to the expectations of the people of the society. The utter failure of the governments led to the individual crisis that is represented in the symbolic form in the poem by Eliot.
It has to be understood that the poet is not a pessimist in his view, but he endeavors to explicate and analyze the truth of the situation in the post-war era when the prosperity of the society was on the wane. The democracies had only given the common people misery and the war had led to immense loss of lives. Families were left heartbroken, women lost their lovers or husbands while parents lost their children. The psychological trauma and destructiveness of the war had already taken a toll on the society and the people by the time Eliot penned this famous poetic work. The emptiness or the waste represents this haplessness that encompassed the lives of the common people who got nothing out of the war other than a bleak future without any hope of finding happiness or well-being. The losses that the warfare had brought about were irreplaceable in nature.
One take also take into reckoning the famous story, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, that delves into the same thematic content. The very transformation of the male protagonist of this story into an insect is symbolic of the dehumanization of people in the post-war era. The story shows how the man was gradually stripped off the human qualities starting from appearance to his mannerisms. This gradual metamorphosis of the protagonist is symbolic of the metamorphosis of the dreams and aspirations of the people of the society at large. The avid readers can understand that the family members of the protagonist also go through this process of metamorphosis where their dreams change. Their focus shifts from the bright son to the daughter who gives the parents hope of a future. The entire story portrays the looming hopelessness and gradual descent to the state of oblivion. The final fate of the protagonist signals to the failure of finding a way to live properly. The story shows how the post-war era affected the psyche and lives of people through the symbols.
On the other hand, Luigi Pirandello’s play, Six Character in Search of an Author, comes across to be a literary work dealing with the relationship of the authors, the characters, as well as the theater practitioners. This play that was first performed in the year 1921 portrays an illogical progression in the course of the narrative. The play shows how the director himself is confused by the turn of events- something that points to the fact that the person who is supposed to be the authority of the entire course of action has himself failed to have control. This is symbolic of the general perspective of the society of the time that the democratic government had failed the people. Thus, there is an insinuation about the dysfunctional nature of art which only mirrors the dysfunctional condition of the society and the people in the post-war era.
In comparison, Marcel Proust’s literary work, Swann’s Way, one gets the essence of the primary importance of memory that portrays the juxtaposition of the past and the present times. Thus, the narrative points to the bleak present and the uncertain future in comparison to the glorious past. The novel travels back by a span of as many as fifteen years to throw light on the love between the characters of Odette and Swann. However, by the end of the novel, the protagonist realizes how he had been nurturing an ideal image of love and his lover. In reality, the situation is very different. The story thus points to the stark difference. The individual crisis can be seen as the symbolic representation of the degeneration of the security of life and future.
The common man blamed the democracy and the liberal ideals for such an outcome. They had never envisaged such a tough time for them as democracy had shown the common people dreams of development and prosperity. In practicality, all the people had received were false hopes and a life of hopelessness that was unexpected. Now, it needs to be comprehended that under this circumstance, the communists or the fascists found the perfect ambiance to critique the ideals of democracy. The communists or the fascists were people who had totally different ideological stance in comparison to the advocates and practitioners of democracy. But, in the post-war era, democracy had already proved to be an utter failure in the eyes of the common people of the society. People now came to consider the political ideology of fascism or communism to be a worthy alternative that had the power to rejuvenate their dreams, aspirations and expectations. All the literary texts point to the general ambiance of distrust of the democratic ideals and disillusionment. The authors have this common theme portraying the decay and the juxtaposition between the past and the present. Thus, one can understand that the post-war era in Europe was ardently searching for an alternative power and ideology. The fascists and the communists jumped to the opportunity to establish their supremacy and image in front of the society taking the place of the possible alternative that the people were ready to give a chance.
T.S. Eliot’s poem represents the vacant space in the minds of the common people who were searching for the last straw to which they could hold on to for the purpose of nurturing the hope of having a good future in an era that was marked by socio-economic decline. The communists and the fascists could now carry out their propaganda critiquing the immense failure of the liberal ideals and democratic ideology. The alternate political ideology could provide the people with a respite from the state of hopelessness about the future. It is truly very intriguing to find how the modernist poet, T.S. Eliot embodies this very essence in the poem, The Waste Land. The vehemence with which the poet critiques the failure of the status quo of the governance in bringing prosperity in the lives of the innumerable people of the society is truly stirring in nature.
In conclusion, it would be right to say that literature truly works as the apt mirror of the society. Literature explores the contemporary society with all its cultural and economic factors, and meshes the contemporary historical markers with the creative eye of the literary artist. A close scrutiny of the contextual work by Eliot has explored how the history and society of the region of Europe with the psyche of the common people of the land has been portrayed so very aesthetically and quintessentially in one of the most eminent works in the history of English literature. It is not hard to understand how the fascist forces in Germany or the Communist power in Russia found the way to rise to power as the dream of democratic ideal had met with its failure after the First World War. As such, The Waste Land can be seen as a poem of historical significance that portrays the quashed hopes of the common man and delves deep into the void of the society at that time. It also makes one realize the societal milieu and the perspective of the people that aided the rise of alternative political powers in the region.
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