Friday, May 31, 2019

Week 10-12- Modernism - question 1


What is The Wasteland mean? 
- how has it interpreted? 
- What are some key features?
- Has it been influential?

Background/History- the Wasteland.

T.S. Eliot was the creator of the "Wasteland" poem. This poem is a long and literature poem which contrasts life and death, the past and the present in classical western society. He shows his opinions about the negative world through regret and despair in this poem about the modern world (Gavlvan, 2016, para 1). The poem was published in 1922. Due to "Hopelessness and disenchantment" ( Willms, 2018, para 1) after  World War I. Firstly, the story was short but Eliot started to write more after the period of the Great Depression in 1929 in Europe and still heading towards World War II. Although, the poem shows some key features about "loss of innocence and cynical questioning." (Willms, 2018, para 2). She speaks for those people who have been neglected and suffered through these difficult events. For example, ‘What shall I do now? What shall I do?’/…‘What shall we do tomorrow?/What shall we ever do?’” (829) have been quoted in Eliot's poetry about a generation that has been lost in time during these difficult times. 
The Great Gatsby is a good example of how Eliot's poem was used to make the film interesting. For instance, Jay Gatsby was imagery shown in a ruined tower. We see the prince in the novel starts with having great plans for his future but comes home with nothing at the end (Willms, 2018, para 4). The novel was influenced by T.S. Eliot's poem because it shows key features about "Hopelessness and disenchantment" ( Willms, 2018, para 1) as to where Jay gives up on his dreams and ambitions. 

Galvan. (2016, September 24). “The Waste Land” Parts I-II Analysis – FYWS: Community & Collaboration. Retrieved from https://wp.nyu.edu/communcollab2016/2016/09/24/the-waste-land-parts-i-ii-analysis/

Willms, K. (2017, May 30). Gatsby, Hemingway, and Howl: The Influence of The Waste Land. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Gatsby-Hemmingway-and-Howl-The-Influence-of-The-Waste-Land

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