Use of Myth and Symbols in ‘The Waste Land’

Table of Contents

Introduction

T. S. Eliot was the most famous poet of the modern age. His ‘The Waste Land’ is a very important Landmark in the 20^th century Literature. He has used myth and symbols in this poem to show the relation of the present with the past.

In ‘The Waste Land’, Eliot has drawn the myths and symbols from two sources. One is Sir James Frazer’s book ‘The Golden Bough’ and the other is Miss Jessie Weston’s ‘From Ritual to Romance’. He has taken his myth from Frazer’s cultivation rituals and Miss Weston’s Fisher King and Grail myths.

Use of Myths

T. S. Eliot has employed three myths, as –

(i) The Myth Of The Holy Grail.

(ii) The Myth of Fertility.

(iii) The Myth Of Tiresias.

The Myth Of The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail Legend is associated with the adventures of King Arthur and his Knights. Eliot has connected the story of the Holy Grail with the Fisher King. He was a very sensual and sinful King. So he became sick and his Kingdom suffered from drought and famine. According to another legend, the soldiers of the king raped the nuns attached to the chapel of the Holy Grail. As a result of the sin, his kingdom suffered from famine.

‘The Waste Land’ of the Fisher King stands for the wasteland of the modern world. The sick king stands for the sick humanity. The sick king stands for the sick humanity. The sickness of the Fisher King was due to sexual energies. In the same way, the sickness of modern men is due to their sexual perversities. Sex has been degraded to an animal passion and not as a means of the expression of true love.

The Myth of Fertility

In the Waste Land, it has a reference to the land of Emmaus mentioned in the Old Bible. The land became barren and dry on account of the idolatry of the dwellers. Once upon a prophet told them to worship. God and to give up idolatry, so the wasteland may become fertile. There are references to the Biblical Waste Land in words like the rock, the dread tree the dry grass mentioned in the famous poem ‘The Waste Land’.

The Myth Of Tiresias

Another legendary figure in the poem is Tiresias, the protagonist of the poem. Once, Tiresias saw two serpents mating together. He was cursed by them and transformed into a woman. After seven years he saw two serpents mating together. He was cursed by them and transformed into a woman. After seven years he saw the same scene and was cursed and transformed into a man. So he has experience of life both as a man and as a woman.

Later on, he was questioned by Zeus and his wife Hera, as to whether the man is more passionate than a woman. He declared that woman was more passionate the man. For this, Hera cursed him with blindness and Zeus granted him prophetic power for compensation.

Thus Tiresias is a link between the Waste Land of King Oedipus and the Waste Land of the modern civilization. He is an enlightened commentator on the modern Waste Land. He is an embodiment of human conscience and of higher humanity which deplores the loss of faith and moral values in the modern world.

Symbols in the Waste Land

A word has two-fold meaning – original meaning and targeted meaning. Symbolism is the study of the targeted meaning of the words.

Following are some of the most important symbols in ‘The Waste Land’

The Symbolic Meaning of Water

Water is a significant symbol of birth, death, and resurrection throughout this poem. At the poem’s beginning, water stands for life-giver and symbolizes fertility. However, it also stands for death in the ‘Death by Water’. In the “What the Thunder Said” section, water is a symbol of hope because, according to Eliot, the resurrection of a desolate wasteland is only possible as a tree that finds new life in rainwater.

“Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves. Waited for rain…..”

Drought as a symbol of Death

Although the poem deals with physical and emotional effects of war, the speaker of the poem deals with physical and emotional effects of war, the speaker of the poem uses drought as a symbol of death.

“Here is no water but only rock
Rack and no water and the Sandy Road.”

Drought is a Symbol of death. To raise concerns about waiting for rain, the speaker says that even lightning, which indicates the possibility of rain, is “Infertile”. So there is hope of rain in this infertile land if the purification of modern people is done.

Symbols of disconnection between the human and natural worlds

The poem’s speaker in the “A Game of Chess” section presents how the modern world has lost contact with nature. Organic life-giving spirit has become inorganic inert matter:-

“The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne Glowed on the marble”,

River

The poem refers to the Ganges in the Himalayas. The river is called the mother of civilization. The river symbolizes the flow continuity of life. Rivers are considered serene also. It symbolizes destruction as well as construction.

Buddhist

‘The Fire Sermon’ is the title taken from a sermon given by Buddha. Buddha encourages his followers to give up earthly passion. Budda preached non-violence and wanted his followers to rise spiritually. He symbolizes universal Non-violence and piece.

Conclusion

Thus in the poem “The Waste Land”, the poet has successfully brought about the use of myths and symbols to represent his theme of the sterility of human intellect and conscience as a parallel to the past and present. He conveys the profound spiritual and cultural, decay of the post–World War I era through the use of myth and symbols in the poem. He paints a bleak picture of a world in crisis, emphasizing the urgent need for spiritual renewal and cultural regeneration.