The Waste Land SummaryĪ mythical character Sibyl of Cumae, appears in the epigraph of the poem.

They all try to give meaning to their lives in one way or the other. Many speakers of the poem are trapped in the anxiety and dread of being. Moreover, there are a lot of instances of existentialism in the poem. There are several speakers in almost every section of the poem. At the same time, the speaker of the poem does not remain the same throughout the poem. There are a lot of allusions to other works of art. The ideas of the poem are scattered around in the poem, and there is no coherence in the thought. This poem is written in the full spirit of Modernism. The literary works also concerned existential themes like the purposelessness of life and the quest for the meaning of life by individuals. In literature, it was characterized by fragmentation in narration and abandonment of an objective viewpoint. Modernism was a movement in which artists and writers tried to find novel methods of observation, new methods of getting knowledge, and leaving behind every established rule. The Waste Land is perhaps the most important highlight of Eliot’s poetic career. The poem describes the infertility of modern man and speaks of the benumbed condition of humanity. The disjointed social set-up of that time is depicted through the images of broken things in the poem. The physical deterioration of the society is depicted in this poem through the images of infertility and dryness. In the poem The Waste Land, the poet has given an outlet to his own mental condition and the condition of society. He knew that these changes would bring a huge effect on the continent. He saw the European societies crumble down in a matter of a few years. Eliot-the writer of this poem-had an immediate experience of these anarchic times. They rejected all their beliefs, which they had held in the past. In this way, their connection with their history was utterly lost. They were on a quest to build a new world. They tried to leave behind their past and move on. The people of Europe questioned them and considered them to be the cause of the horrific war they had faced. The beliefs and values around which their societies were based lost their authenticity. EliotĪfter the First World War, the people of Europe were left disturbed and disillusioned.

The waste land