Identifying with the Waste Land Essay -- Literary Analysis

T.S Eliots The desolate Land frustrates the contributor with a complexity so dense that he or she feels lost. This frustration arises come in of the poems fragmented structure of the characters, place, and time which gives the reader an appreciation into the civilization following World War I and the powers chaotic order of mind. He shows how novel life appears to be fragmented and disordered through and through the shifting images, points of view and alternating periods of time. T.S Eliot uses allusions to myths, report, and literature to lead us off of the confining present moment and ego to transcend into a self-importance that is free and in harmony with others and nature. T.S Eliot suggests myths throughout The Waste Land to let the reader indirectly recognize the viewpoint from outside of time and finally find a way out that will lead to happiness. The author uses myths such as the Fisher King and the grail Quest to ally the impulse to search, discover, and seek cha nge for the sake of self-knowledge. Fisher King focuses on the ancient fertility rituals. After the King was wounded, it was believed that he was responsible for his charge to become a waste rural area. As the legend says, if the King is healed, the body politic will flourish. In other words, the fertility of the land depends on the military posture and virility of the King and can only be restored through sacrifice. Likewise, Eliot incorporates the Grail Quest to reinstate how a quest throughout the deserted land serves as purification. Perhaps the author uses these myths to portray how distorted and corrupted modern society is. He is relating these legends to the emptiness in modern culture to let the reader discover the true meaning of life. Eliot points out the simple detail of this cultural emptiness and i... ...ciety is corrupted, and the only way to revitalize is to become cardinal with the world, and the self. The only way to restore order to the self and the world is to be reborn to our spirit. Finally, The Waste Land is a mirror image of the disruption of a historical, social, and cultural order constantly depicted with violent scenes and death. Eliot expects the reader to participate in a quest of discovery through his myths, history and literature to allow us to escape the imprisoning present and ego to break in meaning, truth, and virtue. Works Cited(1) Free Waste Land Essays Underlying Myths in The Waste Land. 123HelpMe.com.05Dec2010 (2) SparkNotes Eliots Poetry Themes, Motifs & Symbols. SparkNotes Todays Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .