THE WASTE LAND - THE FIRE SERMON - by T. S. Eliot - Notes

THE WASTE LAND - THE FIRE SERMON - by T. S. Eliot - Notes

T. S. Eliot is the person who introduced the theory of 'Objective Correlative' which is the usage of a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events as a mediation which shall be the formula of the particular emotion which the poet wants to transfer to the readers which otherwise he could not. In the same manner, mediations which are sets of objects, situations and chains of events of previous literatures are used in this poem to give the readers the glimpse of the emotion or idea he wants to deliver. This requires a pre - knowledge of those allusions for the readers. Also this makes easy for the poet too, to get ready made characters, situations and events to compose the poem with, not having to introduce the nature of characters or the nature of situations or events already introduced in other works of literature which the readers are expected to have read. And here, some of the original lines are directly taken. Such lines are not to be understood directly but an indirect meaning should be considered by generalisation.

POEM:

Lines 173-175

The river's tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf
Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind
Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed.

PARAPHRASE:
There is a river. There is also a tree beside which forms like a tent for the river. The tree has finger-like leaves which are shed. So the tent for the river is broken. The leaves are half-sunk in the wet sand in the edge of the river. A breeze pass by the place with no one to enjoy it. Due to the beauty of the river and its whereabouts, female deities called nymphs were imagined to be there. Now they are unimaginable to prevail.

POEM:

Lines 176-179

Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.
The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends
Or other testimony of summer night. The nymphs are departed.
And their friends, the loitering heirs of city directors;
Departed, have left no addresses.

REPHRASE:
Sweet Thames, (continue to) run softly, till I end my song. (Was said in the 16th century)
(When)
The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends
Or other testimony of summer night.
(Now that they are present in the 20th century)
The nymphs are departed.

PARAPHRASE:
The river Thames in England and its whereabouts inspired Spenser in the 16th century to write the poem "Prothalamion" and was asked to continue to flow and keep inspiring the same way at least until he completed his poem.
Back then people did not indulge in evil activities and the river did not bear any testimony to such acts in Summer nights (empty bottles, sandwich papers,
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends). Now that they are present in the 20th century, nymphs are unimaginable.

POEM:

LINES 180-181

And their friends, the loitering heirs of city directors;
Departed, have left no addresses.

PARAPHRASE:
The sons and daughters of rich people holding posts in the administrative sectors of the city have not brought them up properly. So they move around aimlessly fulfilling their desires near the river Thames and leave the place with no traces of their identity.

POEM:

Lines 182-186

By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept…
Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song,
Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long.
But at my back in a cold blast I hear
The rattle of bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear.

PARAPHRASE:
The speaker sat and wept for a cause which is so serious that one can weep even before the beautiful mesmerising Lake Geneva of Switzerland, France. River Thames was pleasant in the 16th century. The speaker asks the river not to get disturbed by his voice and he is not going to speak for a long time. But the speaker says that he himself is disturbed because of the news of deaths and wrong deeds done casually.

POEM:
Lines 187-192
A rat crept softly through the vegetation
Dragging its slimy belly on the bank
While I was fishing in the dull canal
On a winter evening round behind the gashouse
Musing upon the king my brother's wreck
And on the king my father's death before him.

PARAPHRASE:
On a winter evening behind a gas house, the speaker was fishing in the canal which was running sluggishly. A weak rat passes by along the bank, signifying the disgusting society which is prevailing in the time. Not only the external factors are mournful, the speaker is also disturbed internally, just as how one may feel when contemplating about the death of his brother and his father who were kings the former of whom died in a ship wreck and the latter, long before; just as Prospero does in the play 'Tempest' by Shakespeare.

POEM:

Lines 193-195

White bodies naked on the low damp ground
And bones cast in a little low dry garret ,
Rattled by the rat's foot only, year to year.

PARAPHRASE:
White bodies, probably dead bodies of the English are thrown in the attic like graves under the ground where the speaker is. The ground is damp because it is a river bank. These bodies are shaken by rats year after year. This signifies that not only there is degradation of society on the ground but there are also decaying dead bodies under the ground.

POEM:

Lines 196-202

But at my back from time to time I hear
The sound of horns and motors, which shall bring
Sweeney to Mrs Porter in the spring.
O the moon shone bright on Mrs Porter
And on her daughter
They wash their feet in soda water
Et O ces voix d'enfants, chantant dans la coupole!

PARAPHRASE:
Again and again the speaker hears the motor vehicles which probably makes people like Sweeney, a lecherous character of Eliot's works, meet people like Mrs Porter and her daughter who do immoral activities and wash their feet in soda water doing which was believed to save them from diseases related to such acts. Because they do such acts in the night time, the moon shines on them brightly but for dark deeds. Mrs Porter is taken from a song sung by Australian troops during World War I. The translation of the last line from French is "And O those children's voices singing in the dome!" depict those daughters who are virgin and singing in the church I suppose.

PARSIFAL has vanquished the Damsels, their gentle
Babble and amusing luxury, and their bent
Toward the Flesh of the virgin boy they would tempt
To love their glowing breasts and their gentle babble.
He has vanquished the Woman with heart so subtle,
Displaying her tempting arms and throat like a lily
bent;
He has vanquished Hades and returned to his tent
With the heavy trophy of burnished metal.
With the spear in his arms that pierced the Saviour's
side.
He has healed the king and now a king, in his pride.
He has himself become — priest of the Holy GraiL
He kneels to adore in garments of golden fire
The vase where the Saviour's blood like the morning
shines —
And, O, the voices of children singing in the choir.

POEM:

Lines 203-206

Twit twit twit
Jug jug jug jug jug jug
So rudely forc'd
Tereu

PARAPHRASE:

NOTE: THIS IS STILL INCOMPLETE.