The Waste Land: Facsimile Edition
Each facsimile page of the original manuscript is accompanied here by a typeset transcript on the facing page. This book shows how the original, which was much longer than the first published version, was edited through handwritten notes by Ezra Pound, by Eliot Preface by Ezra Pound.
Paperback, 184 pages
Published
March 20th 1974
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 1922)
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Manny
rated it
You know, one of the greatest poems of the 20th century and that kind of thing. I must know a fair amount of it by heart.
Here's a story about "The Waste Land" that some people may find amusing. Many years ago, when I was an undergraduate in Cambridge, a friend of mine asked me for advice on how to impress female Eng Lit majors. Well, I said, you could do worse than use The Waste Land. Just memorise a few lines, and you'll probably be able to bluff successfully.
...more
Here's a story about "The Waste Land" that some people may find amusing. Many years ago, when I was an undergraduate in Cambridge, a friend of mine asked me for advice on how to impress female Eng Lit majors. Well, I said, you could do worse than use The Waste Land. Just memorise a few lines, and you'll probably be able to bluff successfully.
...more
I'm trying to write a term paper on this poem (key word is "trying") and then I realized, hey, I should waste some time by writing a review of the poem on Goodreads! So here we are.
Here's my thing about T.S. Eliot: the man is ungodly brilliant and I love almost everything he's written. Does this mean I understand a single goddamn word of it? Of course not. But (and this is the great part) that doesn't matter. Eliot has been quoted as saying he's perfectly aware that no one...more
Here's my thing about T.S. Eliot: the man is ungodly brilliant and I love almost everything he's written. Does this mean I understand a single goddamn word of it? Of course not. But (and this is the great part) that doesn't matter. Eliot has been quoted as saying he's perfectly aware that no one...more
This Pisses Me Off and Makes Me Feel Like a Moron
I've had to read this twice in the course of my education, and I don't like it one bit, though I thoroughly appreciate its status and importance. Sort of like my attitude to atomic weapons. You wouldn't dismiss atomic weapons as 'crap', but you could legitimately say 'I appreciate their significance but I don't like them at all.'
I don't think there has ever been more literary masturbation about any other piece of literature tha...more
I've had to read this twice in the course of my education, and I don't like it one bit, though I thoroughly appreciate its status and importance. Sort of like my attitude to atomic weapons. You wouldn't dismiss atomic weapons as 'crap', but you could legitimately say 'I appreciate their significance but I don't like them at all.'
I don't think there has ever been more literary masturbation about any other piece of literature tha...more
i think this might make me an anti-intellectual, but i enjoyed this poem so much more when i read this outside of the classroom and infused it with my own tenuous understanding of what was going on in the poem. in class, explicating every single obscure reference effectively killed it. still such a powerful opening though. his poems have lines you want to taste in your mouth, and repeat over and over like magical intonations, or write down covertly in a secret book of quotes.
Emily O
added it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
poetry lovers, English majors
Recommended to Emily by:
ENG 252 (American Lit Post-1800s)
What can one say about The Waste Land that hasn't already been said? It's disjointed, difficult, long, and brilliant. Parts of it are confusing and grotesque (I'm looking at you, carbuncular young man) while other parts are strikingly painfully beautiful. It is laden with symbolism and references to everything under the sun. The only interpretation people can agree on is that something is terribly broken, though no-one can seem to agree on exactly what that thing is. If you like poetry, and are ...more
“Ho i nervi a pezzi stasera. Sì, a pezzi. Resta con me.
Parlami. Perché non parli mai? Parla.
A che stai pensando? Pensando a cosa? A cosa?
Non lo so mai a cosa stai pensando. Pensa.”
Penso che siamo nel vicolo dei topi
Dove i morti hanno perso le ossa.
Mi sento sola stasera. Le lacrime premono sulla punta degli occhi. E c’è un piccolo nodo di nausea là in fondo, che non si vuol sfogare in nessun modo. Forse è la stanchezza, è tutto il giorno che sto s...more
Parlami. Perché non parli mai? Parla.
A che stai pensando? Pensando a cosa? A cosa?
Non lo so mai a cosa stai pensando. Pensa.”
Penso che siamo nel vicolo dei topi
Dove i morti hanno perso le ossa.
Mi sento sola stasera. Le lacrime premono sulla punta degli occhi. E c’è un piccolo nodo di nausea là in fondo, che non si vuol sfogare in nessun modo. Forse è la stanchezza, è tutto il giorno che sto s...more
I read this a decade ago. It didn't do much for me. I think I enjoyed Four Quartets more, but I'm not much of an Eliot fan on the whole.
Oh, and an annotated version can be read here:
http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html
Oh, and an annotated version can be read here:
http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html
Original Review
To be perfectly honest, I really expected not to like this poem. I was really kind of expecting to hate it, in fact. I've read a little bit of Ezra Pound, a jillion years ago, didn't like it, and I guess just figured this would be the same. Here's the thing - I didn't hate it. And I don't know why. It was obtuse, it made no sense at times, it deliberately obscured itself, it had all the things I hate in modern poetry.
