4

LE Ministre de LEnseignement Suprieur et de la Recherche Scientifique

Universit de Tunis
Ecole Normale Suprieure
Mmoire de Matrise
Spcialit Anglais
Exploring Individualit!: The Aesthetics of
Representation in T.S Eliots The Waste Land.
Supervised "!# Dr. Mohamed a!har "o#a!!i
Su"mitted "!# Amira $edhili
%&&'(%&)&
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4
$c%no&ledgements
I *o#ld li+e to avail m,self of this opport#nit, to express m, deep gratit#de to all those *ho
have sho*n an #nfaltering readiness to assist me in -ringing this piece of *or+ to completion.
I *o#ld li+e to ac+no*ledge m, great inde-tedness to m, s#pervisor Dr. Mohamed a!har
"o#a!!i *hose #nfailing assistance. insightf#l co#nsel. val#a-le s#ggestions and gen#ine
interest have al*a,s -een an impet#s to me to -roaden the scope of this research paper and to
ma+e head*a, *ith this *or+. M, than+s are d#e to m, former teacher Dr. A-denne-i "en
"e,a for his *illingness to provide me *ith val#a-le reading material. I o*e this piece of
*or+ to m, former teachers at I/ES$T. 'Avril and E0S namel, Slah +efi. Dr. $a1er "en
Driss. Dr. Tahar a-assi. Mr. $am!ao#i *hose co#rse materials have provided me *ith a
range of theoretical tools to approach the poems and n#rt#red in me s#ch a passion for
English research. I cannot forego the readiness of the E0S li-rar, staff to s#ppl, me *ith the
necessar, reading material. ast -#t not least. I ac+no*ledge m, gratef#lness to m, parents
*ho have al*a,s gone to great lengths in order to cater for m, needs and never failed to -ac+
me #p.
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'edication
To the memor, of m, #ncle2
To all those *ho have stood -, me2.
To all m, friends at the E0S and I/ES$T2
4
Ta"le of (ontents
Ac+no*ledgements2222222222222222222222222222.....3
Dedication22222222222222222222222222222222...4
Ta-le of contents222222222222222222222222222222.5
Introd#ction22222222222222222222222222222222.6
7hapter I: Revisting "inarism:
)8 Transval#ating d#alities222222222222222222222222)%
%8 The 9fictive: as a model for the
9lived:22222222222222222....%)
38 Imitation as a creative act22222222222222222222222..%5
7hapter II: The dialogic text#re of The Waste land:
)8 The Reader 9co(versing: himself2222222222222222222......33
%8 The am-ivalent fig#ration in Eliots poetr,: Imagism and S,m-olism222222;)
38 Eliots dialogic poetic vision: 9the spirit#al concrete:222222222222.;;
7hapter III: Modes of artic#lation in T.S. Eliots poetr,:
)8 7hallenging 9the inartic#late: thro#gh m#sicalit,222222222222224&
%8 The interpla, -et*een metaphor and meton,m,: The love song of J.Alfred Prufrock as
an example222222222222222222222222222224;
7oncl#sion222222222222222222222222222222224'
"i-liograph,2222222222222222222222222222222.5)
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4
)ntroduction
.
T.S.Eliots The Waste Land
1
. 9Four Quartets
2
and 9The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

can -e vie*ed as a defense for poetr,. a plea for revision. or rather a 9re(vision: of the correlation
-et*een art and life. It is an endeavor on the part of Eliot to emancipate the reader from the
entrenched monopol, of metaph,sics and the instit#tionali!ed post#lations of traditional
hermene#tic s,stem. 7o#ched in a s#-tle indicting tone. Eliot levels a criti<#e against the critic.
discredits the existence of a s,stematic and transcendental referent. and dispenses *ith all those
reificator, interpretive axioms r#ling that the things of the *orld have prescri-ed roles and allotted
positions. and that giving a mimetic and exha#sti-le rendition of this realit, is the province of art.
Eliot imparts to the vistas of experiences -, rendering in his poetr, a s+eptical and c,nical slant.
endeavoring to offer an insight into the precario#sness of the +no*ledge and certaint, traditional
modalities of +no*ledge s#ch as those science. empiricism and metaph,sics p#rport to install.
The Waste Land see+s to o#st metaph,sics from its position as an exha#stive and
relia-le expositor of +no*ledge. and shatter the ass#mption that empirical realit, is the loc#s of
tr#th. Thro#gh leveling o#t hierarchies and dismantling -inar, oppositions. The Waste Land -rings
into pla, a concept#al logic of free(floating signifiers and #nderscores a contrap#ntal reading
strateg, that cannot ta+e place *itho#t the readers consent to dispense *ith their preconceptions
and pre(esta-lished codes of interpretations. The Waste Land charts a revisionist approach to a range
of metaph,sicall, laden concepts s#ch as realit,. art. and +no*ledge. and p#ts the poetics of
1
T.S. Eliot! The Waste Land "ondon: =a-er and =a-er.)'5%#
2
TS. Eliot. 9The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock $n The selected Poe%s "London: Fa&er and Fa&er! 1'(2#
3
)ernard )ergon*$ ed.! T.S +l$ot Four Quartets >ondon: Macmillan /ress TD. )'5'#
4
affirmation and negation #nder s#spicion. ?ne *o#ld vent#re to sa, that Eliots poetr, heralds the
advent of a ne* hermene#tics iss#ing from the drastic dissent from the val#e( ridden metaph,sical
apparat#ses and emanating from the dismantling of reified interpretative frame*or+s. Eliots
revisionist and s+eptical treatment of literar, approaches displa,s a discerna-le +inship *ith
Montaignes insight into the el#sive and d#-io#s nat#re of the empirical *orld. as he asserts that
9*e need to interpret interpretation more than to interpret things.:
;
Eliots re1ection of all forms of Manichean divisions. ant$thet$cal perm#tations and
metaph,sical stratifications. alongside his conspic#o#s mistr#st of the conventional interpretative
pres#mptions. is an offshoot of a -roader 9paradigm shift:. -orro*ing Thomas @#hns designation
of the radical and far(reaching change of the -asic concepts effecting the entire *orld vie*.
sciences. h#manities. philosoph,. politics. econom,. and hermene#tics. In his The Structure of
Sc$ent$f$c ,evolut$ons. @#hn expo#nds the grad#al a-rogation of the traditional paradigms of
normative sciences and metaph,sics on the gro#nds that 9rather than -eing elementar,. logical or
methodological distinctions. the, -ecome the tradition(shattering complements to the tradition
-o#nd
activit,.:
4
A possi-le reform#lation of this assertion *o#ld -e that those conventional
paradigms and shared ass#mptions have lost gro#nds in a *orld *here tr#th and +no*ledge no
longer hold and *here the overarching scientific relativit, of A#ant#m ph,sics holds s*a,.
The 9pre(given:. adopting the $eideggerians definition of the set of -eliefs. ass#mption.
9tr#ths: and re<#isites on *hich the individ#als are pres#med to proceed in the process of
interpreting the *orld and positioning themselves *ithin it. is no longer vie*ed as an o-1ect of
representation -#t rather as a material that a*aits negotiation. redefinition and re(shaping. An,
post#lation of an #naltera-le existence or prom#lgation of a monolithic approach to art is sentenced
to lose its via-ilit, in the midst of the ceaseless aporetic pla, of signification at *or+ in the T.S
Eliots poetr,. The ontological. metaph,sical. and empirical pres#ppositions #pon *hich 9-asic
4
Bac<#es Derrida! Wr$t$ng and -$fference. Alan "ass. trans.. 9Structure! S$gn and Pla. $n the -$scourse of
/u%an Sc$ences: >ondon: Ro#tledge.)'C68. p. %C6.
5
Thomas @h#n. The Stucture of Sc$ent$f$c ,evolut$ons. >ondon: Dniversit, of 7hicago /ress. )''58. p.3.
4
concepts: s#ch as tr#th. self. +no*ledge #sed to rest. are constantl, overt#rned. proved to -e mere
fallacies steeped in the simplistic logics of -inar, oppositions. S#ch an assertion carries the
implication that imitation can no longer -e conceived of as a mere act of red#plication -#t rather as
a process of el#cidation. creation. and completion.
=ar from -eing a d#ll s,stematic and slavish act of em#lation. mimesis is constr#ed as an
ongoing process of self(fashioning and *orld( ma+ing in its o*n right. ?nl, can representation
prompt the self to re(mo#ld and credit itself *ith a divine and creative dimension mimic+ing the
providential recreational potential.
4

(hapter *#
+inarism Re,visited
4
*- Transvaluating "inar! opposites in The Waste land:
And even the a-stract entities
7irc#mam-#late her charm
"#t o#r lot cra*ls -et*een dr, ri-s
To +eep o#r metaph!sics *arm.
5
D#e to its historical ramifications and anchorage in divergent philosophical traditions.
the term 9representation: sets into motion an irresol#-le aporia in terms of the relationship -inding
art. life and self. Representation is the individ#als inel#cta-le lot. for the living s#-1ect cannot do
*itho#t the fictive to alleviate the harro*ing m#ndanit, of 9the tho#sand sordid images that
constit#te the self:
C
or to -reathe some vividness into the familiar experiences that the living s#-1ect
#navoida-l, enco#nters.
Since the renaissance. the theor, of the fictional. never represented as s#ch
-#t as a form of elo<#ence. has endeavored to sec#re for its o-1ect
illegitimate place among intellect#al activities. *hile at the same time
den,ing that it *as a loc#s of tr#th. th#s reserving for it an inferior position
in the hierarch, of disco#rses. In that sense the effort on the part of the earl,
*riters on treaties on poetr,. especiall, the Italian. *as to 1#stif, the right of
the fictional to exist -, s#-ordinating it to the disco#rse of tr#th. $ence the
c#rrenc, of the term referred toE imitation. As a conse<#ence. the modern ear
has since its -eginning -een #na-le to deal *ith the <#estion of mimesis
*itho#t either locating it in an inferior space or as it *o#ld from the
nineteenth cent#r, on. re1ecting its o#tright.
6

Thro#gh this statement. ima endeavors to n#llif, the hierarch, of disco#rses and sh#n an,
prioriti!ation of 9the Real: over 9the =ictive:. This "ra!ilian critic gives gro#nds for the re(
visitation and reconsideration of -inar, distinctions -et*een life and its fictionali!ed or rather
6
T.S. Eliot. 9Fhispers of Immortalit,: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%8. p.;3.
7
T.S. Eliot. 9/rel#des: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%8. p.)&.
8
#is 7osta ima. 0ontrol of the 1%ag$nar.: ,eason and 1%ag$nat$on $n 2odern T$%es >Metropolis: Dniversit,
of Minnesota /ress. )'668. p.)%3.
4
poetici!ed version. imas statement carries the implication that the 9real *orld: is no more
a#thentic or relia-le than the 9fictionali!ed: or fa-ricated one. 7orrespondingl,. having fract#red
the *orld of real experience. Eliots poetic persona declares that he can event#all, 9constr#ct
something #pon *hich to re1oice.:
'
Detached from the over-#rdening *orldliness that eng#lfs him.
the poetic persona relishes in realit, as an imaginar, 9constr#ct: rather than a concrete
phenomenonE hence Eliots transval#ation of the realit,G the fictive d#alism. Extricating poetr, from
the -rac+eted off province of -arren and form#laic referentialit,. and emancipating the reader from
his propensit, for iss#ing ethical verdicts is a da#nting poetic and hermene#tic enterprise that *ill
em-roil T.S Eliot in an 9intolera-le *restle *ith *ords and meanings.:
)&
In a f#rther el#cidation of
this concept of representation as a creative and performative act. E.D. $irsch asserts that:
Representation sho#ld -e deno#nced as the red#plication of presence. as the
representation of presence. M, pro1ect *ill -e to tr, to extricate
representation from the impasse to *hich it has -een relegated. to ret#rn it to
its fields of pla, *itho#t. ho*ever. in an, *a, *ea+ening the criti<#e I have
1#st mentioned. I shall attempt to do this -, t,ing its fate to that of the term
mimesis. *hich seems to me less sh#t in. less loc+ed #p. and richer in
pol,sem,. hence more mo-ile and more mo-ili!ing for a sortie o#t of the
representative ill#sion.
))

Fhat is stri+ing in this statement is the c#rio#s #se of terms s#ch as 9sortie: and 9free:
*hich confers #pon representation a li-erating potential and posits it as a modalit, of self
enlightenment apt to vo#chsafe the individ#al an insight into the #ndecide-ilit, and am-ivalence
that permeate the *orld. 7orrespondingl,. no longer 9ass#red of certain certainties:
)%
the poetic
persona in The Waste Land n#llifies the stratif,ing logics of the 9either or:. granting negativit, a
free pla, and p#tting forth the logics of 9neither nor: as a less 9hostile:. non(excl#sionar, and more
9hospita-le: s#rrogate. =or instance. in a star+ r#pt#re *ith the set of ethos that traditions engrain.
9
T.S Eliot. 9Ash(Fednesda,:. in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'4;8. p. 63.
10
Heorge ?r*ell. I T.S. +l$ot J in. "ernard "ergon!i ed.. T.S +l$ot Four Quartets >ondon: Macmillan /ress
TD. )'5'8. p.65.
11
<#otation
12
T.S Eliot. 9/rel#des: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%8. p)&.
4
Eliot defiantl, asserts that 9neither fear nor co#rage saves #s.:
)3
Eliots #nidentified g#est in The
0ockta$l Part. foregro#nds this propensit, for s+epticism and e<#ivocation. as he artic#lates his
exasperation *ith 9the set of the o-solete responses:
);
*ith *hich the other g#ests sh#n and
extricate themselves from an, expos#re to themselves and to others.
7a#ght as he is 9in a *ilderness of mirrors.:
)4
an allegor, of lifes m#lti(facetedeness
and o-li<#eness. 9the spider:.
)5
that is the *eaver of meanings. can onl, 9s#spend its operations.
and dela,:
)C
the 9*eevil:.
)6
that is cast the ha-it of allocating s,stematic meanings and attri-#te
val#e 1#dgments. The anon,mo#s g#est in The 0ockta$l Part. serves as a mo#thpiece to ma+e the
harro*ing confession that:
Most of the time *e ta+e o#rselves for granted. As *e have to and live on a
little +no*ledge of o#rselves as *e *ere. Fho are ,o# no*K Lo# dont
+no* an,more than I do. -#t rather less. Lo# are nothing -#t a set of
o-solete responses. The one thing to do is to do nothing.
