This poem, which is divided into five parts, was exhaustive to read and understand. I had to read over it at least four to five times before I was able to make some sense out of it. The reason that the is so difficult to understand is because it seems to be haphazardly written in a "stream of consciousness." Also, many of the lines are in a different language and there are allusions throughout that I am not at all familiar with. Thus, many of the messages I was unable to understand at all.
             The poem, in literal time, covers about 12 hours:
             61 Under the brown fog of a winter dawn...
             208 Under the brown fog of a winter noon...
             220 At the violet hour, the evening hour...
             But there seems to be a deeper dimension in the poem that covers the cycle of life: birth, growth, maturity, decay, death, and rebirth. The poem implies that the driving force of all life on earth is procreation and rebirth. However, this poem portrays a wasteland that lacks this fertility and sexual potency. Because of this, the earth is so wasted it cannot produce life anymore. This lack of sexual potency is exemplified twice in the poem. For instance, when the ladies are playing chess at the closing time of a pub, they discuss one of the old lady's husband returning from the war and how she deals with pregnancy and abortion. Also, the sexuality between the typist and her lover seems to have indifference, lacking that "fire" of passion. Eliot describes this wasteland as "a heap of broken images, where the sun beats,And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,And the dry stone no sound of water (22-24)." Also, Eliot states, "He who was living is now dead/We who were living are now dying (328-329)." There is a constant reference to an intense thirst for water, symbolizing the intense agony and desire for baptism and salvation. This process seems to be like dyin
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