The Mythical Method in "The Waste Land"
Personal Information:-
Name:- Aakash Chavda
Batch:- M.A. Sem 2 (2023-2025)
Enrollment Number:- 5108230011
E-mail Address:- aakashchavda637@gmail.com
Roll Number:- 1
Assignment Details:-
Topic: The Mythical Method in "The Waste Land"
Paper & subject code:- 22399 Paper 106: The Twentieth Century Literature: 1900 to World War II
Submitted to:- Smt. Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar.
Date of Submission:- 26 April, 2024
The Mythical Method in 'The Waste Land'" explores T.S. Eliot's use of mythological themes to illuminate the fragmented post-World War I European landscape. By blending classical myths in his poem with modernist sensibilities, Eliot crafts a multilayered poetic structure that transcends temporal boundaries, inviting readers to navigate human experience and consciousness. This assignment elucidates the significance of Eliot's mythical method and its lasting impact on literary interpretation.
Keywords: Myths, “The Waste Land”, Fragmentation, T. S. Eliot
Introduction: “The Waste Land”
In the tumultuous landscape of early 20th-century literature against the backdrop of the First World War, T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" stands as a magnum opus that epitomizes the ethos of modernism. Published in 1922, amidst a period marked by profound social, political, and cultural upheaval, "The Waste Land" emerged as a groundbreaking exploration of the fragmented psyche of World War I Europe. This assignment seeks to delve into the intricate tapestry of Eliot's poetic vision, particularly focusing on his use of the mythical method, a technique that intertwines ancient myths and rituals with contemporary themes to unravel the layers of meaning within the poem.
Literary Context
"The Waste Land" is a really important poem from a time when writers were trying new things. This period, called modernism, was all about breaking away from the old ways of writing and thinking, like those from the Victorian and Romantic periods. T.S. Eliot's poem "The Waste Land" is a great example of modernist writing. It's full of references to old myths, religions, and even things from modern life. Eliot mixes things up to make readers really think about the contemporary times. By bringing together different mythic characters and stories, Eliot makes a complicated picture of what it's like to be human in a confusing world. So, "The Waste Land" is like a symbol of Eliot's creative thinking and his desire to try new things in writing. It's a challenging poem, but it's also a way for us to think deeply about the world and ourselves.
The Use of Myths
Through his innovative "mythical method", T.S. Eliot sought to overlay ancient myths, symbols and fertility rituals onto modern urban life in The Waste Land. He drew heavily on anthropological studies like Sir James Frazer's The Golden Bough which compiled vegetation myths across cultures about sacred kings and sacrificial gods who died and were reborn to bring fertility to the land. Eliot saw these as symbolic expressions of the human psyche's yearning for spiritual renewal and integrated selfhood. By weaving in figures like the Fisher King, the drowned Phoenician sailor Phlebas, and the metamorphosing Philomel, Eliot created a modern mythological landscape where the quest for redemption and rebirth played out across the contemporary waste land of post-war society.
Eliot also incorporated ritualistic tarot symbols through the figure of Madame Sosostris, tying her divinations to the mediaeval Grail legends that Jessie Weston theorised stemmed from ancient fertility cults. The poem moves between literal and symbolic meaning, ancient and modern settings. The prophetic persona of Tiresias unifies all perspectives into one transcendent mythic consciousness. Yet the poem remains ambiguous about whether true redemption is achieved. Ultimately, the mythical method allows Eliot to juxtapose old spiritual patterns against modern alienation, using archetypal symbols to simultaneously mythologize and critique his fragmented modern reality.
Why Myths?
Eliot employs the mythical method in The Waste Land as a way to bring order, structure, and significance to the fragmented modern world he is depicting. By weaving in ancient myths, fertility rituals, and archetypal symbols and narratives, Eliot creates "a permanent parallel between ancient and modern time." This allows him to juxtapose the spiritual bankruptcy and sterility of contemporary society against the regenerative power and unified consciousness embodied in primordial myths. The mythical method provides a unifying framework to give shape to the "panorama of futility and anarchy" that is modern history.
Moreover, Eliot sees myth as a means to "retrieve the past human experience" and imbue it with renewed meaning for the present age. His intricate layering of vegetation myths, Grail legends, Eastern philosophies and more does not merely represent an escape into mysticism, but an active attempt to revitalize these timeless symbols as a conduit for understanding and transcending the modern malaise. For Eliot, the mythical method facilitates the difficult Process of "attaching ancient time with that of the contemporary world" in order to illuminate a path towards cultural and spiritual renewal.