)'

The #nidentified g#ests retort aligns itself *ith the Shelle,an insight into the precario#sness
of the tr#ths *ith *hich living s#-1ects contend themselves. m,stif, and a#thenticate their
existence. As he asserts in his 9/reface to Alastor:: 9those *ho del#ded -, no genero#s error.
instigated -, no sacred thirst or do#-tf#l +no*ledge. d#ped -, no ill#strio#s s#perstition2have
their apportioned c#rse2the, are morall, dead.:
%&
In this vein. Eliot prophesi!es that 9there *ill -e
time to m#rder and create2Time ,et for a h#ndred indecisions and for a h#ndred visions and
revisions.:
%)
This statement carries a discrete didactic edge -ringing to the fore Eliots conviction
that the living s#-1ect is sentenced to 9m#rder: and 9create:. -o#nd to fight to +eep the pla, of
13
T.S. Eliot. 93eront$on: in The selected Poe%s >ondonE =a-er and =a-er.)'4;8. p.3%
14
. T.S Eliot! The cockta$l 4art. >ondon: =a-er and =a-er.)'C;8. p.35
15
T.S. Eliot. 53eront$on in The Selected Poe%s >ondonE =a-er and =a-er.)'4;8. p.33
16
i-id.. p33
17
i-id.. p33
18
i-id.. p33
19
0evill 7oghill ed.. T.S. Eliot The 0ockta$l Part. > ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'C;8. p.35
20
<td in Mohamed a!har "o#a!!i. Self 1%ag$nat$on and +th$cs $n Shelle.6s Poetr.. Preface to Alastor!('.
21
T.S Eliot. 9The love Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in The Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )';&8. p.;.
4
negativit, ongoing thro#gh a *illf#l act of casting a*a, the expectation that a single 9tr#th: *ill
event#all, tri#mph. This Eliotian #nfaltering endorsement of negativit, and am-ivalence resonates
in Shelle,s 9The Tr$u%4h of L$fe:
As the old faded(=ig#res even ne*
Rise on the -#--le. paint them ho* ,o# ma,
Fe have -#t thro*n. as those -efore #s thre*
?#r shado* on it as it passes a*a,.
%%
Shelle, revels in the vistas of possi-ilities of *orld(ma+ing and self(shaping that the
a-sence of formal. cognitive and empirical restraints c#lminates in. 9The old faded fig#res rise on
the -#--le: and disappear onl, to leave room for 9ne*: shado*s to ta+e shape. Fhether the fig#res
persist or fade matters little. The significance of this act of *orld(pict#ring and self(dra*ing resides
in leaving a personal to#ch on the *orld canvas and allo*ing imagination to inscri-e itself in -oth
the poem and life. A+in to Shelle,s call to 9paint ane*: is T.S. Eliots glorification of 9a moment
s#rrender:
%3
. a moment *hen the self 9forces the moment to its crisis:
%;
. see+ing respite in
9s#spension: of -elief and dis-elief and reaching for a level of artic#lateness mid*a, -et*een
silence and speech -#t parta+ing of neither and thr#st in a lim-o position *here rationalit, and
sentimentalit, are -ro#ght to a stasis.
Spr#ng from an ingrained s+epticism and an #nconditioned tolerance for contradiction
and self(contradiction. Eliots poetic response ,ields no clear(c#t referentialism. -roo+s no fixit, of
meanings and dra*s no demarcating lines -et*een possi-ilities of reading. In an endeavor to
*ithstand the temptation so#ght -, the conventional and s,stematic interpretative frame*or+s. Eliot
#ses a lang#age 9at *ar *ith itself:. a lang#age that neither ann#ls nor preserves meanings. This
do#-le #se of or rather do#-le -ind to a lang#age anchored in m#ltivalence and aporia is ampl,
expo#nded -, $egel in his The sc$ence of The log$c. 9-eing and nothing are the same . asserts the
22
<td in Mohamed a!har "o#a!!i. Self 1%ag$nat$on and +th$cs $n Shelle.6s Poetr.. Shelle,. 9The Tr$u%4h of
L$fe. p)46.
23
T.S. Eliot. The Waste Land $n Selected Poe%s "ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'4;8. p.4%.
24
I-id.. 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: p5.
4
identit, of these determinations. -#t in fact . e<#all, contains them -oth as disting#ished . the
proposition is self(contradictor, and cancels itself o#t.:
%4
It is in the interstices and in the !ones of
intersections that meanings d*ell *here -ipolarities conflate. manichean divisions lose their self(
evidence. the signifier and the signified get telescoped and a-sence and presence achieve total
hermene#tic parit,. This #nrelenting vacillation -et*een action and inaction. and the consistent
avoidance of ma+ing an, emotional commitments is implied in T.S. Eliots portra,al of the deni!ens
of his 9Dnreal cit,: as ghostl, apparitions d*elling in a 9lim-o *orld: hovering -et*een life and
death. Death -ecomes a phantasmal prel#de to life and life. in its t#rn. -ecomes a mere crossover to
death. =or instance. 93eront$on: acts o#t a horrid scene of 9death in life: thro#gh its pict#ring of
the Fastelanders as living corpses. *andering a-sentmindedl, along the River Thamess -an+s li+e
the so#ls of the damned *aiting for crossing the river 9St,x: in $ades. the +ingdom of the dead .
Trapped in a societ, of artifice and emotional sham. /r#froc+ t#rns into a grotes<#e *ho fails to
come to terms *ith his o*n sex#al drives and instinct#al promptings and seems #na-le to derive
an, sense of plenit#de or gratification from -ea#t,. /r#froc+ stands as a living corpse *ho seems
impervio#s to the #rgings of 9Desire: and insensitive to the temptation of the -ea#tif#l. A -older
defiance. still. to the /latonic reification of the *orlds in terms of =orms and Ideas. transcendental
a-sol#tes and transient things. Eliots poetic persona in The 0ockta$l 4art. asserts that 9 all there is
of ,o# is ,o#r -od, and the ,o# is *ithdra*n from ,o#. ma, I replenishK:
%5
Fhat #nderlies this
statement is a discrete desire to p#t all those ingrained -inar, opposites and those imm#ta-le
a-sol#tes #nder s#spicion. Eliots lo,alt, to am-ivalence and e<#ivocation displa,s a c#rio#s
partisanship *ith Sha+espeares 1#xtaposing opposites on an e<#al footing and esta-lishing an
e<#ation -et*een anton,ms. In the co#rse of their incantation(casting rite. Mac-eths three *itches
assert that 9fair is fo#l and fo#l is fair:
%C
toppling -, that a *hole s,stem of religio#s. social and
existentialist -earings. that of the 9chain of -eings.:
25
7laire Ma,. /+3+L6s language of 4oetr. >ondon And 0e* Lor+: Ro#tledge. )''%8. p.%%5
26
T.S Eliot. The 0ockta$l Part. >ondon : =a-er and =a-er.)'C;8. p.34.
27
Filliam Sha+espeare. 2ac)eth >ondon: /eng#in -oo+s. )'';8. p%4.
4
This transition from the logics of negation to the poetics of negativit, is *arranted -, a
drastic 9paradigm shift: amo#nting to a *holesale <#estioning of the imm#ta-le a-sol#tes of
metaph,sics and the enactment of a ceaseless aporetic pla, of signification. T.S. Eliots The Waste
Land heralds the expiration of an age *here realit, #sed to -e conceived of as an incontesta-le
empirical phenomenon. In fact. in 53eront$on 9co#rage and co*ardice:
%6
are *elded in a
s,mmetrical and amoral e<#ation. @no*ledge and ignorance -ecome interchangea-le state of
-eings and tr#th and ill#sion lose their ethical implications and metaph,sical -earings. Eliots
poetr, artic#lates its anchorage in negativit, and stages a move a*a, from all instit#tionali!ed
conceptions of Tr#th. realit,. art and +no*ledge and self thro#gh exacer-ating indeterminac, and
enhancing am-ig#it,. T.S. Eliots that 9neither division nor #nit, matters.:
%'
and that 9*hat ,o# do
not +no* is the onl, thing ,o# +no*. And that *hat ,o# o*n is *hat ,o# do not o*n. And *here
,o# are is *here ,o# are not:
3&
. -rings to the fore a deviation from the metaph,sical *a, of thin+ing
that posits -inar, opposites as a matrix paradigm of *orld conception. 0o*here in his poetr, does
Eliot attri-#te an exha#stive definition to the *orld in *hich the living s#-1ect d*ells. nor does he
confer an, identifia-le corporalit, #pon the 9self.:
Ill#sion and tr#th. +no*ledge and ignorance. realit, and fiction are all inextrica-l,
intert*ined and irrevoca-l, em-roiled in an a-senceG presence game. Main is the attempt at the
rec#peration of the traditional icons and the missed o-1ects of veneration in the midst of the large(
scale erosion of theological. ethical. and spirit#al -earings and the disenchanting fail#re of
empiricism to s#ppl, a consistent *orld vie*. Thro#gh t*isting the game of conventional imitation
and s#-verting old s,m-olism. Eliots poetic *orld is no longer amena-le to capt#re and
containment in terms of Manichean divisions. Readers are sentenced to remain on the threshold of
the text. #na-le to extricate themselves from those 9!ones of intersections and those areas of
conflations.:
3)
In compliance *ith those ne*l,(esta-lished codes of reading. Eliot refrains from
28
T.S. Eliot. 9Herontion: in The Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p)5.
29
Idem.
30
Idem.
31
Steven 7oote. The Waste Land >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'4;8. p.)%
4
ma+ing an, affirmative statements and procrastinates the moment of choice *hich prefig#res.
according to $eidegger. a moment of 9madness:. Time and again. Eliot s#-verts the vicio#s rhetoric
of monopoli!ation and instit#tionali!ation that metaph,sics #tili!es thro#gh his disr#ption of the
linearit, of time and his re1ection of it as a graspa-le flo* of events. Adopting Eliots vantage point.
time no longer f#lfills the conventional role metaph,sics ascri-es to it as a s,stematic and empirical
axiom of cognition *hose sole rationale is that of linearit,. In The Waste land. present. past and
f#t#re disintegrate into a -l#r. a 9heap of -ro+en images:
3%
. a receptacle of -ro+en 9testimonies: and
a repositor, of dis1#ncted vistas of experiences re (inscri-ed in a "a-elionic lang#age ranging from
atin to Sans+rit. In defiance to the principle of prioriti!ation that metaph,sics and /latonism
prom#lgate as a *arrant, of an ordained and #nified *orld vie*. Eliot 9#ngro#nds: the d#alit, of
-od, and so#l. n#llifies its relia-ilit, as a cognitive paradigm and dismantles its attending val#e
s,stems. In The Waste Land. Eliot pict#res his ondoners flo*ing over ondon "ridge as living
corpses. mere -odies. h#man scarecro*s. *aiting for 9replenishment.: 7learl, eno#gh. Eliots
poetr, is inherentl, am-ig#o#s. displa,ing a predilection to*ards self(deconstr#ction and
am-ivalence. This poetic modalit, of self(expression hinges on a s,stematic and rit#alistic
placement of 9*riting: #nder eras#re thro#gh the #se of am-ig#o#s. pol,semic and e<#ivocal
tropes.
", *a, of ill#stration. Eliots *ater imager,. in The Waste Land! sets into motion an
aporetic pla, of referentialit, and stages a collision -et*een the text and its o*n fig#rative process.
Anchored in an #nrelenting oscillation -et*een incongr#o#s sets of meanings. the *ater imager, in
The Waste Land is vested *ith a -ipolar semantic *eight. It is -oth a herald of life(rene*al and a
portent of destr#ctive a-#ndance. Even less metaph,sicall, confident is the stat#s of the 9self: in
The Waste Land as it *avers perpet#all, -et*een the *orld of the 9living: and that of the 9dead:.
d*elling at the interstices of 9ill#sion: and 9realit,.: This loosening of the moorings of intellect#al
tradition of Festern tho#ght irrevoca-l, em-roils the reader in a relentless process of *eaving and
#n*eaving the fa-rics of The Waste Land. ", means of the trope of the river Thames. Eliot
32
T.S Eliot. The "#rial of Dead:. in The Waste Land and other 4oe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p%3.
4
annihilates a *hole chain of -inar, opposites in an endeavor to -an the readers metaph,sical
-earings from interfering in the interpretative process. The river Thames emerges as an allegor, of
permanence and transience. form and content. *holeness and partialit,:
The river tent is -ro+en: The last fingers of leaf
7l#tch and sin+ in the *et -an+ .The *ind
7rosses the -ro*n land. #nheard. The n,mphs are
departed.
S*eet Thames. r#n softl,. till I end m, song.
The river -ears no empt, -ottles. sand*iches papers.
Sil+ hand+erchiefs. card -oard -oxes. cigarettes ends
?r rather testimon, of s#mmer nights. The n,mphs are
Departed.
And their friends. the loitering heirs of cit, directorsE
Departed. have left no addresses
", the *aters of eman I sat do*n and *ept.
S*eet Thames. r#n softl, till I end m, song
S*eet Thames. r#n softl, for I spea+ not lo#d.
33
$ere Eliot re*or+s and even inverts the /latonic tradition of val#ation and defies
compliance *ith its reificator, paradigms as he posits permanence and ephemeralit,. presence and
a-sence . the *hole and the trace . -eing and non -eing on the same par . Either the addition or the
elision of 9s#pplements: s#ch as 9card-oxes:
3;
. 9departed n,mphs:
34
or 9testimon, of s#mmer
nights:
35
ca#ses the River Thames to relin<#ish its initial identit, and to -ecome a 9m#lti(
config#red constr#ct.: Th#s. Eliot exploits the pol,semic and dialogic potential of the trope of the
river Thames in a -id to forestall the s,stematic appliance of the logics of -inar, oppositions and
sh#n an, privileging of one possi-le reading over another. /roceeding on this Eliotian conviction.
the trope is no longer a metaphorical device or a fig#rative instr#ment -#t rather a s#-1ect matter on
33
T.S Eliot. 9The =ire Sermon:. in The Waste Land and other 4oe%s! >ondon : =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p3&.
34
T.S Eliot. 9The =ire Sermon: in The Waste Land >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%8. p.46.
35
Idem..
36
Idem..
4
its o*n right. =orm as *ell is more than a mere external garment overla,ing a more 9s#-stantial
content: -#t rather a self(contained interpretative tool.
In Eliots poetic *orld. indeterminac, holds s*a, and ever,thing floats. giving rise to
a 9vortex of images: or rather 9a -l#rred *orld pict#re: that pl#nges the reader in an ongoing pla,
of negativit, and indeterminac, *hich el#de an, act of fixation. stratification and ethical val#ation.
Eliots poetr, s#-scri-es to the "ec+ettian conviction that the idea itself matters little. It is 9the
shape of the idea:
3C
that gives the game a*a, as Eliots literar, enterprise revolves aro#nd
9replenishing: those 9empt, shells: and 9empt, cisterns:
36
thro#gh +nitting m,thical and fictitio#s
shards into the tapestr, of the poems at hand.
