" 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 Horror of war. Each spiritual text is employed in a specific manner to weight the observations Eliot creates.
             Son of man, stand upon thy feet and I will speak to thee.
             The story of Ezekiel involves a series of commands prescribed to him by God. These orders were God's plans to punish the "impudent and hard- hearted" Israelites. Each direct order is preceded by the words "son of man."
             Ezekiel's God was one who carefully and meticulously planned and orchestrated the mass destruction of his own people. However, he did not do this directly, but rather by sending Ezekiel as his prophet. This is a god whose intentions can be comprehended by a man. This is an old testament God, one who h...