Except for one little, tiny thing: It wa...more
To be perfectly honest, I really expected not to like this poem. I was really kind of expecting to hate it, in fact. I've read a little bit of Ezra Pound, a jillion years ago, didn't like it, and I guess just figured this would be the same. Here's the thing - I didn't hate it. And I don't know why. It was obtuse, it made no sense at times, it deliberately obscured itself, it had all the things I hate in modern poetry.
Except for one little, tiny thing: It wa...more
John Wiswell
rated it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Poetry readers who've read everything else
Random, eclectic, failing to achieve emotional rhythm, largely hopeless, uninteresting, unappealing - this, which I'm told is a classic, strikes me as the kind of tripe I'd hear at a 10:00 at night in a bad coffee house. It's a crushing letdown after the ponderous Four Quartets, which is much more worth your time. That poem (or four poems) by this same poet contains all the meaning of this obnoxious thing, and wraps them up in a far greater scheme of humanity's relationship to time. The heart of...more
I read this about 30 years ago, but have since revisted it because of my son's school project on Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." For an Eliot fan, it's a must-have. Like most here, I agree with Pound's edits. Still, I've always liked the first major "cut" from the poem: "He Do the Police in Different Voices, Part I." But more importantly, I've always wanted to know the backstory behind Eliot's interest in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." I'm fascinated by the ...more
This is one of the most brilliant depictions of the modern society as we see it today(and as Eliot himself prophesied); a barren wasteland were we look not on memory and desire as passionate and meaningful, but only wish to forget the human element of our lives. Or at least, this is what I've taken from it; and does this not show that this poem in itself bears multiple meaning on whomsoever reads it. The language is beautiful and elegant (full of French, Italian and other languages within the po...more
Eliot's ''The Waste Land'' represents his concept of tradition and impersonality in poetry, in which the use of allusions and quotations in the poem enables it to achieve its Modernist impersonality.
Modernist writing uses myths as a structuring technique to replace the connected sequence of narrative.
The poem is written in free verse which is one feature of Modernist poetry along with its dense of allusions and fragmentary images. The structure of the poem suggests a sha...more
I've read The Waste Land a few times over the course of my education. I would love to state that I have a profound understanding of it after so many reads, but I don't. I can say that until this last reading I had relegated the work to brilliant but not anywhere near my taste of literature category. It's funny how one idea, one line, can change your view of a larger piece. What's even more intriguing is that it isn't the line or the idea that is new but you. The you who is reading right now is d...more
I'm doing a line by line close reading of The Wasteland, because I have the utter gall and audacity to think that I may do some kind of review here. I don't know what that will look like, yet -- but I reckon if I make this note, some of the goodreaders might actually hold me to it.
I'm through sections I and II. I love this edition, which has copious annotations including Eliot's own, an excellent introduction that discusses some of the more important and interesting text changes over the ...more
I'm through sections I and II. I love this edition, which has copious annotations including Eliot's own, an excellent introduction that discusses some of the more important and interesting text changes over the ...more
Duh. Five stars, of course. I'm not a huge poetry buff. In fact, I don't really like poetry. Why? Because most of the time I have no idea what the poet is talking about. There are so many mythological and biblical allusions, etc., that there's no way to understand all of it. Unless, of course, you've read everything that's ever been written and devoted your life to studying poetry.
But, this poem is one of my favorites, and even though I don't understand every allusion, the important th...more
But, this poem is one of my favorites, and even though I don't understand every allusion, the important th...more
I really enjoyed this poem and the footnotes that went along with it. It was very engaging, knowledge filled, and a good read. It was easier to read than I thought it would be because many of these poems can be hard to decipher. It encompassed Christianity, mythology, and other ideas all in the same respect and I really liked that. I thought it connected the dots very well.
The introduction explained very well how it is about spiritual dryness and references to Sir James Frazer's "...more
The introduction explained very well how it is about spiritual dryness and references to Sir James Frazer's "...more
This is a poem that grew on me after a few readings, for I not only had to re-read the entire poem but also research stanzas as I went along. Unless the reader is highly erudite and versed in multiple languages, I strongly recommend having the patience to look up translations and references - it makes the poem much richer.
So, what is my personal takeaway of The Waste Land? On some level, I believe Eliot saw the role of a poet as also one of a prophet, and The Waste Land is his epic p...more
So, what is my personal takeaway of The Waste Land? On some level, I believe Eliot saw the role of a poet as also one of a prophet, and The Waste Land is his epic p...more
T.S. Eliot is one of my favorite poets, and everything he writes is so endlessly beautiful and quotable.
My favorite quote of all time (Ok, tied for 1st with a Pablo Neruda quote) is in Wasteland.
"These fragments I have shored against my ruins."
But there are so many other good lines.
Here's some of the lines I love most from The Wasteland:
-Your shadow at morning striding behind you, or your shadow at evening rising to meet you
...more
My favorite quote of all time (Ok, tied for 1st with a Pablo Neruda quote) is in Wasteland.
"These fragments I have shored against my ruins."
But there are so many other good lines.