37
Sam#el "ec+ett <#oted -, $arold $o-son. 9Sam#el "ec+ett: Dramatist of the Lear.: International Theater
Annual ) >)'458: )43.
38
T.S Eliot. 9Fhat the Th#nder Said: in The Waste Land >ondonE =a-er and =a-er. )'5%8. p. 55.
4
./The 0ictive as a model for the 1Lived2#
/art and parcel of Eliots revisionist approach to the f#nctionalit, that metaph,sics and
traditions ascri-e to art. is his s#-version of the /latonic mimetic pattern *hich relegates the fictive
to a secondar, position and -rands it as recondite second(hand he#ristic constr#ct. It is 9the *ill to
deceive:
3'
to fa-ricate and to create that overrides the 9*ill to tr#th: that metaph,sics insistentl,
ossifies into an attaina-le and availa-le p#rs#it. In the Eliottian *orld. tangi-le things are no more
ass#ring indicators of presence than the el#sive shado*s. the 9sa*(d#st trampled streets:
;&
are no
more sec#re than 9the road not ta+en: and the form#lated phrases are no more intelligi-le than the
cacophonic E#ropean and Indian chor#ses. As the poem #nfolds. signs t#rn into all#sions and
all#sions to disco#rse onl, to ret#rn to signs again. The lang#age of paradoxes conflates *ith the
lang#age of iron,. amo#nting to a densit, of expression that ind#ces the readers and tempts them to
cond#ct 9a raid on the inartic#late: instead of contending themselves *ith as+ing the <#estion *h,.
S#ch a plea *ith the reader 9not to as+ *hat it isK:
;)
-#t rather 9to go and ma+e >their8 visit:
;%
-esto*s #pon the poem a m#lti(dimensional aspect and transm#tes it into an #ncharted territor,. an
open field *here the reader can roam *hichever *a, the, please.
Art is pict#red as an a#tonomo#s and f#ll,(present *orld and fictionalit, emerges as
the sole availa-le mode of existence. since it is vested *ith the imaginative po*er to open #p vistas
of opport#nities for Self(fashioning and fling the gates of h#man endeavor *ide open. The
empirical *orld is no longer the storeho#se of 9tr#ths: nor is scientific rationale the onl, via-le
reasoning process. In fact. The Waste Land. mid*a, -et*een legendar, all#sions and farcical
#ndertones. is 9a tailored: paneg,ric piece of *riting that exalts the fictive and re1oices in
imagination. discarding the empirical *orld as a dr, and fallo* land *hich -reeds no fr#ition.
39
=riedrich 0iet!sche. )e.ond 3ood and +v$l trans. R. B. $ollindale.>ondon: /eng#in "oo+s.)''&8. p.33
40
T.S Eliot 9Preludes $n The Waste Land and 7ther Poe%s. >ondon : =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p'.
41
T.S. Eliot 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon : =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)).
42
Idem
4
9The solemnl, -apti!ed tr#th:.
;3
as 0iet!sche asserts in his )e.ond 3ood and +v$l! can
no longer -e derived from a *orld of free(floating signifiers contin#o#sl, losing its moral. ethical
and c#lt#ral integrit, and *hose stead,ing forces #nrelentingl, cr#m-le do*n. 0o longer -anished
to the peripheral realm of shado*s. and consigned to the fringe of 9+no*ledge:. art is extricated
from the province of artificialit, and ass#mes a t*o(fold role: it enacts a representative and a
creative proced#re at the same time. More than -eing a mere accessor, disc#rsive s,stem. poetr,
reaches the stat#s of a model *orth, of em#lation and the poetic personae is ascri-ed the role of the
path finder. The poetic persona is -oth a herald that anno#nces a piece of ne*s and an oracle that
conceals visions. im-#es his or her disco#rse *ith enigma and secrec, and n#rt#res in his hearers or
readers a craving for ma+ing 9a visit: and seeing 9*hat is it.: This fl#ct#ation -et*een
proclamation and concealment. enlightening and shading accords to poetr, precedence over life and
posits it as a paragon of creativit, and open(endedness. It is the 9*ill to #ncertaint,:. to 9#ntr#th:
and to 9ignorance: that Eliots poetr, see+s to ingrain and n#rt#re as the #ltimate state of
conscio#sness and ethicalit, as 0iet!sche expo#nds in his )e.ond 3ood and +v$l:
Fhat <#estions this *ill to tr#th has alread, set -efore #sN Fhat a strange.
*ic+ed <#estiona-le <#estionsN It is alread, a long stor, ,et does it no*
seem as if it has onl, 1#st -eg#nK Is it an, *onder *e sho#ld at last gro*
distr#stf#l. lose o#r patience. t#rn impatientl, a*a,K That this sphinx sho#ld
teach #s to as+ to <#estionsK Hranted. *e *ant tr#th: *h, not rather #ntr#thK
And #ncertaint,K Even ignorance.
;;
This 0iet!schean affirmation incisivel, el#cidates the hermene#tic game that Eliot enacts in
The Waste Land. a game that re<#ires the deli-erate -l#rring of the poetic *orlds signposts and
privileging <#andaries over clear(c#t ans*ers. ?nl, is poetr, vested *ith the imaginative potential
to transcend the -o#nds of rigid empiricism and to act as a -#l*ar+ against relapsing into nihilism
and passivit,. "ringing a-o#t a third position that frees the reader from the cla*s of the inflexi-le
metaph,sical poetics of the 9either. or: is -elieved to -e the province of poetr,. The poem stands as
43
=riedrich 0iet!sche. )e.ond 3ood and +v$l. trans. R. B. $ollindale.>ondon: /eng#in "oo+s.)''&8. p.5%.
44
I-id.. p33
4
a canvas . a 9*av,: and 9fragile: glass #pon *hich the self is invited to 9paint: 9ne* fig#res.:
refracting +aleidoscopic visions or rather 9re(visions:
;4
as Eliot affirms in his 9The love Song a J
Alfred Prufrock.: @eeping in line *ith Eliots endorsement of the idea that life sho#ld model itself
on poetr, ta+ing f#ll advantage of the openness and -o#ndlessness inherent in art. Fithin this vein.
=ran+ @ermodes conception of the correlation -et*een Forld and "oo+ can -e evo+ed:
Fe interpret al*a,s as transients((of *hom he is also a patron >$ermes8.
-oth in the -oo+ and the *orld *hich resem-les the -oo+. =or the *orld is
o#r -eloved codex. Fe ma, not see it. as Dante did. in perfect order.
gathered -, love into one vol#me E -#t *e do living as reading . li+e to thin+
of it as a place *here *e can travel -ac+ and forth at *ill. diving
congr#ences. con1#nctions oppositesE extracting secrets from its secrec,.
ma+ing #nderstood relations an appropriate alge-ra.
;5

This cl#ster of statements can serve as a more or less exha#stive s,nopsis of Eliots
poetic enterprise as @ermode forthrightl, voices that *hat is concealed in The 8aste land .that
ardent call for the 9 the *orld: to mimic or to: resem-le the 9 -oo+: .#sing the critics o*n *ords.
and that #nflinching plea *ith the individ#al to 9 do living: rather than 9-eing it.: T. S Eliot Os
apostrophe to the River Thames or his retelling of the enco#nter *ith the charmingl, ensnaring
mermaids gives the game a*a, and sets into motion an inverted mimetic d,namic that confers #pon
art an #ncontested primac, . Engrossed as he is his -roodings over the River Thames. the poetic
persona in the 9The F$re Ser%on!: laments over the loss of vividness. eventf#lness and 1ovialit, that
#sed to radiate from its shores and s#-tl, pa,s tri-#te to art as the sole solace and the onl, antidote
to the anarch, and meaninglessness that s#ff#se the *orld in *hich the individ#al d*ells. ife.
allegori!ed thro#gh the trope of the 9River:. is incited to em#late the #nended and pro-a-l, the
#nending 9song:
;C
of the visionar, poet and that of the *orld. Thro#gh the #se of anaphora. as the
poetic persona reiterates at vario#s 1#nct#res of the stan!as 9s*eet Thames:
;6
. alongside the
45
T.S. Eliot. 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)%.
46
=ran+ @ermode. The 3enes$s of Secrec. >ondon: $arvard Dniversit, /ress. )'C'8. p );4.
47
T.S Eliot. 9The =ire Sermon: in The Waste Land >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%8. p.46.
48
Idem..
4
rec#rrence of the same str#ct#ral parallelisms. Eliot dra*s attention to the #rgenc, and the gravit,
of his call that mimics the solemnit, and the insistent tone of a rhapsod,. The 9River Thames:
;'
imparts vistas of desolation. spirit#al disenchantment. and hollo*ness *hereas the poets 9song:
stands as soothing expression of the -o#ndless creativit, and #nrestrained reso#rcef#lness intrinsic
in the h#man nat#re. The River Thames ass#mes the role of the poets 9confidant: to *hom the
poetic persona ma+es a precio#s disclos#re that re<#ires a certain artistic sensitivit, and ast#teness
on the part of the reader to -e detected and fathomed. The message that the poetic persona imparts
to the reader is that this moment of ill#mination or rather spirit#al s,m-iosis -et*een the river and
the poetic persona is -o#nd to -e fleeting and short(lived for the poets song *ill not -e 9long or
lo#d.:
4&
Eliots forsa+en 9River Thames: is a+in to @eatss historian of silence. the Hrecian Drn.
that tantali!ingl, calls to -e 9ravished:. or 9replenished: that is explored and fashioned ane*. ?f
e<#al importance is Eliots elegiac evocation of the m,stic enco#nter *ith 9sea(girls *reathed *ith
sea*eed red and -ro*n.:
4)
$is con1#ring #p of this fair, and enchanting realm is more than a mere
intimation of nostalgic escapism. It is rather an expression of the felicit, and plenit#de that the
poetic persona #sed to derive from 9the cham-ers of the sea.:
4%
an allegor, of the imaginative and
the fanc,. -efore -eing a*a+ed -, 9h#man voices.:
43
a metaphor of the rigid and dr, disco#rse of
rationalit,. sha+e them off their m,stic sl#m-er and shove them -ac+ to 9the real:. Fhat lies
#nderneath these lines. is a discrete privileging of imagination over rationalit,. the fictive over the
tangi-le. the ethereal over the real and of art over life at large. Aligned *ith Eliots championing of
art as a venera-le modal s#pplier is Fallace Stevens cele-ration of 9The 2an 8$th the )lue
3u$tar::
The, said ,o# have a -l#e g#itar
Lo# do not pla, things as the, are
The man repliedE 9things as the, are
49
Idem..
50
Idem..
51
T.S. Eliot 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)5.
52
Idem..
53
Idem..
4
Are changed #pon the "l#e H#itar
And the, said to him 9-#t pla, ,o# m#st.
4;
The "l#e H#itar has it in its po*er to -ring some vividness to and inf#se some novelt, in the
alread, pla,ed tones. the familiar melodies and the over(rehearsed songs. $o*ever. the "l#e H#itar
Man concedes that 9Altho#gh: he 9patches: him >the individ#al8 as PheQ can:. PheQ 9can onl, reach
al%ost to man.:
44
More than a mere adver-. the 9almost: that fig#res in this poetic line inheres in a
m#ch val#a-le aesthetic of representation. that of the 9as if 9constr#ct. Adopting the 9as if: axiom
as a proviso to *hich literar, *or+ sho#ld appl, and *or+ing #nder the r#-ric of the necessar,
fictionali!ation of life thro#gh art. Eliots poetr, sho#ld not -e p#rported as an exha#stive and fixed
rendition of realit, -#t rather a tentative . s#-1ectivit,(im-#ed and provisional one .
Hranted. art endo*s the 9pla,er: or the reader *ith the potential to transm#te and
reconfig#re and 9re(patch: life -#t onl, ,ields a provisional and precario#s insight into things. The
pla,er sho#ld proceed on the conviction that he can onl, 9reach almost to man.:
45
9-#t never aspire
for telling 9*hat it is:
4C
as Eliot affirms in 9The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
54
Fallace Stevens. 9The 2an 8$th the )lue 3u$tar $n Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s.)'6%8. p.)%.
55
Idem.
56
Idem.
57
T.S. Eliot. 5The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock $n Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.))
4
3- )mitation# $n $ct of (reation#
Immat#re poets imitate poets imitateE mat#re poets steal.
-ad poets deface *hat the, ta+e and good poets ma+e
into something -etterE at least something different.
46


According to The )edford 3lossar. of 0r$t$cal And l$terar. Ter%s. Imitation is 9a
s,non,m for mimesis. a Hree+ term #sed -, critics to refer to the representation of realit, in
literat#reE the practice of modeling ones *ritings after the esta-lished forms and st,les of a
partic#lar genre.:
4'
$o*ever. in The Waste Land. The poet ta+es li-ert, to disentangle the poetic
disco#rse from the Strait1ac+et of old s,m-olism and dispose of the s,stematic #se of stoc+ images.
More than mere str#ct#ral devices eclecticism and intertext#alit,. in The Waste Land. -ecome
s#-1ect matters. thematic strands on their o*n right. Dra*ing on a *ealth of *estern B#deo(
7hristian and Sans+rit canon. The Waste Land stands as a seamless patch*or+. a piece of collage
stitched o#t of a m,riad of the *orldOs 9Hrandes 0arratives:. $o*ever. enriching and enlightening.
the tas+ of c#lling the *ritten -e<#ests of #niversall, acclaimed literar, mentors emerges as a
da#nting and perilo#s #nderta+ing. A pitfall that the poet has to avoid is that of *ithstanding the
temptations of the esta-lished *riting standards and s#rrendering to 9the cop, rights and cop,
*rongs:
5&
of his predecessors as Thomas 7arl,le c,nicall, p#ts in 9The /ero as 2an of Letters.
/oetr, is exalted as a heroic and valiant #nderta+ing for the act of *riting intrinsicall,
entails a creative process and sets into motion the genesis of a transcendental fictional *orld.
9$eroes. -, speech act. are sent into the *orld to do:
5)
affirms 7arl,le in his The /ero as 2an of
Letters. Fhat can -e inferred from this 7arl,lian statement is that the act of spea+ing or *riting is
58
Matthe* Arnold. The Sacred Wood: +ssa. on Poetr. and 0r$t$c$s% >ondon: Meth#enE )'4&8. p.4%.
59
Ross M#rfin and S#pri,a M.Ra,. The )edford 3lossar. of L$terar. and 0r$t$cal Ter%s >0e* Lor+: Macmillian
/ress TD. )''68. p.)C&.
60
Thomas 7arl,le. Selected Wr$t$ngs. >ondon : /eng#in 7lassics. )'C)8. p.%34
61
Idem..
