T.S. Eliot wrote "The Waste Land" using a different type of poetry style and organization than was typical at the time. It follows the flow of its own themes, jumping from time to time and place to place as quickly as a thought comes and goes. Eliot uses opposites juxtaposed with each other without transfer to emphasize his themes. The poem is a mythic experience of kings, queens, and heroes. Eliot also uses this poem as an ironic quest of modern day people. The setting and the cast of "The Waste Land" exist within the mind of the poem's speaker. The poem is structured around the way the themes move in the speakers mind. "The Waste Land" is Eliot's commentary on the state of the society that he lived in. Eliot depicts a world that is in a state of confusion and turmoil with little or no hope for recovery. Eliot uses the myth of the Fisher King to represent his society that is decaying morally and socially.
             The Fisher King is a fertility myth that is paralleled by many other myths and stories throughout "The Waste Land." In this myth a great kingdom is rendered desolate when a curse is placed upon the king by a wound of some sort. A great hero must complete a challenge and prove his worth so that the Fisher King may be healed. The hero that proves he is worthy and completes the tasks becomes the Fisher King by his deeds. Usually the Fisher King is associated with Arthurian legend and the quest for the Holy Grail. However, the actual story of the Fisher King probably has its roots in the pagan fertility ceremonies or Celtic myths.
             The first section of the poem is titled "The Burial of the Dead." This section flows along from one passage to the next drawing connections across time and place. The speaker is centering his thoughts on the certainty that death is on the way. He hopes that soon the mythical rebirth and revival will happen. This comes togethe...