Here's some of the lines I love most from The Wasteland:
-Your shadow at morning striding behind you, or your shadow at evening rising to meet you
...more
Reading THE WASTE LAND by T.S. Eliot is like sitting in a French cafe without the benefit of the language. Among the characteristics of the French is the allusion to their nihilism, yet they are said to be great lovers of language, art and diverse culture.
You sit under an awning, sipping cafe au lait, listening to the beauty of feelings expressed by higher or lower intonations. Without understanding any of the words, you have absorbed the wonder of related expressions of being human...more
You sit under an awning, sipping cafe au lait, listening to the beauty of feelings expressed by higher or lower intonations. Without understanding any of the words, you have absorbed the wonder of related expressions of being human...more
This is possibly too much information but when I was in labor 25 years ago, I listened to a record of TS Eliot reading this. i'd wander in and out of listening to hear profound phrases that spoke to me in my current situation. I can still hear his droning voice saying "My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me." and "HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME"
GEE. Why the hell are the comments for Eliot's Prufrock listed here? I'm sure that's because of some classification thing, because when I click on Eliot's Selected Poems I see the same reviews. What's wrong with this thing? I have this particular book and it's ONLY The Wasteland so this stupid website is deluded.
This is not for the faint of heart. It is a poem laden with references to older works and probably should be read in a class which is how I read it years ago in school. I believe the early versions contain Eliot's notes with sources so any edition read should be one that has those which will be a help. It's well worth tackling as it is a great work. There are many lines from it that have made their way into the vernacular and many iconographic elements that have made their way into popular cultu...more
In summary: the poem is aptly titled if ‘waste’ is the colloquial ‘to poop on’, and ‘land’ means ‘my time’.
Okay, so this has been on my reading list for a while. It was supposed to be so good. Its legend preceded it, and it had a lot to live up to, judging from many literature buffs . Some have referred to this poem as an embodiment of the zeitgeist of the 20th century. Besides being a poet and writer, T.S. Eliot was a literary critic whom any author of his time would have begged on ...more
Okay, so this has been on my reading list for a while. It was supposed to be so good. Its legend preceded it, and it had a lot to live up to, judging from many literature buffs . Some have referred to this poem as an embodiment of the zeitgeist of the 20th century. Besides being a poet and writer, T.S. Eliot was a literary critic whom any author of his time would have begged on ...more
As an English literature student, I stumbled upon this poem a bit late. It was during Pokok dan Tokoh Sastra Inggris with Mrs. Retno I got a chance to read the poem.
It is rich with imagery. A bit confusing perhaps but no doubt it is a masterpiece and a breakthrough at its age.
It is rich with imagery. A bit confusing perhaps but no doubt it is a masterpiece and a breakthrough at its age.
This poem is little more than "a practically meaningless collection of phrases, learned allusions, quotations, slang, and scraps in general." This poem is joke on the literary world that continue to imbue meaning and greatness into this meaningless potpourri on the main theme of disillusionment with modern life. It is really only meaningful in that it provides insight into a mind that was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and incapable of coherent expression. Though some say the g...more
the facsimile edition (published around 1969) of the original draft, with valerie eliot & ezra pound's mark-ups, indispensable : you get an impression of how much of the final was pound's edit ... fascinating study.
Not having a degree in English...I'm sorry, but I just don't know what this epic poem was about. The language is beautiful, and T.S. Eliot is heck of a lot more educated than me. His own annotations are not only highly varied in their references, but he fully explains a passage by quoting an entire untranslated portion of the source (Dante, I think) in Italian...like I'm supposed to jump up and say, "Oh, now I get it!" Anyway, I am just cultured enough to recognize a brilliant piece...more
The General Manager of the bookstore where I worked making coffee (the defunct Borders), who happened to ring me up for this slim book, told me that he'd studied The Waste Land for a whole semester in college and not fully understood it. I knew it had a reputation. From one reading I agree it was almost a hypertext, albeit without the connections made convenient. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is very beautiful, more beautiful certainly at first, but I won't knock The Waste Land, I'll just ...more
This poem is long, confusing, and cryptic... but my god, is it beautiful!!! T. S. Eliot really has a way with words, and even though I didn't understand a lot of this poem, I still enjoyed reading it very much. I actually read it twice, just to see if I would understand more the second time around. I didn't, but I figure that's just Eliot for you. And it's not just the Wasteland... the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is absolutely gorgeous, too. Eliot is a master, even if a confusing one. "...more
He changed everything.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brain Pain: * Questions, Resources and General Banter - The Waste Land | 72 | 44 | Feb 07, 2012 02:47am | |
| Brain Pain: * Clues for reading The Waste Land | 1 | 16 | Feb 02, 2012 12:11am | |
| The Waste Land as Grail Quest? | 4 | 18 | Jan 03, 2012 04:44pm | |
| Brain Pain: * Schedule for Discussions - The Waste Land | 1 | 37 | Dec 18, 2011 08:00am |
Thomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." He wrote the poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four Quartets; the plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party; and the essay Tradition and t...more
More about T.S. Eliot...
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“April is the cruelest month, breeding
lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
memory and desire, stirring
dull roots with spring rain.”
—
228 people liked it
lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
memory and desire, stirring
dull roots with spring rain.”
“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. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
—
56 people liked it
More quotes…
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”

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