4
inherentl, co#pled *ith a performative dimension. that of 9doing the *orld.:
5%
The man of letters is
-o#nd to 9do the *orld: rather than red#plicating the 9pre(given:. the set of handed do*n
ass#mptions and the pre(esta-lished convictions. Representation or imitation is -, definition a
performative act. a concreti!ation of 9the *ill to s#rvive: and an enactment of the sanctified and the
divine creative potential inherent in the individual. Artificialit,. fictionali!ation and contrivance are
accorded prominence and val#ed for the creative potential the, encompass as methods of rendering
the vistas of individ#al experiences in The Waste Land. De(context#ali!ation. grafting.
a#gmentation. dislocation and de(familiari!ation are the most salient techni<#es of the mimetic vein
at *or+ in the poem and the most palpa-le testimonies of Eliots craftsmanship and poetic insight.
In his -oo+. ,hetor$c and the +9$stent$al. /fa# affirms that 9o#r a*areness of the *orld needs to -e
performed:
53
thro#gh creative re(presentative techni<#es lia-le to circ#mvent the s#-1ectGo-1ect.
center and circ#mference. form and content dichotomies.
/art and parcel of this mimetic process is this collision -et*een the text *e have at hand
and the host of extra(text#al concept#al paradigms. that $eidegger defines as 9-asic concepts.:
5;
Thro#gh a *hole *e- of re(visioned vistas of experiences and dislodged representative norms
s#ch as condensation. dislocation and de(familiari!ation. Eliot endeavors to go -e,ond the
a-ortive strife to give an exha#stive definition of the *orld and to create a +aleidoscopic
perception of life that some*hat renders the m#ltifario#sness of the living s#-1ect and that of the
#niverse. The Waste Land discreetl, #ndermines the m,th of literat#re as a mirror held #p to the
*orld as Sha+espeare asserts. and discards the -elief in one to one correspondence. originals and
copies. The poet is a designer. a 9-ricole#r:. a mo#lder -, definition *hose tas+ consists in
transm#ting meaning into a potential of meaning and t#rning interpretation into a possi-ilit, of
interpretation. The imitative pattern at *or+ in the 8aste land is premised #pon the ass#mption
that the self. the *orld and life are plia-le and mallea-le s#-1ects of representation. the sole
o#tcome and the onl, index of a ceaseless process of self(shaping.
62
Idem..
63
Thomas /fa#. 9,hetor$c and the +9$stent$al: ,o%ant$c Stud$es >Finter )'6C8: ''(4)%.
64
Martin $eidegger. )e$ng and T$%e. >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'568. p.%'.
4
An ostensi-le exemplification of Eliots s#stained attempt to re(design and re(craft the
literar, -e<#est of his predecessors can -e inferred from his chronological dislodging and re(
location of these intertext#al all#sions in an #nfamiliar or #nc#stomar, context. 9The ove Song of
B.Alfred /r#froc+: is a case in point. 0o sooner is the fig#re of the fool evo+ed than a *hole chain
of mental associations and interpretative ass#mptions comes into pla, in the process of reading.
$o*ever. Eliot dislocates the trope of the fool from its c#stomar, context and 9grafts: it into a
modernist frame*or+. In The Waste Land. the 1ester or the fool. a fig#re that dates -ac+ to the )4
th
and )5
th
cent#r, England. is s#mmoned in a t,picall, modernist dra*ing room ornamented *ith
9string screens
54
:. 9porcelain:
55
and 9lanterns.:
5C
?f perennial importance is Eliots enactment of an
interpla, -et*een fiction and realit,. the visi-le and the m,thical. m#ndane occ#rrences and
fair,tales. In the midst of the rattling of spoons and teac#ps. /r#froc+ distracts himself from his
paranoid and self(a-sor-ed -rooding over 9ho* his hair is gro*ing thin:
56
onl, to pl#nge in a
figment of fictitio#s contemplation as he gets carried a*a, *ith the chants of the 9mermaids:
5'
in a
trance(li+e state. A+in to this Eliotian techni<#e of dislocation is Alexander /opes dislodging of the
97ross:. a cherished religio#s icon connoting religio#s fervor. and his 9grafting: it onto a female
-osom smac+ing of sens#alit, and sex#al gratification in his The ,a4e of the Lock.
Eliot re(patches scrapes of incongr#o#s ta-lea#x and re(*eaves the material c#lled
from different so#rces into a panoramic canvas. In his -oo+. ,esurrect$on fro% Word.
Sholovs+i asserts that the res#rrection from *ord *ill necessaril, entail a res#rrection of the
*orld altogether:
Toda, old forms of art are alread, dead. the ne* form is not -orn ,et. Things are dead too. Fe
lost o#r feeling of the *orld. Fe have ceased to -e artists in o#r c#rrent life. Fe fail to foster
an, emotional attachment to o#r ho#ses. attires and *e are read, to part *ith life *hich *e
-arel, feel. =or onl, can the creation of ne* art forms restore to the individ#al the -liss of the
*orld. revive things and +ill pessimism.
C&
65
T.S. Eliot. 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p)4.
66
Idem..
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FFF."ritannica Dniversalis.com
4
Similarl,. Eliot #pholds the vie* that art is -, definition a 9creative act: *hich is premised
on *elding and *eaving the scrapes of past and present literar, experiences into a 9different: -#t
coherent shape. In The Sacred Wood. precisel, his essa, on 9Traditions and Individ#al Talents:.
Eliot asserts that:
0o poet. no artist of an, art has his co%4lete meaning alone Pm, emphasisQ. The necessit, that
he shall cohere is one(sided. Fhat happens *hen a ne* *or+ of art is treated is something that
happens sim#ltaneo#sl, to all the *or+s of art *hich preceded it. The existing mon#ments
form an ideal order among themselves *hich is modified -, the introd#ction of the ne* *or+
of art among them.
C)
At this 1#nct#re. Eliot levels an o#tright criticism against the parochial reservation and
the la!, replication of the literar, legac,. $e conceives of the old as al*a,s in the ma+ing. a*aiting
completion thro#gh 9modification. reform#lation and the advent of the ne*. that is thro#gh -ringing
a-o#t a fresh perspective.: In his endeavor to allegori!e the state of -oredom in an #nprecedented
fashion and to disentangle it from the fig#rative clichs conventionall, attri-#ted to it. Eliot #ses a
c#rio#s and #nfamiliar trope. that of 9life meas#red o#t *ith coffee spoons:
C%
or the image of 9a
patient etheri!ed #pon a ta-le.:
C3
The novelt, that stems from this Eliotian process of fig#ration
resides in his endo*ing intangi-le state of -eing *ith a material and concrete dimension. The
9ta-lea#x: at the river Thames come into -eing thro#gh the addition of a *elter of extraneo#s
elements and disparate s#pplements. =or instance. the poets perception of the river Thames alters
accordingl, *ith the either the a-sence or presence of 9testimonies of s#mmer nights: namel, 9the
empt, -oxes:. 9sand*iches papers:. 9departed n,mphs: and 9cigarettes ends.: ?f e<#al
importance. Eliots ta-lea#x of 9frost, silence: 9the ,ello* smo+e r#--ing its m#!!le
C;
:. 9the magic
lantern thro*ing nerves:. 9*ilderness of mirrors:
C4
and 9the singing grass: el#cidate this process of
representation. rec,cling and de(familiari!ation of the conventional poetic tropes.
71
Matthe* Arnold! The Sacred Wood: Essa, on /oetr, and 7riticism. >ondon: Meth#enE )'4&8. p.C%.
72
T.S. Eliot. 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)3.
73
I-id.. p.)).
74
Idem..
75
T.S. Eliot. 9Herontion: in The Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.33.
4
=rom Eliots vantage point. the poet sho#ld never leave the m#ltifario#sness of the
*orld remain intact -#t rather ta+e ever, latit#de imagination and art offer in order to stage himself
and reshape his *orld. 0ot onl, does Eliot em#late or -orro* from the legac, of his literar,
predecessors -#t also repaints 9ne* fig#res: onl, 9to thro* them a*a,:. leaving room for the
reader to add his o*n h#es to the life canvas . T,pical of Eliot is his proclivit, to*ards creating a
miscellan, of irreconcila-le o-1ects and 1#xtaposing paraphernalia of incongr#o#s and
heterogeneo#s elements s#ch as 9novels
C5
:. 9teac#ps:
CC
.: porcelain:
C6
. 9arms.
C'
:
Ac#tel, a*are of the over*helming m#ltifario#sness and incongr#ence of the *orld. Eliot
proceeds -, selection or rather -, 9choosing: a cl#ster of 9fragments. segments and traces as
meton,ms for #ngraspa-le. #ncontaina-le overarching 9*holes:. A discerna-le cinematic montage
seems at *or+ in The Waste Land as the poem #nfolds thro#gh snapshots. flashes. each time
spotting the light on a: one partic#lar and a specificall, selected constit#ent. A s#-stantial part of
Eliots artistr, goes into the process of selecting. com-ining and ordering the c#lled elements that
o#ght to -e represented . that is created rather than copied in an a s,stematic fashion .
?nl, thro#gh imagination can the material -lend *ith the fictive giving rise to a realm that
goes -e,ond the confines of the empirical *orld. All that imitation can s#ppl, the readers *ith is a
potential. stand in. and provisional interpretation rather than g#aranteeing excl#sive via-le readings
and imposing monolithic approaches. $eraclit#s ampl, renders the relationship -et*een the creator
and his creation thro#gh the image of a potter, vessel. As the vessel ta+es shape. it ta+es. in the
process. the fingerprints of its molder *hich -ecome an indispensi-le part of its 9identit,:.
Similarl,. The Waste Land emerges as a piece of potter, -earing a receptacle of fingerprints ranging
from Hree+ eras to modernist epochs. Another form#lation of the idea that imitation is inextrica-l,
intert*ined *ith a creative act can -e gleaned from Falter "en1amins essa, entitled 9The Task of
the Translator. The translator. tho#gh an imitator -, definition. is a creator *ho is to 9re(read and
76
T.S. Eliot. 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: $n Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)3.
77
Idem..
78
Idem..
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to re(*rite the original text in a 9p#re lang#age: that dis<#alifies -oth 9the original and the
translated version:
6&
. 7orrespondingl,. Eliot is a translator *ho *rites in a lang#age that 9exceeds
-oth original and translation:
6)
and #ses them as 9ad1acent fragments of a -ro+en pot:
6%
. $o*ever.
9p#re lang#age: is a c#rio#s phrase that the reader has to rec+on *ith for "en1amin defines 9p#re
lang#age: as 9#ndifferentiated. -lan+. and empt,:
63
. inviting the reader to 9differentiate: it
accordingl, to his o*n interpretative disposition or more precisel, 9literar, competence. that is his
master, of reading strategies . alertness to formal c#es and proficienc, at readerl, protocols.
Expressions s#ch as Iheart of silence:
6;
or 9to-acco trance: that Eliot #ses respectivel,. The 8aste
Land and the Portra$t of A lad. can -e evo+ed as an el#cidation of this #sage of 9p#re lang#age:. a
lang#age that neither parta+es of the *orld of immediate experience nor can it -e decoded -, the
readers conventional interpretative ass#mptions. Incongr#o#s as it is. this association -et*een
9silence and heart: or 9to-acco(trance:
64
has no o-1ective correlative or visi-le correspondent in the
real *orld opening itself to a spectr#m of interpretations and instigating the reader to #nderta+e an
act of 9nat#rali!ing: the strangeness and #nfamiliarit, of these image. $o*ever anchored in
tradition and interspersed *ith intertext#alities. The Waste Land is palpa-l, a creative poem that
9coo+s the ra*: and endo*s the 9coo+ed: *ith a fa-ricated 9ra*ness: -orro*ing 7la#de evi(
Stra#ss metaphor of 9The ra*: and 9the coo+ed.:
65
80
B.$. Miller. 7n L$terature >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )''38. p.5%.
81
Idem..
82
Idem..
83
idem..
84
T.S Eliot. 5The )ur$al of the -ead $n Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s.)'5%8. p. 4).
85
T.S Eliot. 9/ortrait of a ad,: >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s.)'5%8. p.)6.
86
Bac<#es Derrida! Wr$t$ng and -$fference. Alan "ass. trans.. 9Structure! S$gn and Pla. $n the -$scourse of
/u%an Sc$ences: >ondon: Ro#tledge.)'C68. p. %'3.
4
(hapter ))#
'ialogic Te4ture of T-S Eliots 5oetr!
4
*- The reader 1co,versing2 himself#
M#ltivocal. pol,phonic in text#re and am-ivalent and dialogic in perspective. The
Waste Land seems inimical to clos#re opening #p vistas of possi-ilities for the reader to co(verse
himself. to contri-#te to the ma+ing of the poem and to *eave his or her o*n poetic tapestr, o#t of
the scrapes of legends. the fragments of fol+tales and remnants of script#ral disco#rse. ?nl, thro#gh
vesting the reader *ith the prominent role of the co(*riter and active interpreter can the poem
emerge as m#lti(config#red. inexha#sti-le and palimpsestic disc#rsive s,stem. Even the silence that
c#ts thro#gh the poem esta-lishes itself as a modalit, of speech. a promise of memor, on the part of
the reader and a memor, of #nf#lfilled promiseE that of enshrining Tr#th and vo#ching +no*ledge.
The #nrelenting resh#ffling of t*o divergent narrative perspectives. those of the insider and the
o#tsider. the omniscient and the distanced poetic persona paves the *a, for the reader to inscri-e
himself in the poem and to ass#me the role of the framer and the translator of the poems disco#rse
rather than contending himself *ith that of the passive recipient.
The poems str#ct#re consolidates Eliots adherence to the formalist insistence #pon
str#ct#ring the text as a self(monitoring disc#rsive apparat#s and hermene#ticall, a#tonomo#s
entit, emergent from the annihilation of the a#thorit, conventionall, ascri-ed to the a#thorial voice
and res#ltant from the de-#n+ing of s,stematic and holistic reading strategies. The techni<#e of
logical incompati-ilit, and paradoxical en#nciation that Eliot enacts at length in The Waste Land
-ears o#t the paramo#nt importance of the reader to come #p *ith an interpretive strateg, capa-le
of reconciling these antithetical constit#ents and -inar, opposites into a reading pattern that holds.
7onstantl,. the poem -esto*s #pon the reader the role of the ast#te participant and insightf#l
9actant:. -orro*ing A.B. Hreimas designation of the 9performers of dramatic actions: *ithin a
given literar, text#re. The *aste land stands as a confrontational site *here a *e- of 9actantial
f#nctions: springs from the crises staged -et*een the expected ordering of the stor, and the self
4
deconstr#cting disposition of the poem. the denotative potential of lang#age and the ar-itrar,
#nassimila-le meaning existing on the level of the signifier.
