Lost Hope; Analysis of The Waste Land by TS Eliot

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Faisal Al-Madani

English-IB-11

January 18, 2010

Lost Hope

Hope, a necessity of survival, is only available in the light of this dark world. TS Eliot is conveys this hope to be of no existence due to the darkness of the world. This darkness comes from the wars and the hope of reformation us nowhere to be found. TS Elliot specifically conveys this theme of lost hope in the lines 331-359 in the poem of “The Waste Land” through the use of allusions, extended metaphors, and spacing.

Throughout this piece of art, TS Eliot includes several interrelated allusions, and emphasizes The Fisher King in these lines specifically. One can interpret that the rocks mentioned in this stanza represent the war wounds of The Fisher King, and the water represents his hope of being cured. “Here is no water but only rock/ Rock and no water in the sandy road/…/ If there were water we should stop and drink/ Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think”(TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). Through this, one can conclude that the injury fills The Fisher King’s life, and he has no hope of survival. The water is on no presence and even if it were present, it is unreachable due to the mass injuries. This conveys lost hope. To further lose hope, TS Eliot states that hope is an illusion and will not be found. “ …If there were water/ And no rock/ If there were rock/ And also water/ A spring/ A pool amongst the rock/ If there were the sound of water only/…/ Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop/ But there is no water” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). The words say that, as much as The Fisher King wants a cure, this is nowhere to be found, even though it seems like the cure, or water, seems to be there, but in actuality, there is no water.

This is a preview of the whole essay

One can find lost hope through the extended metaphor emerging throughout the lines. The water is a metaphor of the hope of the reformation of the world. “Here is no water but only rock/ Rock and no water in the sandy road” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). “But dry sterile thunder without rain” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). “If there were water/ And no rock/ And also water/ And water” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). “But there is no water” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). One can improvise that the speaker is in search of water, a necessity of life, and cannot find it anywhere. This suggests life to be hopeless after it has been ‘destroyed’ by the Word Wars. One can also observe that all the signs of hope have been destroyed. The rocks represent all the barriers of hope. “Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). “here no one can neither stand nor lie nor sit” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). “If there were rock/ And also water” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”). “A pool amongst rock” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”).one can clearly interpret the ‘globalizing’ rocks, which represent the barriers of hope. These barriers prevent thinking and resting. TS Eliot suggests that the hope could be found within the barriers, but that hope is of minor existence. This proves that hope has barriers and these barriers should be overcome, but, because of their strength, they cannot be overcome in anyway, conveying lost hope.

Throughout these lines, TS Eliot leaves signs conveying towards themes such as loss of hope. He uses long lines, leaving no spacing after the line to show the lack of space for hope to emerge within. He specifically does that in lines 331-345 of “The Waste Land.” He writes till the margins and within these lines, he states “Here is no water but only rock.” (TS Eliot, “The Waste Land”) in which there is injury and darkness but no chance of hope. On the other hand, TS Eliot shows the reader that there is a chance of hope, but that chance is like a needle in a haystack. One can observe this in lines 346-359 of “The Waste Land.” These lines are composed of a few words, giving a vast space after each line. The space represents the chance of hope, but the space is too much to the point that it is conveyed as negative space, proving the point that hope is no where to be found.

Throughout “The Waste Land,” TS Eliot sticks to the theme of lost hope. He specifically defines this in the lines 331-359 through allusions, extended metaphors and spacing techniques. TS Eliot conveys several other themes within the poem. These themes can include deception, confusion, and many more. One can interpret these themes through thoroughly reading “The Waste Land” and ‘breaking’ it apart.

Works Cited

Eliot, T.S. “The Waste Land”. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.