“What Tiresias sees, in fact, is the substance of the poem…”
“The Waste Land” is a long poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry.
VIDEO
Above: T.S. Eliot reads: “The Waste Land”
READ THE POEM
The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot | Poetry Foundation https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land
ABOUT THE TITLE
…In the end, the title Eliot chose was The Waste Land. In his first note to the poem he attributes the title to Jessie L. Weston’s book on the Grail legend, From Ritual to Romance. The allusion is to the wounding of the Fisher King and the subsequent sterility of his lands; to restore the King and make his lands fertile again, the Grail questor must ask, “What ails you?” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Land
THEME
“First published in 1922, T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land” is a major work of modernist literature….One major theme that Eliot treats in detail is the role of technology and industrialization in the downfall of Western civilization.” —“The Human Engine Waits”: The Role of Technology in T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”
http://www.bu.edu/writingprogram/journal/past-issues/issue-1/schein/
BUY THE BOOK
The Waste Land (Liveright Classics): T. S. Eliot, Paul Muldoon
https://goo.gl/qenSnZ
BUY CRITICAL EDITION
The Waste Land – A Norton Critical Edition – Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism: T. S.; Edited by North, Michael Eliot
https://goo.gl/jx8KwL
FREE EBOOK (AMAZON KINDLE)
The Waste Land: T. S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot
https://goo.gl/CBfuit
PDF (PROJECT GUTENBERG)
The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot – Free Ebook
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1321