Why is the subject of water so prevalant in T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland Essay

Why is the subject of water so prevalant in T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland - Essay Example Is Eliot speaking of the human soul as a wasteland In this paper I will try to address this question, and thereby also explain why the concept of water is so prevalent in the poem; if one interpretation of the poem is that he is trying to show humanity and its spiritual beliefs have become a wasteland, that it has lost its spirituality, its connection to the divine, then we can look at water as a metaphor for that spirituality and thus the lack of water throughout the poem assumes a greater significance. In terms of religion and spirituality, water has been given an extremely important status, and has been used to denote many things. Broadly speaking, water has been used to represent four major concepts - life, purity, power and death or punishment (Broome, The Bible). Eliot appears to have interwoven all these meanings into his use of water, which seems to imply that he is speaking of humankind's loss of its humanity and its connection to God. To examine the question of how and why water is used so liberally in the poem, I will take each concept and examine it with respect to the poem. Scientifically too, water has been predicted to be the bearer of life; theories on the evolution of life generally agree that life arose from the thick soupy oceans in which the world was covered. Water itself is necessary for the propagation of life. Eliot would also have been aware of these theories as the period in which he lived was one ripe for science. His deep study of religion (Bush) is reflected in the references to the Bible and Hindu texts scattered throughout the poem. Within the very first part of the poem itself, the reference to water as a life-giver becomes evident: ".stirring dull roots with spring rain" and again from the lines of verse beginning at line 19 the landscape is described as dry, and therefore, dead and forbidding : A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water. Only There is shadow under this red rock, The lack of water is striking. There appears to be no water, no relief from the burning heat. Perhaps this is a reference to the lack of spiritual strength, the fact that there is no spiritual life as opposed to physical life. If we look at the Wasteland as a metaphor for the soul, then this interpretation is valid. This appears to be borne out later too, as Madame Sostrosis predicts the future from a pack of Tarot cards - "Fear death by water." She says. This could be a punishment for lack of belief, as water has often been used to bring punishment and the wrath of God. For example, the Great Flood in which Noah escaped in his

Freedom of Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Freedom of Speech - Essay Example The essay "Freedom of Speech" highlights that the call to convention for the purpose of devising and discussing all provisions for a constitution went out on October 16, 1786. The citizens of the new country knew that they had to have something in place that would provide for a free government instead of the loose confederation they had in place. It was realized that most of the problems being experienced by the new federation or union of states were of an economic nature and could be solved only by a common venture or government. James Madison for one read the tenor of the times and knew it was time to preserve the union they now enjoyed. A representative government was the only thing that would solve the collective problems of the union. The entire concept of a free government would have to be protected by a constitution created by elected representatives. The whole concept of a free government would have to be based on the will of the citizens who would choose representatives to a two house government which would provide for the governmental needs of the union. Something had to bind the people together for a fee government to work and that one thing turned out to be the separation of church and state. (Joseph Smith, 1987).