“ Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.” – Eliot, Tradition and the Individual Talent
Eliot believed poetry should be a lot like archaeology, the process itself like a carefully excavated dig. His relics are no more than scraps of ancient texts, warped and distorted by time, like the archaeologist’s “finds.” And just like an archaeologist, Eliot can only understand his ancient treasures from his own context, utilizing his own experiences.
In many of his poems, Eliot writes of emptiness and the futile, chaotic nature of humanity. To use spiritual texts, then, is a powerful means to attract attention through contrast. Spiritual texts represent a way a people fill the void caused by the anxieties of uncertainty. That is to say they provide comfort through a structure of irrefutable beliefs. The Wasteland is Eliot’s depiction of a shattered society, a Europe searching desperately for a spiritual direction that will restore “order” after The
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Only compassion “revives” Coriolanus, allowing his infatuation for vengeance to be replaced by the desire for peace. At the time of the writing of the poem, many people were looking to escape from their emotions, including Eliot, and spiritual texts represent guidelines for achieving that release. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things. “Becoming weary of all that, he divests himself of passion; by absence of passion, he is made free. He can be likened to a Judas type of character, a traitor who at the last minute realizes his mistakes, only to find he is too late. This is why their use in The Wasteland is so significant. He describes Carthage as a place where “unholy loves sang around mine ears. However, he did not do this directly, but rather by sending Ezekiel as his prophet. Out of vengeance and malice for his former Romans, he leads enemy forces against them. Eliot asks what have we given- “the awful daring of a moment’s surrender.
“Everything, O Bhikkus, is burning. “To Carthage then I came” is from St. ” Thus in order to honor Brahman, one should use one’s “expert hands” carefully, like when navigating a boat, not recklessly to extract obedience. Notice that Eliot writes, “your heart would have responded… to [his] controlling hands.
Approximate Word count =
1374
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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