Sentenced as it is. to a perpet#al act of 9slippage. spacing and deferral.
6C
: the signifier
metamorphoses into a *hole vortex of referents standing as provisional 9claimants of meanings:
rather than transparent and clear(c#t signifieds. Eliots consistent th*arting of the readers hori!ons
of expectations thro#gh his s#stained endeavor to -ring a-o#t a crises -et*een the literal meaning
and the connotative dimension inherent in a given signifier can -e discerned from his ,o+ing
together of logicall, incompati-le elements s#ch as 9*arm: and 9rain: in 9Herontion: or his
1#xtaposing 9-loom: *ith 9corpses: in the "#rial of The Dead and his *elding of -oth 9s*eat: and
9dr,: in the same image in 9Fhat The Th#nder Said:. More than a mere phantasmagoric and
eccentric mode of fig#ration. this techni<#e of forging a lin+age -et*een conventionall,
incongr#o#s elements foregro#nds the engagement of the reader as an 9actant: or an active
participant in the process of *eaving the disc#rsive fragments at *or+ in the poem into a *ell(+nit
fa-ric and pasting the smithereens of 9the -ro+en images: into a panoramic and mosaic piece of
9collage:. This effect of strangeness emanating from the #nfamiliar images that Eliot contrives.
serves as a vehicle for crossing over from the parochialism of conventional interpretative s,stem to
an ever(deferred signification and more reader(oriented literar, approach. 7ontingent #pon the
reader is the tas+ of forging a nex#s -et*een the *elter antithetical elements and contriving
interconnections among the m,riad of paradoxical constit#ents that Eliot thr#sts together in the
co#rse of the poem. The techni<#e of %ed$s res! the a-r#pt transitions and the constant dislocation
of the poetic persona as the focali!er of the narrative amo#nt to the transfig#ration of the poem into
a 9readerl, text:
66
and an ever(shifting 9gestalt.:
6'
87
Hregor, 7astle. The )lack8ell 3u$de to L$terar. Theor. >"lac+*ell /#-lishing. %&&C8. p.6&.
88
Idem..
89
Idem..
4
In 9The "#rial of The Dead:. the narrative strateg, of the %ed$as res! *hich consists
in thr#sting the reader into the narrative realm and pl#nging him in the dramatic flo* of events.
co#pled *ith the a-r#pt sh#ffling of the poetic scenes serve as paramo#nt propellers of meanings
and stand as perennial 9triggers: of interpretations. Eliots mane#vering of the procession of scenes
*itho#t an, patent connecting threads or clear scheme of ca#salit, instigates the reader to *eld the
heap of -ro+en images: 9the dead tree giving no shelter:.
'&
9the s#n that -eats:
')
. 9the fear in a
handf#l of d#st:
'%
and 9ils deca,ing teeth:
'3
into an orderl, cohesive and meaning(generating
interpretive frame*or+.
=#rther in the poem. Eliot #n*inds a roll of poetic scenes in a -afflingl, a-r#pt fashion
thr#sting the reader into a dis1#ncted. chaotic and conto#rless *orld ascri-ing to him the role of
f#rnishing the disparate images of the 9River Thames -ro+en tent:. 9the fisher in the d#ll canal:.
9Tiresias. the old man *ith *rin+led female -reasts: *ith the missing lin+s. Dnpredicta-le and
intr#sivel, arranged as the, are. these elements #ndermine the pre(esta-lished grammatical and
s,ntactical limits onl, to operate. in "arthess terms. according to 9a vortex of instances: rather
than a 9hierarch, of instances:
';
. Retired from his poetic realm and relegated to the circ#mference
of his o*n disco#rse. the a#thorial voice gives ample room for his poem to emerge as an 9icon:. an
#ncharted map of reading and -esto*s #pon the reader a perenniall, important role. that of lin+ing
those dist#r-ingl, 1#xtaposed elements s#ch as 9Tiresias:. the Hree+ soothsa,er. and 9The
thro--ing taxis:
'4
. taming the impenetra-ilit, of co#nter s,ntactical collocations s#ch as 9Finter:
and 9*arm: and reordering the: *a,*ard: narrative constit#ents into an integrational pattern and
temporal and spatial context. This lia-ilit, to implicate the reader in the process of generating
meanings is ampl, el#cidated thro#gh "arthes de-#n+ing of an, conception of literat#re as a
straightfor*ard and transparent medi#m of replicating the external *orld as he asserts that: 9the
90
T.S Eliot. 9The )ur$al of the -ead $n Selected Poe%s "London: Pengu$n )ooks! 1'(2#! 4.:1.
91
Idem..
92
I-id..p.4%.
93
T.S Eliot. 93a%e of 0hess $n Selected Poe%s "London: Pengu$n )ooks! 1'(2#! 4.:(.
94
Roland "arthes. 9The Death of the A#thor: in Image. M#sic. Text trans. Steven $eath. )'CC. 0e* Lor+: $ill
and Fang p.)&&.
95
T.S Eliot. 5The =ire Sermon: in Selected Poe%s "London: Pengu$n )ooks! 1'(2#! 4.:;.
4
f#nction of narrative is not to represent. it is to constit#te a spectacle still ver, enigmatic for #s -#t
in an, case not of a mimetic order.:
'5
7orrespondingl,. Eliots poetr, testifies to a tendenc, to spell
o#t enigmaticit, rather than dispelling it and to th*art the readers hori!ons of expectations instead
of f#lfilling them.
The Waste Land stands as an ever(floating signif,ing s,stem a-o#nding *ith
transferra-le. am-ivalent and am-ig#o#s referents that def, an, attempt at clos#re and fixit, on the
part of the reader and impede an, p#rs#it of a clear c#t and consistent mode of fig#ration. Indeed.
the *ater imager, in The Waste Land *eaves a *hole *e- of aporetic significations aro#nd itself as
it *avers -et*een spectr#ms of meanings ranging from a herald of life(rene*al to a portent of
9death -, *ater:. Sentenced to a perpet#al 9pla,: and an endless act of 9slippage:. the leitmotiv of
the 9streets: in The ove Song of B. Alfred /r#froc+ seems engaged in a process of a deferral of
signification and enmeshed *ith pol,semic connotations. The s#-tle context#al n#ances and
discrete thematic variations attending the occ#rrences of the *ord 9streets: cannot -e inferred
*itho#t the readers consent to parta+e of the am-ig#it, and the indeterminac, *ith *hich the poem
is im-#ed. At different planes. the poem -rings into pla, a cl#ster of text#al hints. interpretative
triggers and reading signposts that ind#ce the reader to relin<#ish his or her stat#s as a passivel,
receptive narratee in order to ass#me the role of meaning(monitor. The reiteration of the image of
the 9streets: alongside the thematic variations it entails and the range of interpretive possi-ilities it
engenders is paradigmatic of the texts genesis of an 9implied reader: *ithin its folds #pon *hom
cementing the scrapes of imageries and *eaving the shards of poetic #tterances are predicated. In
the co#rse of the poem. the imager, of the street co#ches itself in several s,m-olical fig#rative and
allegorical garments ranging from 9streets that follo* li+e a tedio#s arg#ment of insidio#s intent
'C
:
to 9sprin+led streets:
'6
. Deciphering this am-ivalent signification and detecting the aesthetic *orth
of this variation on the same imagist item are integral parts of a t*ofold process of ideationE the
96
Roland "arthes. 9The Death of the A#thor: in 1%age! 2us$c! Te9t. trans. Steven $eath. )'CC. 0e* Lor+: $ill
and Fang p.))C.
97
T.S. Eliot 9The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)).
98
I-id.. p.)4.
4
ongoing genesis of the poem and the contin#al ma+ing of the reader. Indeed. as the reader em-ar+s
#pon his 1o#rne, into the intricate s,m-olic ma!e that the leitmotif of the streets poses. the poem
emerges as an #ndisr#pted contin##m of signifiers *aiting for the reader to confer #pon it
harmoni!ing and ordering patterns.
?f e<#al importance is the poems lending itself to a deconstr#ctionist approach thro#gh the
poetic persons o#tright expression of reticence a-o#t an, affirmation of +no*ledge of the 9*orld:.
9the self: and the 9*ord: and his persistent e<#ivocation of granting conscio#sness an, privileged
standing or according it a gro#nding ph,sical presence. For+ing *ithin $eideggers concept#al
frame*or+ of the 9Dasein: -eing in the *orld. the self that d*ells in Eliots Faste and is no
longer a self(evident and irref#ta-le presence -#t rather an entire s,stem of virt#ali!ed -eings
constantl, deferred and perpet#all, engaging in an act of self(fashioning and *orld(shaping. A
*hole refraction of selves irradiates from the 9ove Song of B. Alfred /r#froc+:. as the poetic
persona moves from his romantic and solitar, -roodings over 9the restless nights in one(night cheap
hotels:
''
. ind#lges in a phantasmagoric @af+es<#e figment of imagination as he pict#res himself as
9a form#lated phrase: 9spra*ling on a pin: and 9*riggling on the *all:
)&&
onl, to metamorphoses
into 9a pair of r#gged cla*s sc#ttling across the floors of silent seas.:
)&)
It is this differentiation of a
given mode of fig#ration that g#arantees the deferral of meanings and tempts the reader to vent#re
into the la-,rinthine tra1ector, of lang#age rather than tracing disco#rse to its extraneo#s signifieds
and trac+ing it do*n to a definite point of depart#re.
In his seminal essa, 9Str#ct#re. Sign and /la, in the Disco#rse of $#man Sciences:.
Derrida #ndermines the hermene#tic. ontological and ling#istic precepts #pon *hich the
9str#ct#ralit, of str#ct#re:
)&%
is premised advancing a 9lac+ or a-sence of a centre or origin. and a
movement of Os#pplementarit, acting as a Odefa#lt of presence operating *ithin a lang#age
oscillating -et*een nostalgia for lost #nities and a 1o,f#l em-race of this loss.:
)&3
The slippage or
99
I-id.. p.)).
100
I-id.. p.)3.
101
I-id.. p.);.
102
Wr$t$ng and -$fference. trans. Alan "ass. 7hicago. #niversit, of 7hicago /ress. )'C68. p.%6'.
103
Idem..
4
rather the spacing of the element of fire as a signifier in The Waste Land is indicative of the free
pla, of negativit, at *or+ in the poem. The fire imager, sets into motion a *hole chain of
signification ranging from connoting desire. passion and carnalit, to the s,m-oli!ation of p#rgation
and catharsis. This reiterative fig#rative pattern that consists in the #se of the same allegorical
device or rhetoric proced#re attests to the indispensa-le contri-#tion of the reader to the process of
detecting those thematic differentiations and *elding them in a pattern that holds. Hregor, 7astles
post#lation that 9instead of the exact repetition of a signifier in harmon, *ith it signified *e find
the infinite semiosis of signifiers lin+ed in chains of significations
)&;
:. finds its echo in T.S Elliots
-ringing a-o#t a collision -et*een 9*inter: and 9*arm: and 9dr,: as incongr#o#s and
irreconcila-le signifiers.
Spr#ng from the clash -et*een the connotative and denotative level of lang#age is the
endless perm#tation -et*een signifiers and signifieds *hose c#m#lative effect is the perpet#ation of
an interpretive aporia that cannot -e tamed *itho#t the readers intervention. Enco#ntered *ith
these am-ig#o#s 1#xtapositions of signs. the reader is invited to re(pattern and re(patch the
fragmented text#re of the poem according to his o*n interpretative axioms and reading strategies.
Aligned *ith Derridas conception of deferral and spacing is /a#l de Mans notion of narrative
temporalit, *hich poses itself as a via-le interpretative tool to confront the enigmacit, and the
o-li<#eness of The Waste Land. In his )l$ndness and 1ns$ght. De Man expo#nds this notion of
temporal narratives and clarifies the rhetoric of temporalit, that go *ith it as follo*s: 9in the *orld
of allegor,. time is the originar, constit#tive categor,. Allegor,. li+e iron,. al*a,s points to another
signs that precedes it. It is al*a,s an instance of deferential repetition in *hich the sign can never
coincide as the s,m-ol is p#rported to do. completel, and *itho#t remainder *ith its o-1ects.:
)&4
For+ing along the lines of De Mans interpretative frame*or+. allegor, stands as a temporal mode
of signification perpet#all, deflating an, possi-ilit, of a one(to(one correspondence -et*een the
signifier and the signified pl#nging the reader in a concatenation of traces and signs.
104
Hregor, 7astle. The )lack8ell 3u$de to L$terar. Theor. >"lac+*ell /#-lishing. %&&C8. p.));.
105
/a#l De Man. )$lndness and 1ns$ght: +ssa.s $n the ,hetor$c of 0onte%4orar. 0r$t$c$s% >?xford: ?xford
Dniversit, /ress. )'C)8. p.%&C.
4
The Waste Land config#res a *ide ranging repositor, of the rhetoric of temporalit, thro#gh
its tendenc, to postpone meanings and s#spend significations. The poems attempt to engage the
reader in tracing the s,m-olic ramifications of a certain 9referent: can -e sensed thro#gh the
vertigino#s modes of references it enacts. The 9temporal: nat#re of the allegor, of the 9roots: in
The Waste Land expresses itself thro#gh the arra, of connotations it -rings a-o#t ranging from a
9promise of rene*al. c#lt#ral and existential dislocation. aridit, and sterilit,. <#est for a point of
origination to the -ro+en phall#s. If read #nder the a#spices of Heorges /o#lets Pheno%enolog. of
,ead$ng. prom#lgating that the reader is -o#nd 9to loan his s#-1ectivit, to the text for the s#-1ect
*hich presides over the *or+ can exist onl, in the *or+:
)&5
. The Waste Land signals a drastic
-rea+do*n of the Text as an exha#stive and determined disc#rsive s,stem thro#gh its alien
associations. deflated hori!ons of expectations. disr#ptive narrative patterns and deferred desire for
consistenc,.
The first section of the poem stands as a patent exemplification of this fr#stration of
expectations. this shattering of the constant flo* of reading and the postponement of the promise of
#nit,. =or instance. the *eird com-ination -et*een 9corpses: and 9spro#t: -rings the readers
conventional frame of references to a standstill and thr#sts him into an interpretive ma!e. The
er#ption of the element of desire into a stretched vista of tangi-le o-1ects 9rain. 9d#ll roots:. land:.
sno*:. coffee:
)&C
teases the reader o#t of a firm sense of consistenc, and postpones this desire for
coherence and harmon,. In his 9The Implied Reader:. Folfgang Iser asserts that 9it is the need to
decipher that gives #s the chance to form#late o#r o*n deciphering capacit,. I.e. *e -ring to the
fore an element of o#r -eing of *hich *e are not directl, conscio#s 9and confers #pon the text 9a
d,namic lifeli+eness that ena-les #s to a-sor- the #nfamiliar experience into o#r personal *orld
)&6
:.
