The Power of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land

The Power of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land

T. S. Eliot, perhaps one of the most controversial poets of modern

times, wrote what many critics consider the most controversial poem of all,

The Waste Land. The Waste Land was written using a fragmented style. This

is a style that is evident in all of Eliot's writings. There are several

reasons for his using this approach, from a feeling of being isolated, to a

problem articulating thoughts (Bergonzi 18, Cuddy 13, Mack 1745, Martin

102).

What influenced Eliot the most in writing poetry was a book he read

written by the English critic, Arthur Symon, titled The Symbolist Movement

in Literature. This book is about French symbolist writers of the 19th

century. From this book, the author who had the greatest influence on

Eliot is by far Jules Laforgue. Laforgue's influence is evident in many

of Eliot's poems, sometimes to the point of plagiarism. Like Laforgue,

Eliot uses dialogue between men and women that doesn't seem to communicate

a thing. Other author's had an influence on Eliot as well, like Henry

James and Joseph Conrad. All of these poet's had the common themes of

estrangement from people and the world, isolationism, and the feeling that

they were failing to articulate their thoughts (Bergonzi 7, 50, Cuddy 30,

Mack 1743, Martin 41, Unger 8).

Henry James influence on Eliot's poetry is evident in the Jamesian

qualities he uses. For example, the opening verse of The Waste Land ends

with the Jamesian note, "I read, much of the night, and go south in the

winter" (Mack, 1751). Although Lafourge, Conrad, and James were used as

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real influence on mankind's morals, but he certainly impacted modern

literature (Unger 36).

Works Cited

Bergenzi, Bernard. T. S. Eliot, Collier Books, New York New York, 1972

Cuddy, Lois A., and David H. Hirsch, eds. Critical Essays on T. S. Eliot,

The Waste Land. G. K. Hall & Co., 1991.

Kenner, Hugh, ed. T. S. Eliot: A Collection of Critical Essays. Prentice

Hall Inc., 1962.

Mack, Maynard. ed. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces Sixth

Edition. W. W. Norton and Company, 1992: 1743 - 1770.

Martin, Graham. ed. Eliot in perspective. Humanities Press, 1970.

Ricks, Christopher. T. S. Eliot and Prejudice. University of California

Press, 1988.

Unger, Leonard. T. S. Eliot. University of Minnesota Press, 1970.