Vegetation and Fecundity Myth
T.S. Eliot found inspiration in ancient stories about gods of vegetation and rituals celebrating fertility. These tales, found in books like “The Golden Bough" by James Frazer and “From Ritual to Romance” by Jessie Weston, described how ancient societies believed in gods who died and came back to life each year, symbolizing the cycle of nature. They also had ceremonies where young people faced challenges in the wild, symbolizing their transition to adulthood.
In these stories, the well-being of a king was tied to the fertility of his kingdom. If the king became impotent or infertile, the land would suffer, becoming barren like a wasteland. This idea of a wounded king leading to a blighted kingdom is a key theme in Eliot's work.
Eliot used these ancient myths to explore the struggles of modern life, aiming to find meaning in a world that felt morally empty after the First World War. By blending old stories with contemporary issues, he hoped to offer a sense of unity and understanding in a fragmented world.
Myth of Fisher King and Holy Grail
The Fisher King, a character from Arthurian legend dating back to the 12th century, guards the Holy Grail, originally depicted as a platter but later as the chalice from the Last Supper. Despite the Grail's miraculous powers, the Fisher King suffers from a wound that refuses to heal, causing his kingdom to become a barren wasteland. He is often depicted as an angler due to his title.
Eliot drew heavily from this mediaeval Arthurian legend of the Fisher King and the Holy Grail as a central mythical motif in The Waste Land. This legend has its roots in much older Indo-European fertility myths and rituals surrounding a wounded and impotent sacred king whose condition is tied to the barrenness or fertility of the land he rules over.
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The first known literary version is from Chrétien de Troyes' 12th century poem Perceval, where the knight Perceval encounters the Fisher King, unable to walk and fishing by a river. Perceval fails to ask about the meaning of the Holy Grail ceremony he witnesses at the king's castle.
Later versions like Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie identified the Grail as the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper, imbuing it with Christian significance. Wolfram von Eschenbach named the maimed king Amfortas and said the land's desolation stemmed from his sexual transgression and wounding.
Eliot saw in this mediaeval romance an echo of much older vegetation myths described by Frazer and Weston about sacrificial father and son deities for example Osiris, Attis, Adonis etc, who died and were resurrected annually to ensure the renewal of fertility and spring's return after winter. The Fisher King became a symbol of this archetypal sacred king whose impotence renders the land barren.
In The Waste Land, Eliot never names the Fisher King outright but associates him with the "The man with three staves" tarot card read by Madame Sosostris. He appears fishing by canals, unable to restore order and fertility to the spiritual wasteland surrounding him, waiting to be redeemed through the grail quest.
However, in Eliot's interpretation there is no redeeming hero like Percival to restore the land's potency. The poem suggests Western civilization itself has become the spiritually impotent, barren wasteland in need of regeneration that the questing knights failed to achieve.
By weaving in this ancient Indo-European myth cycle, Eliot creates symbolic parallels between the fertility rituals, the mediaeval grail quests, and modern society's perceived aridity and loss of meaning in the aftermath of the First World War. The Fisher King becomes emblematic of humanity's struggle in that spiritual wilderness to heal itself and recover a sense of wholeness.
Myth of “Famous Clairvoyante”
In the poem "The Waste Land," Madame Sosostris serves as a contemporary fortune teller who reads tarot cards. She symbolizes a modern twist on ancient Egyptian diviners who used tarot cards to predict the fertility cycles of the Nile river, indicating abundance or barrenness in the land.
Interestingly, Madame Sosostris cannot find "The Hanged Man" card, which Eliot suggests signifies the incomplete ancient fertility ritual and the sacrificial vegetation god depicted in myth. However, she does uncover "the man with three staves" card, which Eliot connects somewhat randomly to the Fisher King from Grail legends. This links Madame Sosostris' tarot reading to the archetypal myth of the wounded, impotent king, whose affliction has left the surrounding land barren and in need of redemption.
Through the juxtaposition of the mythological Fisher King with the modern fortune teller's cards, Eliot highlights the contrast between the timeless significance of ancient fertility rituals and the spiritually desolate state of the contemporary world after the First World War. Madame Sosostris represents both a connection to primal myth and its degradation in modern society.
