but he does not dare.’ (Prufrock Notes)The first volume ofverse that Eliot wrote was “Prufrock and Other Observations.” In this, he uses the imagery of urban life in addition to the poetic depth. In this same year, Eliot became the assistant editor for the journal The Egoist.It wasn’t until Eliot joined the publishing firm Faber & Gwyer that he became financially secure. During this time, the stress from him being overworked, and the tensions from his troubled marriage, finally caught up to him. All of these things caused him to have a nervous breakdown. These negative effects, along with another physical condition that he had, prevented him from entering the Navy. During his recuperation, he finished writing “The Waste Land,” a poem that contained more then 400 lines. ‘It was published in 1922, after Eliot took some advice from Pound, by omitting much unfit material.’ (Literature) It immediately became the most famous and controversial example of ‘new’ poetry. Even though it had quick success, it was only after Eliot’s death that people came to fully appreciate “The Waste Land,” as the facts of his life, and marriage became public.In “The Waste Land,” there is no plot, or even a hero. It’s just a series of visions, where the poet doesn’t seem to be a person. ‘Sometimes he is portrayed as a silent listener, or other times a voice that asks questions, but gives no answers, or only cryptic ones.’ (Gardner 89) In this poem, the ultimate meaning is death. It is the death of mans spirituality, but to some, this explanation is only a myth.“The Waste Land” is based on the story about the Fisher King, and the blight of fertility that has fallen upon his lands. This blight can only be lifted when the ‘Deliverer’ asks the magic question, or performs the magic act. The poem is broken up into 5 di...
