The Waste Land; Part 1 The Burial of the Dead

"I am the resurrection and the life, saith the lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." St. John xi. 25, 26

"The Waste Land" is a poem almost entirely filled with allusions, and motifs that all refer back to a central idea. A major them of this poem is Life and Death. The First section of the Poem is entitled "The Burial of the dead" which alludes to bible, and the order of the Burial of the dead, which is found in the common book of prayer.

"April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing 
Memory and desire, stirring 
Dull roots with spring rain." 


April is usually considered uncruel, as it symbolizes life. But in this poem, it is the "the cruelest month" and winter is considered to keep a person warm, and cover up the land that regenerates in the spring. Lilacs (alluding to Walt Whitman's poem "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd") are said to be "breeding" out of the "dead land" this line represents rebirth, and how something beautiful can come from something that is dead. The beginning of the poem also alludes to Sybil, who wished for eternal life, but forget to wish for eternal youth, which resulted to be worse than death, because as you age you lose youth. This reconnects to the them of life and death, because dying is almost better than living and aging forever.

The first speaker of the poem is a female, who is German, and does not want to be mistaken for Russian. She tells a story of her childhood, and something that happened, during the winter, that frightened her. The woman is an older woman, but whatever happened to her still haunts her. The last of her Dialogue reads "I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter." This shows that the woman is of old age and that winter, she will go south, which means her life will most likely end.

The second speaker is also a woman "The hyacinth girl", the hyacinth is a flower that grows early in April till the end of may (the cruelest month) it is a flower that represents grief and mourning which again refers back to death. This dialect ends with "Oed' und leer das meer." (German) . This text is talking about Tristan and Isolt. Triston falls in love with the Irish Princess Isolt, who he has been sent to bring back to his king, this forbidden love ends tragically. This backs up the motif of love, or the lack of love, because this love lead to death. So love can lead to death, which is ironic because love is supposed to bring so much life to two people.

The third speaker, Madame Sosostris, is a famous fortune teller who is known to be "The wisest woman in Europe". She pulls out several tarot cards that each contain there own allusion, and foreshadow for what is to come in the next sections of them poem. For example;

"Here, said she
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)

The Phoenicians were ancient seamen, and merchants of the Mediterranean, in Eliot's notes, he says that the sailors will reappear in section IV of the poem, which shows that it is in fact a foreshadow to what is to come in the poem.

The contrast between life and death are repeatedly represented throughout this poem, with several allusions and motifs that refer back to the theme. Although their are minor themes throughout the poem, like love, and spirituality. Each minor them ties back into the major theme which is life and death.

"though he were dead, yet shall he live"