@eeping in line *ith Folfgang IserOs conception of the reader as a framer of the text and a
performer of an interpretative act! The Waste land exhi-its a lia-ilit, to allo* the reading s#-1ect
106
Heorge /o#let. Pheno%enolog. of ,ead$ng >0e* Lor+: 0e* iterar, $istor,. )'5'8. p.4;.
107
T.S Eliot. 9The )ur$al of the -ead $n Selected Poe%s "London: Pengu$n )ooks! 1'(2#! 4.:1.
108
Folfgang Iser. The 1%4l$ed ,eader: Patterns of 0o%%un$cat$ons $n Prose F$ct$on fro% )un.an to )eckett
>"altimore. Bohns $op+ins Dniversit, /ress. )'C;8. p.%66.
4
ever, latit#de to form#late his o*n s#-1ectivit, and that of the text and to exploit the plasticit,
intrinsic to the self to the #tmost thro#gh its #nexpected t*ists. gaps. circ#mspections and *ith the
g#idance of the formal c#es and the meaning triggers em-edded in the fa-ric of the poem. $o*ever
latent. these reiterations. anaphora. alliterations and apostrophes *ith *hich the poem a-o#nds can
-e cited as samples of the hints seamlessl, stitched into the text#re of the poem so as to propel the
negotiation of the texts rhetorical proced#re. str#ct#ral d,namic and modes of fig#rations and to
ind#ce the reader to devise an interpretive strateg, that ma, accommodate the am-ivalence and
tame the impenetra-ilit, of the poem.
The rec#rrence of the term 9arms: as a leitmotif in 9The ove Song ?f B. Alfred
/r#froc+: sho#ld not -e vie*ed as a grat#ito#s or ne#tral rhetorical strateg, -#t rather conceived of
as s,m-olicall,(laden and deferential fig#rative pattern ,ielding a vortex of references ranging from
a groping for h#man *armth to a fetishi!ed sex#al desire. 7irc#mspect. am-ig#o#s and enigmatic
as it is. Eliots poetr, confers #pon the reader a da#nting tas+. that of deriving meanings and
stitching the shards that constit#te the poem together in a coherent and meaning(generating fashion.
In the midst of the incongr#ities. am-ivalences and ox,morons *ith *hich the poems are fra#ght.
meaning emerges as a 91oint responsi-ilit,:. 9an event rather than an entit,: and the readers
response 9is not to the meaning: -#t rather the meaning itself
)&'
: as expo#nded -, Stanl, =ish in his
1s there a te9t $n th$s classK Similarl, Eliot in 9The ove Song of B. Alfred /r#froc+: overtl, incites
the reader to 1oin the poetic persona in his <#est for meaning thro#gh his 9let #s go and ma+e o#r
visit.:
109
Stanl, =ish. 1S There a Te9t $n th$s 0lassK >"altimore: Bohns $op+ins Dniversit, /ress. )'6%8. p.%66.
4
%. The am"ivalent figuration in Eliots poetr!# )magism and S!m"olism:
7nl. &. the for%! the 4attern!
0an 8ords or %us$c reach
The st$llness! as a 0h$nese <ar st$ll
2oves 4er4etuall. $n $ts st$llness=
11>
In his endeavor to impart impression of the *orld as a 9changing gestalt: rather than a
static vista. Eliot o-viates the gross parochialism and fr#strating restriction of old s,m-olism. In
The Waste Land. Eliots compliance *ith E!ra /o#nds post#lation of 9going in fear of
a-straction:
)))
as an imagist tenet manifests itself thro#gh an ostensi-le predilection to vis#ali!e the
intangi-le and to shape the #ngraspa-le. In her imagist manifesto. Am, o*ell states that 9finall,.
most of #s -elieve that concentration is the ver, essence of poetr,.:
))%
7orrespondingl,. Eliot
displa,s a stri+ing lia-ilit, to strip poetr, -are of the concealing veils of sentimentalism. arcane
a-stractions . er#dite ta#tolog, and emotional s#perfl#it, as he affirms that 9poetr, is not a t#rning
loose of emotions . -#t an escape from emotions . it is not the expression of personalit, -#t an
escape from personalit,:
))3
. In the midst of the 9intolera-le *restle *ith *ords and meanings.
/oetr, does not matter.:
));
s#ms #p Eliots mistr#st of the fig#rative potential of lang#age and his
s#-scription to the imagist trend. Eliot constr#es poetr, as a vestige lingering from the expired age
of f#tile sensationalism. a 9sha--, e<#ipment:
))4
that 9crac+s and -rea+s:
))5
#nder the tension of the
9over*helming <#estion.:
))C
Fith its *elter of trite. fig#rative associations. *orn(o#t semantic
implications. traditional s,m-olism constricts meanings into a compass of a stoc+ response and
inf#ses the poem *ith a st#ltif,ing interpretive s,stematicit,. As defined -, The )edford 3lossar.
110
T.S. Eliot. 9"#rnt 0orton:. in Four Quartets >ondon: Macmillan /ress TD. )'5'8. p.4;
111
T. S .Eliot ! To 0r$t$c$*e The 0r$t$c >ondon: =a-er and =a-er.)'C68. p.)C4.
112
7leanth "roo+s et al. A%er$can L$terature : The 2akers and the 2ak$ng >0e* Lor+ affiliated /#-lishers.
Macmillan imited. )'C;8. p.%&4.
113
T. S. Eliot . To 0r$t$c$*e The 0r$t$c >ondon: =a-er and =a-er.)'C68. p.3.
114
T.S. Eliot. 9East 7o+er. in Four Quartets >ondon: Macmillan /ress TD. )'5'8. p.65.
115
I-id.. p.4;.
116
T.S. Eliot. 9 "#rnt 0orton: $n Four Quartets >ondon: Macmillan /ress TD. )'5'8. p.%'.
117
T.S. Eliot. 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+ . in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)).
4
of 0r$t$cal and L$terar. Ter%s: 9S,m-olism is a derivative from the Hree+ 9s,m-allein: meaning to
thro* together. the serio#s and relativel, s#stained #se of s,m-ols to represent or s#ggest other
things or ideas. It refers to the presence in a *or+ or -od, of *or+s of s#ggestive associations
giving rise to incremental. implied meanings.:
))6
S,m-olists held that *riters create and #se
s#-1ective or private rather than conventional or p#-lic s,m-ols in order to conve, ver, personal
and emotional experiences. $o*ever. the s,m-olic #ndertone that #nderlies Eliots poem is -#t a
veneer -eneath *hich a 9s,m-olism man<#:. a moc+ s,m-olism or rather s,m-olic vacancies are
concealed. The s#-stit#te that Eliot offers for this clichd s,m-olic s,stem is that of imagism or
*hat he calls in his o*n terms 9o-1ective correlative.: Imagism as a school of poetr, re1ected the
sentimentalism of late )'
th
cent#r, verse in favor of a poetr, that relied on concrete imager,. In a
collection of imagist poems edited -, Am, o*el entitled So%e 1%ag$st Poets. she formall,
o#tlined the ma1or o-1ective criteria of the images *ho -elieved that poetr, sho#ld )8 reg#larl, #se
ever,da, speech -#t avoid clichs %8 create ne* rh,thms 38 address an, s#-1ect matter the poet
desires ;8 depict its s#-1ects thro#gh precise. clear images.:
))'
So is Eliot. an imagist *ho see+s to
vis#ali!e the invisi-le. materiali!e the intangi-le and condense the mesh of 9decisions and
indecisions: into percepti-le vistas and concrete images. 7lose to the am-ivalent s,m-olism of
Fallace Stevens )lue 3u$tar. Emil, Dic+insons 5l$ttle house: and Shelle,s 92ont )lanc is
Eliots 9fo#r *ax candles in the dar+ened room.:
)%&
Traditionall,. candles are attri-#ted a
connotative dimension of spirit#al ill#mination and epiphanic moments. $o*ever. in the case of
9Portra$t of a Lad.:. this interpretative logic seems th*arted as the conventional association
-et*een candles and spirit#al enlightenment is -reached #pon thro#gh the a-r#pt intr#sion of
elements s#ch as 9dar+ened:. 9tom-: and 9night.: Dislodged as it is from its 9familiar context: and
extracted from its c#stomar, chain of associations. the candle stands as -oth the device and the
tenor. an a#tonomo#s signifier that gives the el#siveness and d#-io#sness of the interpretative game
118
Ross M#rfin and S#pri,a M.Ra,. The )edford 3lossar. of L$terar. and 0r$t$cal Ter%s >0e* Lor+:
Macmillian /ress TD. )''68. p. 3'3.
119
7leanth "roo+s et al. A%er$can L$terature : The 2akers and the 2ak$ng >0e* Lor+ affiliated /#-lishers.
Macmillan imited. )'C;8. p.%&%.
120
T.S Eliot. 9/ortrait of a ad, $n Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.)C.
4
a*a,. The main point aro#nd *hich the first stan!a of the poem pivots is the image of the
flic+ering 9candle: that mimics the flic+ering of meaning or rather the refractions of the virt#al
*orlds that arise from Eliots poetr, onl, to fade o#t li+e 9-#--les: giving room for ne* ones to
ta+e shape. ?f stri+ing importance is Eliots dra*ing and vis#ali!ation of life as 9lilacs o#t of the
dead land mixing memor, and desire. stirring d#ll roots *ith spring grain.:
)%)
The imagist vein at
*or+ in this section reaches its pinnacle thro#gh the #se of the ger#nd 9mixing: *hich -esto*s
#pon those a-stract notions a c#rio#s materialit, and a strange corporealit,. "oth 9desire: and
9Memor,: parta+e of the same tangi-le dimension of the 9d#ll roots:. and the dead 9lilacs:. As the
section of 9The )ur$al of the -ead:. dra*s on a close. Eliot enacts an imagist fig#rative process
thro#gh the #nsettling re(context#ali!ation and the 1#xtaposition of three incongr#o#s elements
namel, 9corpse. 9plant:. and garden.: 7onflated and strange as it is. this image disr#pts all
conventional connections. logical en#nciations. and s,m-olic implications. and condenses the
spirit#al disintegration and ph,sical deca, of the individ#al thro#gh the follo*ing image:
That corpse ,o# planted last ,ear in ,o#r garden
$as it -eg#n to spro#tK Fill it -loom this ,earK
?r has the s#dden frost dist#r- its -edK
)%%
This cl#ster of poetic lines ampl, el#cidates the annihilation of old s,m-olism and the red#ction of
conventional imager, to a -lan+ n#llit, thro#gh the de(context#ali!ation of the c#stomar,
vis#ali!ation of death. namel, 9corpses: and their re(placement in an #tterl, #nfamiliar semantic
field. that of a garden *here plants 9spro#t and -loom.: Fhat aligns itself *ith Eliots imagist
rendition of spro#ting corpses is Fords*orths 9sl#m-ering spirit: that 9rolls ro#nd in earths
di#rnal co#rse *ith roc+s and stones. and trees.:
)%3

121
T.S. Eliots. 9The "#rial of the Dead: in The Waste Land and other 4oe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%8.
p.%4.
122
I-id.. p.43.
123
Filliam Fords*orth. 9Daffodils:. in The 0ollected Works of Words8orth >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'C%8.
p.)&&.
4
9The "#rial of the Dead:. 9Fhat the Th#nder said:. 9The =ire Sermon:. and 9The Hame of 7hess:
can -e perceived as a procession of snapshots. vistas of perceptions. m,riads of images contrived in
an endeavor to grope for an ans*er to 9the over*helming <#estion: and to p#!!le o#t the enigma of
life. It is those ever(floating images that are -elieved to stage safel, a possi-le perception of life. of
the self and Text as a 9changing gestalt:. Indeed. the entiret, of Eliots poetic and prose *or+s
displa,s a s#-tle phenomenological approach to the *orld and -rings #p a mod#lated $#sserlian
vie* that 9o-1ects attain meanings onl, as the, are perceived in someones conscio#sness and that
1#dgments sho#ld -e s#spended or -rac+eted as the, are not part of the anal,sts o*n
conscio#sness.:
)%;
7orrespondingl,. Eliot in 9)urnt ?orton: affirms that 9forms and patterns: are
the onl, availa-le o-1ects of experience and the sole gate*a,s to interpretations. This Eliotian
assertion ties in *ith Filliam 7arlos Filliams affirmation that 9there are no ideas -#t in things.:
)%4
a conviction that ta+es shape in his 9,ed@8heeled )arro8.: Even m#sicalit, is vested *ith an
imagist and visi-le dimension. =or instance. the hectic and -oistero#s leave ta+ing scene in 9The
3a%e of 0hess: exhi-its an imagist edge as the reader comes close of seeing the g#ests leaving the
part,. Thro#gho#t the poem. old s,m-ols s#ch as 9the tarot cards:. 9the fisher +ing:. 9the $ol,
grail:. 9the ch#rch mon#ments:
)%5
are revealed to -e 9empt, shells:. 9hollo* fig#res: and 9-ro+en
testimonies: *ell(assorted to impart the fragmentariness and the vac#it, of -oth the Modern *orld
and the Modern text.
124
FFF. "ritannica Dniversalis.com
125
Ross M#rfin and S#pri,a M.Ra,. The )edford 3lossar. of L$terar. and 0r$t$cal Ter%s >0e* Lor+:
Macmillian /ress TD. )''68. p. )C&.
126
RRRRRRRRR T.S Eliot. 9/ortrait of a ad,: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.)'.
4
R
3. Eliots dialogic poetic imagination# 6the spirituall! concrete#
I have given ,o# po*er of choice and ,o# onl,
Alternate -et*een f#tile spec#lation and #nconsidered actions.
)%C
A-o#nding as it is *ith -ipolarities. antithetical elements and incongr#o#s o-1ects.
Eliots poetr, displa,s s#ch a lia-ilit, to reconcile the irreconcila-le and to *eld the disparate into a
poetic vision that coheres. /alpa-l, eno#gh. a *ide range of the Eliotian *ritings attests to a
stri+ing 9dialogic: poetic perception that -lends the sens#o#s *ith the spirit#al. the tangi-le *ith
the intangi-le and the a-stract *ith the concrete. This dichotomo#s poetic vision sho#ld never -e
ta+en at face val#e nor sho#ld it -e expo#nded as a mere representation of the vistas of direct and
lived experiences to s#-1ective perception in a 9sens#o#s shape.: Indeed. the aesthetic val#e of this
act of artistic representation does not emanate necessaril, from a complete isomorphism or the
transcendental #nit, -et*een the idea. that is the mental image and the 9shape: *here-, the
9content is made percepti-le and imagina-le.:
)%6

The artistic via-ilit, and the aesthetic *orth of this mode of *orld perception that
comingles -oth a-straction and concreteness hinge #pon its inade<#ac, or incapa-ilit, to
vo#chsafe a frontal correspondence and to ascertain a higher and an #n-rea+a-le #nit, -et*een
ideas. conceptions . feelings . apprehensions and their 9plastic em-odiments:. It is the plasticit, and
the plia-ilit, of the self that is enhanced. explored and invested and the intrinsic imperfection and
partialit, of this representative act that is foregro#nded. In their 1ntroductor. Lectures on Aesthet$cs.
