a that serves to break them. In The Waste Land this is demonstrated by the presence of a third person in a ceremony that should contain only two. In lines 139-166, Eliot presents a scene with "one too many". A husband (Albert) and a wife (Lil) are about to be reunited after Albert’s four year absence. What should be a happy reunion ceremony is broken by the intrusion of a third person- Lil’s "friend". She belittles Lil and then threatens her by saying, "And if you don’t give it [a good time] to him, there’s others will, I said./ Oh is there, she said. Something o’that, I said./ Then I’ll know who to thank, she said, and gave me a straight look." (ll. 149-151). For a true bond occur in a relationship there must be a true connection between two people. If one of the people in the relationship is cheating on the other, this is another example of a third person breaking a two person ceremony. In lines 360-366, Eliot writes, "Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together But when I look ahead up the white road There is always another one walking beside you Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded I do now know whether a man or a woman -But who is that on the other side of youThis passage shows a relationship between two people. One of them sees a third party. It is unknown if this is actually another person (as in the case of unfaithfulness) or if it is a secret "wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded" that is manifesting itself as an intruder on the walking couple. Whatever it is, it is breaking the ceremony of the relationship and obviously bothers the speaker who mentions "the other walking beside you" three times in just seven lines. Language is very important in the genre of poetry and Eliot makes good use of it to show components of ceremonies. The way the language is used in the poem creates b...