Myth of Drowned Phoenicain Sailor
In "The Waste Land," Phlebas the Drowned Phoenician Sailor emerges as a key figure symbolizing ancient fertility rituals and the cycle of death and rebirth. Madame Sosostris reads his card, identifying him as the drowned sailor, and later, his lifeless body is depicted sinking to the sea floor, where it merges with the ocean's flora and fauna. Eliot draws parallels between Phlebas and ancient fertility deities like Tammuz, who underwent symbolic deaths and rebirths. Phlebas's drowning represents a fragmentary death, similar to the annual renewal of vegetation gods in ancient mythologies.
“the archetypal processes of individualization and formation of a new personality”
- Carl Jung
His transformation after death, symbolized by his eyes turning into "pearls," reflects a spiritual metamorphosis from the physical to the ethereal realm. Through Phlebas, Eliot explores the possibility of spiritual rejuvenation arising from ancient myths and rituals.
“those are pearls that were his eyes”
However, Phlebas also symbolizes the spiritual drought of the modern era, disconnected from the vitality of ancient rites. Thus, his fate underscores the search for renewal amidst the barrenness of the contemporary world.
Myth of Philomela
The myth of Philomela is derived from Ovid's Metamorphoses, tells the tale of a woman who is raped by her sister's husband, King Tereus, and then silenced by having her tongue cut out. Despite this trauma, Philomela finds a way to communicate the truth to her sister Procne, leading to a gruesome act of revenge. In the end, the gods transform Philomela into a nightingale, allowing her to express her sorrow through song.
In The Waste Land, Philomela's story is echoed in the line "Quando fiam uti chelidon" ("When shall I become a swallow?"), evoking her longing for transformation and renewal after suffering. Eliot uses her myth to illustrate the theme of spiritual regeneration amidst the degradation of the modern world.
Philomela's metamorphosis into a singing bird symbolizes the possibility of finding solace and redemption through suffering. Her mournful song resonates with the overarching imagery of death and rebirth in the poem, offering a glimpse of hope amid the spiritual barrenness depicted by Eliot.
Myth of Tiresias
"I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives,
Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see the future”
About Tiresias, Eliot remarks,
“although a mere spectator and not indeed a “character,” is yet the most important figure in the poem, uniting all the characters and their experiences”
In The Waste Land, there's a significant reference to Greek mythology, particularly the character of Tiresias, a blind prophet who embodies both male and female aspects. The character of Tiresias is important because the whole poem is made out of his stream of consciousness. Through Tiresias, the poem explores the interconnectedness of all individuals, regardless of gender, as he symbolises a merging of identities. Despite being blind, Tiresias has insight into the future, representing a unifying and fluid mythological presence within the poem.
“sees the substance of the poem”
Conclusion
T.S. Eliot used an array of the mythical images in "The Waste Land", which offers a rich tapestry of symbolism and allegory, weaving together various mythological elements to explore the complexities of the modern human condition after the First World War. Through this technique, Eliot unifies fragmented narratives and conveys profound themes of spiritual desolation, regeneration, and the search for meaning in a post-war world. The mythical method not only enhances the depth and richness of the poem but also challenges readers to engage with its layers of symbolism and interpretation, making "The Waste Land" a timeless masterpiece of modernist literature.
Wordcount: 2256
References
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Haas, Lauren. “The Revival of Myth: Allusions and Symbols in The Wasteland.” Denison University, vol. 3, no. 8, 2003, https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=ephemeris#:~:text=mythical%20allusions%2C%20The%20Fisher%20King,and%20guards%20the%20Holy%20Grail. Accessed 24 April 2024.
Helm, Thomas E. “Hermeneutics of Time in T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land.’” The Journal of Religion, vol. 65, no. 2, 1985, pp. 208–24. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1202207. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024
.Kuiper, Kathleen. “The Waste Land | Modernist Poetry, T.S. Eliot, Criticism.” Britannica, 28 March 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Waste-Land. Accessed 24 April 2024.
Salman, Adhwaa M. “T.S. Eliot's Mythical Method in the Masterpiece of 'The Waste Land.'” https://mabdaa.edu.iq/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/42-T.S.-Eliots-Mythical-Method-in-the-Masterpiece-of-The-Waste-Land.pdf. Accessed 24 April 2024.
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