Heorg Filhelm and =riedrich $egel el#cidate this intrig#ing f#sion -et*een the sens#o#s and the
spirit#al as follo*s:
Fhether a given content has a sens#o#s artistic representation for its ade<#ate form. or in
virt#e of its nat#re essentiall, demands a higher and more spirit#al em-odiment. is a
127
T.S Eliot. 97hor#ses =rom The 9Roc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.))4.
128
Heorg Filhelm and =riedrich $egel. 9Art. the A-sol#te and Spirit: in 1ntroductor. Lectures on Aesthet$cs
>England: /eng#in 7lassics. )''38. p. )'.
4
distinction that displa,s itself at once . if. for instance .*e compare the Hree+ Hods *ith Hod
as conceived according to 7hristian ideas. The Hree+ Hod is not a-stract -#t individ#al. and is
closel, a+in to the nat#ral h#man shape >28 $e can onl, -e represented imperfectl,. and not
in the *hole depth of his Idea.
)%'
$o*ever enlightening and incisive this $egelian assertion is. there is one expression that
sho#ld not -e constr#ed as pertaining to the disco#rse of metaph,sics. that of Othe *hole depth of
his idea:. This expression sho#ld not -e perceived as parta+ing of the classical division -et*een
forms and transcendental ideas. 9The *hole depth of his idea: sho#ld -e appropriated to the poetic
and philosophical trend at *or+ in Eliots poetr,. that is. it sho#ld rather -e #nderstood as referring
to the -o#ndlessness of the h#man reso#rcef#lness and creativit,. 7orrespondingl,. Eliot clearl,
opts for this mode of fig#ration consisting in vesting the 9#ngraspa-le: *ith a sens#o#s and visi-le
shape. hence Eliots notion of 9o-1ective correlative.: There is a s#stained delicate evocation of
opposed moods and *a,s of seeing the *orld and the living s#-1ect at *or+ in T.S Eliots poetic
*orld. It is this anxiet,. am-ivalence and indeterminac, that Eliots poetic *or+s see+ to
prom#lgate thro#gh an 9anxiet, of lang#age. an anxiet, a-o#t lang#age and an anxiet, *ithin
lang#age:
)3&
as Derrida asserts in his Wr$t$ng and -$fference. 9There is more to art than the
straightness of lines and the perfection of s#rfaces. /lasticit, of st,le is not as large as the entire
idea 2*e have too man, things -#t not eno#gh forms:
)3)
asserts =la#-ert in an Endeavo#r to
enhance the perennial importance of imagination in terms of its s#ppl,ing the missing connections
-et*een the o-1ects of the *orld -, *eaving fictive ones.
Despite the fact that Eliots poetr, is close in spirit to Fittgensteins vie* on poetic
lang#age in his Tractatus Log$co@Ph$loso4h$cus as he post#lates that:
Tho#ght is s#rro#nded -, a halo Sits essence. logic presents an order. in fact the apriori
order of the *orld: that is. the order of possi-ilities. *hich m#st -e common to -oth
*orld and tho#ght. "#t. this order. it seems. m#st -e #tterl, simple. It is prior to all
experience. m#st r#n thro#gh all experienceE no empirical clo#diness or #ncertaint, can
129
I-id..
130
Wr$t$ng and -$fference. trans. Alan "ass. 7hicago. #niversit, of 7hicago /ress. )'C68. p.3.
131
Idem..
4
-e allo*ed to affect it Sit m#st rather -e of the p#rest cr,stal. "#t this cr,stal does not
appear as an a-stractionE -#t as something concrete. indeed as the most concrete. as it
*ere as the hardest things there is.
)3%
This tractarian *orld vision that #nderlies a *ide range of Eliots poetr, is evidenced -,
his s#-scription to the imagist trend *hose central tenet is that of 9going in fear of a-straction.:
)33
7orrespondingl,. Eliot attempts constantl, to steer clear from the ma!e of o-f#scated a-stractions
and imageless spec#lations that precl#de #nderstanding rather than instigate it. The logical
o#tcome of this poetic vision that places contrivance. fictionalit, and artifice at premi#m is that of
9impersonating 9 the artistic experience of positing 9medi#m: as the sole o-1ect of interest . This
anti(romantic thr#st that 90e* 7riticism: exhi-its thro#gh its privileging of scientific methods.
r#les. o-1ectivit, sho#ld not -e indicted as a dr, and empirical poetic vision -#t rather val#ed for
the vistas of latit#des for creation and self(fashioning it -rings forth. Eliots o-session *ith forms.
formats. shapes. frames. patterns and his constant attempts at -esto*ing sens#o#s existence #pon
#ngraspa-le and #navaila-le things is paradigmatic of his conception of artistic representation as a
9performative: act that *ill #ltimatel, -ring something into existence. In his 0horuses fro% 5The
,ock:. Eliot prophesi!es that:
The So#l of Man m#st <#ic+en to creation
?#t of the formless stone. *hen the artist #nited himself *ith stone
Spring al*a,s ne* forms of life. from the so#l of man
That is 1oined to the so#l of stone
?#t of the sea of so#nd the life of m#sic
?#t of the slim, m#d of *ords. o#t of the select and hail of ver-al imprecisions.
)3;
A persistent and ardent call for creation. imagination and *orld(shaping #nderlies this
cl#ster of lines. =#rther in the poem. and in a more overt and vocifero#s fashion Eliot affirms that
9visi-le and invisi-le. t*o *orlds meet in Man:
)34
testif,ing to the latters inherent divinit,. the
132
#d*ig Fittgenstein. Ph$loso4h$cal 1nvest$gat$ons. %d ed. >0e* Lor+: Macmillan. )'468. p. )3%.
133
E!ra /o#nd I Donts for Imagists J in T.S. Eliot. To 7ritici!e the 7ritic >ondon : =a-er and =a-er. )'C68. p.
)C4.
134
T.S Eliot. 97hor#ses =rom The 9Roc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.))C.
135
I-id.. /.))'.
4
individ#al creative potential. As the poem dra*s on a close. the 9formless stone: t#rns into a
9formed: stone . a visi-le 9cr#cifix:. a val#a-le piece of artifice standing as a corollar, of the
individ#als enno-ling artistic sensi-ilit, *hich ta+es shape thro#gh the m,ths . the images and the
perceptions that the individ#al *eaves aro#nd himself and aro#nd the *orld in *hich he d*ells.
?ne more ill#stration of Eliots proclivit, to*ards sh#nning a-stract modes of poetic fig#ration in
favo#r of sens#o#s artistic vision can -e derived from his 9A 7oo+ing Egg: thro#gh *hich he
descri-es 9vie*s of ?xford colleges la,ing on the ta-le *ith the +nitting.:
)35
The techni<#e of
9!e#gma: that fig#res in this poetic line and *hich consists in forging an #nli+el, lin+age -et*een
9t*o different +inds of props. t*o different *ords or t*o different phrases
)3C
: serves to -esto* #pon
the a-stract conception of 9?xford Mie*s: a tangi-le and ph,sical dimension. The #se of terms
s#ch as 9la,. ta-le. +nitting: confers #pon 9the oxford vie*s: a gro#nding ph,sical presence and
attri-#tes to it a mental imagist dimension. Dissimilar in effect is Alexander /opes ,o+ing of
"elindaOs fear of 9losing her heart: *ith that of 9losing her nec+lace at the -all:. In fact. the !e#gma
at *or+ in here serves to posit the tangi-le and the intangi-le on the same par transval#ating
materialit, and spirit#alit, in a farcical fashion.
/ersonification is exploited as a techni<#e to -ring a-o#t this dialogic poetic vision
that tends to conflate incongr#o#s elements and confers life #pon the inanimate as he states in his
9Rhapsod, on a Find, 0ight:: 9The lamp m#ttered in the dar+. The lamp h#mmed::regard the
moon.:
)36
It is the po*er of imagination and the -o#ndlessness of h#man creativit, that are exalted
and f#rthered as the #ltimate h#man assets that can derive meaningf#lness and p#rposef#lness from
the over*helming m#ltifario#sness and intricac, of the *orld in *hich the self d*ells. ?nl,
thro#gh contrivance. artificialit, and cladding things in fictitio#s garments can the *orld ta+e shape
and is the self a-le em-ar+ #pon its #nended and endless 1o#rne, of 9self(fashioning:.
136
T.S Eliot. 9A 7oo+ing Egg: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.36.
137
Ross M#rfin and S#pri,a M.Ra,. The )edford 3lossar. of L$terar. and 0r$t$cal Ter%s >0e* Lor+:
Macmillian /ress TD. )''68. p.3'4.
138
T.S Eliot. 9Rhapsod, on a Find, 0ight: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.%4.
4
(hapter )))#
Modes of $rticulation in T-S Eliots 5oetr!
4
*- Musicalit!# $ (hallenge of the )narticulate#
Dont imagine that the art of poetr, is an, simpler than the art
of m#sic or that ,o# can please the expert -efore ,o# have spent
at least as m#ch effort on the art of verse as the average piano
teacher spends on the art of piano.
)3'
Misi-le in T.S Eliots poetr, is the intert*inement of ver-al and m#sical patterns and
the orchestration -et*een the flo* of associated images and the #npremeditated irr#ption of
9violins so#nds: and 9street pianos *orn o#t songs.:
);&
In his constant grappling *ith his
inartic#lateness and his s#stained striving 9 to find expression
);)
:. the poetic persona in 9 A Portra$t
of a Lad. does not *aver 9to -orro* ever, changing shape
);%
:. 9to dance li+e a dancing -ear:.
9cr, li+e a parrot:. and 9chat li+e an ape
);3
:. Indeed. the 1arring. discordant and conflated m#sical
repertoire and the vocal range that intersperse Eliots poetr,. attest to a compelling plasticit, and
flexi-ilit, of m#sic as a mode of artic#lation. M#sicalit, can -e conceived of as an ever( 9changing
shape: or rather a shapeless shape:. as it is #n-o#nded -, grammatical exigencies and #nrestrained
-, semantic and s,ntactic restrictions.
?nl, can m#sicalit, attain s#ch a fl#idit, of st,le and -readth of meaning. for. m#sic
is -oth. the medi#m and the message. the tool and the end. Dnli+e ver-al disco#rse *hich is
conditioned -, compliance *ith the regimented la*s of logical en#nciations and -o#nd #p to a
comm#nicative f#nction. m#sic onl, a-ides -, the principle of free com-ination. improvisation and
f#sion of st,les. Indeed. The Faste and is a case in point as it follo*s a concert performance and
stages a s,mphonic sho*. 9a-s#rdl, hammering a prel#de of its o*n
);;
: inviting the reader to 1oin
the *astelanders in their tedio#s and lifeless -allet. M#sicalit, is a mosaic form *hose effect resides
not in the flo* of associated co#plets and metricall, assorted notes. -#t rather in the m#ted
139
T.S Eliot. To 0r$t$s$*e the 0r$t$c and other 8r$t$ngs >ondon: =a-er. )'C68. p. )C4.
140
T.S Eliot. 9/ortrait of a ad,: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.%&.
141
I-id.. p.%)
142
Idem..
143
Idem..
144
Idem..
4
cadences. the gaps and the periods *here the choral singing mello*s into a solitar, self(echoing
acappella onl, to t#rn a -arel, a#di-le mo#rnf#l h#mming. =or instance. in 9The ove Song of
B.Alfred /r#froc+:. Eliot tr#mpets his poetic personas disma,ing *avering -et*een self(possession
and self(revelation. *ithdra*al from h#man contact and involvement. ps,chological inertia and
emotional commitment thro#gh #sing the techni<#e of d#et concerto. Discordant *ith the
harmonio#s. t#ned melodies of the part,s g#ests is /r#froc+s off t#ne solo.
In the midst of a societ, of artifice. grotes<#e ga#diness and excessive ornaments
*here 9s+irts trail along the floor:. heav, 9perf#mes:
);4
inf#se the lad, dresses and *here
ever,-od, seems complacent a-o#t 9the face he has prepared to meet the other faces
);5
:. /r#froc+ is
adrift. engrossed in his -roodings over his sh#ddering at the sight of 9arms that la, along the ta-le:
and the precario#sness of his caref#ll, shielded v#lnera-ilit, in front of the ladies fragrances.
Amidst the fragile harmonies of the room. /r#froc+ introd#ces into the stan!a 9a false note
);C
:. as
the 9*here sho#ld I pres#me
);6
: refrain +eeps er#pting as an off t#ne melod, into the #nivocal
cadence of the rh,ming co#plets.
The aco#tistics of The 0octa$l Part.s 7ham-erla,nes ondon flat and /r#froc+s
dra*ing room is designed to echo the intensit, of the emotional t#rmoil and the ac#it, of the mood
s*ings that Eliots poetic personas go thro#gh. 9The Faste and:. 9The ove Song of B. Alfred
/r#froc+: and 9The /ortrait of the ad,: stand as a 1#m-led mishmash of notes and tonalities.
t#rning into s,mphonic sho* performed -, miscast and ill(assorted singers and choreographed -,
dispassionate and stiff dancers. The fragmentariness. the dis1ointedness and the nervo#sness that
permeate The Faste and resonate thro#gh the #se of a miscellan, of monos,lla-ic alliterative
patterns s#ch as 9I gro* old2I gro* old:
);'
or 9good night2good night:
)4&
. and the rever-eration
of onomatopoeic *ords: 9t*it t*it 1#g 1#g 1#g 1#g 1#g.:
)4)
The anaphoric m#sical st,le and the
145
T.S. Eliot. 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+:. in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)4.
146
I-id.. p.)3.
147
T.S Eliot. 9/ortrait of a ad,: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%8. p.)6.
148
T.S. Eliot .9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)3.
149
I-id.. p.)4
150
T.S Eliot. 9A game of 7hess: in The Waste Land >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.4C.
