Thursday 22 April 2021

The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot

  Hello ! 


In this blog I am going to answer the three questions of Barad sir. Here I am putting his blog link which consists those three questions. 


http://dilipbarad.blogspot.com/2014/10/presentations-on-ts-eliots-waste-land.html 


About the author :-



Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965)was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. He received the NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE IN 1948. He wrote the poems, 


  • The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 

  • The Waste Land 

  • The Hollow Man 

  • Ash Wednesday

  • Four Quarters   


The plays-


  • Murder in the Cathedral 

  • The Cocktail Party 


The essay 


  • Traditional and Individual Talent 



ABOUT THE POEM ‘ THE WASTE LAND’ :-



`` The Waste Land’ is the most important poem written by T.S. Eliot. The poem is about modern time. The whole poem is based on only two themes: 1. Sexual perversion and 2. Spiritual digression. Eliot not only ponders about his particular time but also speaks about universality. Poem talks about universality and how humans fall and commit sins. He talks about the spiritual pollution of society and human beings.




Answer of three questions :


Q. 1) What are your views on the following image after reading 'The Waste Land'? Do you think that Eliot is regressive as compared to Nietzsches views? or Has Eliot achieved universality of thought by recalling mytho-historical answers to the contemporary malaise?




Friedrich Nietzsche and T. S. Eliot both are the greatest authors. Here we can see the conflict of different views between Eliot and Nietzsche. T.S. Eliot was believing in supernatural power and god. He was very spiritual in a way, he wrote only about how spirituality is important. He talks about suppression of inner desires. He is mentioning about homosexuality, Sexuality, lust, extra marital affairs and spiritual digression. Through the mythical views like Upnishads ,logic, supernatural power and various cultures, Eliot wants to evoke the people that the past is a very good lesson to make a better future, people can learn through the past and from supernatural things.


Nietzsche is very practical in his theory. Nietzsche believes in human power as 'superman', he does not believe in supernatural things and tradition, For him God is nothing and he is talking about human centric perceptions. 


We can give water tight tank discussion that Eliot is right and Nietzsche is wrong or Nietzsche is right and Eliot is wrong. Eliot is right from his point of view. He had read very wide literature. He came across so many theories and works. He was a genius so he talked about it very spiritually. While Nietzsche was atheist, but both are right in their own way. Nietzsche believed in "Ubermensch" who gave solutions to the problem for the contemporary crisis while Eliot believed in God. 


According to me Nietzsche’s view of superman is very practical and believable. If we are considering this pandemic time then we came to know only doctors(humans) , no God or Goddesses come to help. In short Nietzsche’s views are more practical than the theory of T.S. Eliot. 




2) Prior to the speech, Gustaf Hellström of the Swedish Academy made these remarks:





What are your views regarding these comments? Is it true that giving free vent to the repressed 'primitive instinct' leads us to a happy to a happy and satisfied life? Or do you agree with Eliot's view that 'salvation of man lies in the preservation of the cultural tradition'?


According to me it is true that giving free vent to the repressed ‘ primitive instinct instinct’ leads us to a happy and satisfied life. Eliot's views on the suppression of desire has led human beings to mental diseases. It's  unnatural if we suppress our inner desire. It does not mean to live with lust and desires but whatever is nature  be with this.




3) Write about allusions to the Indian thoughts in 'The Waste Land'. (Where, How and Why are the Indian thoughts referred?)

In this poem T.S. Eliot has presented various cultures and languages to connect the world with one universal thought. In the first four parts Eliot described how sexual perversion has overpower than spirituality of human and solution of spiritual degradation by referring to Indian culture and Upanishad. 


Eliot also referred to Buddhism and Upanishad. Indian culture is very rich. Sanskrit is the mother of every language and Eliot very significantly uses that in the poem waste land. 


In the last part ‘ What the Thunder said ‘ in this part Eliot use this allusion :-


"Ganga was sunken, and the limps leaves

waited for rain, while the black clouds

gathered far distant, over Himvant

The jungle crouched, humped in silence."


Then Eliot gives three 'Da'


  1. Da - Datta :- To give (to give: not only charity but giving oneself for some noble cause – passionate participation, not mere mechanical – devote oneself for noble deeds) 



  1.  Da- Dayadhvam :- (sympathise – empathise yourself with the sorrows and suffering of others, come out of your isolation and live into others)



  1. Da - Damyata :-  (Self Control, control over one’s passions and desires, abscond the life of senses)



At the end of the poem Eliot uses Shanti , Shanti , Shanti. It is from the shanti mantra. 




The Shanti Mantras or "Peace Mantras" or Pancha Shanti are Hindu prayers for Peace (Shanti) found in Upanishads. Generally they are recited at the beginning and end of religious rituals and discourses.

Shanti Mantras are invoked in the beginning of some topics of Upanishads. They are supposed to calm the mind of the reciter and environment around him/her. Reciting them is also believed to be removing any obstacles for the task being started.



T. S. Eliot gives a very significant message to everybody that spirituality is the base of living. The whole poem is about sexual perversion and spiritual digression. 


Thank You ……


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