151
I-id.. 4'
4
red#ndant rh,thmic pattern that im-#e those 1#nct#res of the poem -ring to the fore the state of
staleness and -oredom in *hich T.S.Eliots characters are tangled #p. The same note +eeps vi-rating
s#ff#sing the text#re of the poems *ith a monotonic rh,thmic cadence and divesting the *alt!
dance from its vividness and flam-o,ance. Solitar, and emotionall, dried #p as the, are. each of
the *astelanders goes a-o#t hisGher 9 so r#del, forced:
)4%
flamenco dance. *here 9each man fixed
his e,es -efore his feet:
)43
. and *here onl, the sc#ffle of 9 trailing dresses: and the distinct patters
of *ear, and nervo#s footsteps can -e heard. In fact. this apparent 1ovialit, and hectic atmosphere
that transpires from the vario#s sections of the poem namel, 9The =ire Sermon:. 9The "#rial of the
Dead:. and 9The Hame of 7hess: are -#t a veneer or a vocal camo#flage of the characters
desolation and secl#sion.
Eliot emerges as an art connoisse#r. as he transm#tes his poems into an artistic
galler, *here poetr,. m#sic. theater. dance and painting coalesce into a condensed poetic expression
and a refined artistic insight into the deep recesses of the individ#al ps,che. Thro#gh *eaving
m#sicalit, into the fa-rics of the text. Eliot attempts to posit art as the apotheosis of reso#rcef#lness.
the #tmost h#man asset that ena-les the individ#al to go -e,ond the confines of conscripted realit,.
The poem discreetl, ind#ces the reader to *eld the scattered co#plets into harmonio#s <#artets and
to ma+e the scrapes of disr#pted tonalities cohere into a concordant. *ell(contrived m#sical pattern.
In his ceaseless grappling *ith the 9an ade<#ate lang#age of the tri-e: and in the co#rse of his
9Raid on the Inartic#late:. Eliot offers m#sicalit, as a s#-stit#te for 9the *ords that crac+ *ith
imprecision.:
In his 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+:. *e can almost hear the sh#ffling of dresses
9trailing along the floor:. mimic+ing the indistinct and nervo#s m#tterings of the introvert and
diffident part,s g#ests. The rattlings of 9tea c#ps:. 9spoons: and 9-ones: respectivel, in 9The
ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: and 9The =ire Sermon: as *ell as the high(pitched cheers and
9ch#c+les spread from ear to ear: rise li+e a gothic rh,thm setting the tone for a maca-re. sinister
152
Idem..
153
T.S Eliot 9The "#rial of The Dead:. in The Waste Land >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.4'.
4
and spoo+, atmosphere. The 9tolling -ells:. 9the singing empt, cisterns:. and 9the exha#sted *ells:
can -e vie*ed as -lo*ing clarinets heightening the emptiness. vac#it, and hollo*ness of the *aste
land. The 9coco(coco(ri(coco(coco:
)4;
phrase in 9Fhat the Th#nder Said: lends itself to a 1a!!,
piercing metallic th#d that echoes the crac+ing of the modern *orld. a *orld disintegrating into
r#--le. The 9*eila la la lala lala:
)44
that s#rges #p. as 9The =ire Sermon: dra*s on a close. settles a
grave and solemn f#neral mood and serves as a *oef#l re<#iem s#ng in the honor of 9The )ur$al of
the -ead.: Dnrestricted -, the reg#lations of the metronome. the poet fiddles *ith the strings of his
g#itar. 9his poem:. and ta+es li-ert, to improvise and to ma+e his emotional vagaries and
ps,chological vicissit#des heard. As for the reader. he or she is left *ith a manifold role: that of the
set(designer. the choreographer and the dancer. *hose dance is the -e all and the end all.
154
.S Eliot 9Fhat the Th#nder Said: in The Waste Land >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.55.
155
T.S Eliot 9The =ire Sermon: in The Waste Land >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.5%.
4
%8 The interpla! of metaphor and meton!m! # 1The Love Song of J.Alfred
Prufrock2 as an e4ample :
Words aga$n!
0rack the tens$on! sl$4! sl$de! 4er$sh!
-eca. 8$th $%4rec$s$on! 8$ll not sta. $n 4lace!
W$ll not sta. st$ll.
1:(
In order to affect 9an aesthetic distance:. that is red#cing the conventional fig#rative
codes to -lan+ n#llit, or rather ne#tralit, Eliot sets into motion a ceaseless interpla, of meton,mies
and metaphors that inf#ses his poem *ith a palpa-le am-ig#it, and am-ivalence. Eliots fig#rative
techni<#es aim at divesting meton,mies and metaphors of the semantic resid#e the, entail and
implicating them in the ongoing pla, of negativit, and deferral of meaning. 0o longer #sed for the
sa+e of expositor, vividness. meton,mies and metaphors -ecome thematic strands on their o*n
right. propellers of aporia and instigators of 9poetics: rather than interpretations.
In 9The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock:. meton,mies and metaphors displa, a certain
anxiet, and decida-ilit, thro#gh their defiance to s#-scription to the clear(c#t divisions of the
traditional hermene#tic codes. The, -oth serve as elements of am-ivalence. holding meaning in
a-e,ance. infringing #pon the #nit, of representation and staging a crisis -et*een the text and its
o*n fig#rative processes. As integral parts of the #nrelenting 9pla, of str#ct#re:
)4C
that conditions
an, potential process of generating meaning. meton,mies and metaphors parta+e of the aporetic
mood that pervades the poem and emerge as overlapping. transferra-le and ever vacillating poles of
fig#ration. Fhat lies #nderneath 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: is a -ipolar fig#rative
pattern *here meton,ms and metaphorical images intersect and conflate.
156
A#oted in T.S Eliot : Four Quartets. "ernard "ergon!i. D.F. $arding a ne* created concept >ondon:
macmillan. )'5'8.
157
Wr$t$ng and -$fference. trans. Alan "ass. 7hicago. #niversit, of 7hicago /ress. )'C68. p.%65.
4
As the poem flo*s along the polari!ation of certain partic#lars s#ch as 9dresses. arms.
sha*ls: and the incongr#o#s com-ination of inanimate and animate things s#ch as 9half(deserted
streets: that follo* 9li+e a tedio#s arg#ment.: an effect of strangeness is g#aranteed and a vein of
am-ig#it, is foregro#nded. As the ,o+ing together of remnants and dissimilar elements ta+es its
deconstr#ctionist toll on the poem. -oth meton,m, and metaphor cease to -e strategies for coping
*ith the poetic or narrative p#!!le that the poem poses. Th#s. the conventional definitions of
meton,mies and metaphors. gro#nded in the terminolog, and strategies of traditional hermene#tics.
no longer hold in the poem for metaphor mod#lates into meton,m, and meton,m, co#ches itself in
a metaphoric gar-. As /r#froc+ goes a-o#t his love song. the -o#ndaries -et*een meton,m, and
metaphor shift constantl, and consistentl, challenging all hori!ons of expectations and
conventional strategies of #nderstanding.
Fith reference to The )edford 3lossar. of 0r$t$cal and L$terar. Ter%s. meton,m, 9involves
the representation of one thing -, another *hich is commonl, and often ph,sicall, associated *ith
it or the replacement of one *ord or phrase -, another.: =or example. a monarch might -e referred
to as the cro*n.:
)46
$o*ever in the poem. and in the midst of 9h#ndred indecisions: that am-#sh
the protagonist. an, attempt at attri-#ting an intrinsic and #nfaltering li+eness -et*een the
9vehicle:. the s#-stit#te and the 9tenor: *hich is the s#-stit#ted for frame of reference seems
gro#ndless. =or instance. in the poem. the logics of s#-stit#tion and replacement come to a standstill
giving room to the free pla, of negativit,. 7a#ght #p in a fract#red. fragmented and ever(floating
*orld. /r#froc+ seems ill(disposed to ascertain the #ndenia-le existence of 9a#thentic *holes: nor
can he arg#e in favor of the aptit#de of 9the trace: to serve as a s#-stit#te for the 9#navaila-le:
origin. The 9tea:. 9toast:. 9faces:. 9plate:. 9collar:. 9coffee spoons: are a plethora of traces
1#xtaposed in an #nsettling and #ntho#ght(of fashion. failing to serve as meton,ms and coming
short of installing a relation of correspondence *ith familiar and recogni!a-le external o-1ects.
158
Ross M#rfin and S#pr,ia M. Ra,. The )edford 3lossar. of 0r$t$cal and L$terar. Ter%s >0e* Lor+: "edford
"oo+s. )''68. p.%);.
4
In the poem. meton,m, t#rns into a promise of replacement. a provisional s#-stit#te of an
#n+no*n or rather #n+no*a-le a-sence. consoling vac##m filler and a mere claimant of meaning.
Those meton,mic details that intersperse the poem ass#me the role of fig#rative shifters that impede
an, reaching for a resol#tion of the intrig#ing pla, of fig#ration and precl#de the s,stematic
intervention of extraneo#s elements to el#cidate meanings. Meton,m, -ecomes -oth the vehicle
and the tenor severed from an, attending extra(text#al s#ppliers of meanings. The cl#ster of
incongr#o#s and disparate meton,mic details at *or+ in 9Time for all the *or+s and da,s of hands
that lift and drop a <#estion on ,o#r plate.: fr#strates an, attempt to s#mmon exterior frames of
reference to tame the impenetra-ilit, of those lines. Indeed. the a-errant or rather co#nter(
s,ntactical collocation -et*een 9to drop a <#estion: and 9a plate: does not s,stematicall, con1#re
#p a recogni!a-le and familiar image from realit,. At this 1#nct#re of the poem. the plate #tters
itself. ass#ming a f#ll command of the fig#rative process and achieving a#tonom, as far as
generating meanings is concerned.
The third stan!a of the poem. enacts a different and even more p#!!ling +ind of meton,m,
enmeshed *ith a metaphorical -ias. The c#rio#s en#merations of 9-ac+. m#!!le and tong#e: as *ell
as the #se of ver-s s#ch as 9r#-. lic+ and slip. c#rled: -ring to the fore a deferred meton,m, that
teasingl, and tantali!ingl, con1#res #p the image of the dog -#t never states it openl,. A metaphoric
-ias seems to im-#e this stan!a as the fog ass#mes a metaphorical image of a dog 9r#--ing its
m#!!le on *indo*s panes.:
)4'
Amid the ha!, atmosphere. rather than el#cidating meanings. 9the
meton,mic metaphor: of the 9fog r#--ing its m#!!le: foregro#nds am-ig#it, thro#gh *eaving
*e-s of transferra-le signifiers and signifieds ranging from the literal image of the dog to that of the
de-ased h#man. The context too. seems to act in complicit, *ith the aporetic pla, of significance as
it perpet#ates am-ig#it, rather than clarif,ing it and dislodges associations rather than
strengthening them.
At the o#tset of the poem. metaphor and meton,m, achieve some*hat a state of
e<#ipoise thro#gh the poets rendering of 9the s+,: thro#gh the image of 9a patient etheri!ed #pon
159
T.S. Eliot 9The ove Song of B.Alfred /r#froc+: in Selected Poe%s >ondon: =a-er and =a-er )'5%8. p.)).
4
ta-le.: Am-ig#o#s as it is. the meton,mic detail of the ta-le fails to esta-lish a one S to one
correspondence *ith a definite and self(evident referent. More enigmatic still. the metaphorical
image of 9the etheri!ed patient: entails a chain of signifiers ranging from the *orld. the individ#al
and the text *aiting for the reader to -ring it to life and re(animate it. "#ttressed -, the am-ig#it,
permeating the poem. meton,ms and metaphors relin<#ish or rather forfeit their c#stomar, state as
transparent referential fig#rative patterns onl, to serve as am-ig#o#s 9triggers: of meanings veering
to*ards conceits that involve 9the #se of ordinar, or esoteric materials #sed in a an on(tho#ght of
*a,. Eliots 9to-acco trance:. 9heart of silence: and 9streets of insidio#s intents: are -#t a fe*
examples of the metaph,sical conceit at pla, in the poem.
To some #p. the possi-ilit, of reading and interpreting 9The Love Song of J.Alfred
Prufrock: is predicated #pon the #nrelenting interpla,. collision and conflation of metaphors and
meton,mies *hich ni--les a*a, at an, semantic clos#re. holding o#t vistas of possi-le
interpretations.
4
(onclusion
Thro#gh a set of transval#ed. am-ivalent and aporiatic aesthetics. Eliot contrives a poetic
*orld *here tops, t#rv,dom disr#ption and fragmentariness hold s*a,. -inar, opposites
attain a hermene#tic parit, and fiss#re and intersection tri#mph over harmon, and
#nit,.Eliots poetic enterprise consists in positing poetr, as a spontaneo#s and nat#ral
implement of the intellect and imagination #nimpeded -, str#ct#ral .st,listic and semantic
constraints exigencies. That poetr, sho#ld -e deemed as a mere matter of form#la and
-l#eprint and that artistr, resides in the #tmost displa, of er#dition is a red#ctive eval#ative
axiom that eclipses the aesthetic *orth of the dialogic poetic text#re and am-ivalent modes of
fig#ration .T o attempt to expo#nd art in terms of ca#salit,. logical flo* of poetic snapshots
and time se<#ences imp#gns #pon the vivid and the inexha#sti-le realit, of art and imposes
#pon it a fr#stratingl, reificator, logic alien to its intrinsicall, el#sive nat#re of poetic
disco#rse. Retired to the fringes of his poetic realm. Eliots poetic persona f#lfills the role of a
discrete scene designer. a director *ho remains off stage .-ehind the c#rtains ma+ing room for
his dramatic p#ppets . metaphorical tropes and allegorical fig#res to parade .protest and
grapple *ith each other at *ill. Fitho#t shapes. mo#lds. empt, shells the poet is speechless
and the reader is denied access to the artists *orld. In Eliots poetic *orld .artificialit,.
contrivance and artifice are ex#lted as the corollar, of the individ#alOs *ill to po*er and the
apotheosis of self(rene*al and his inherent creative -o#ndlessness.Dntil mated *ith the
readers mat#re poetic insight. EliotTs poems stand as a repositor, of -ro+en testimonies .
fragmented visions and fiss#red mosaic ta-lea#x. Allotted to the reader is the da#nting tas+ of
challenging the apparent inartic#lateness of the poems and *elding the scrapes of poetic
insights into a pattern that holds.
4
Work Cited List
Primary Sources:
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Eliot. T. S. 9"#rnt 0orton.: In Four Quartets. ondon: Macmillan /ress TD. )'5'.
Eliot. T.S. 97hor#ses =rom The Roc+.: In Selected Poe%s. ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. 9East 7o+er.: In Four Quartets. ondon: Macmillan /ress TD. )'5'.
Eliot. T. S. 9Herontion.: In The Selected Poe%s. ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. 9Hame of 7hess.: 1n Selected Poe%s. ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. /ortrait of a ad,. ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. 9/rel#des.: in Selected Poe%s. ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. 9Rhapsod, on a Find, 0ight.: In Selected Poe%s. ondon: /eng#in "oo+s. )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. The Waste Land. London: =a-er and =a-er.)'5%.
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Fa&er! 1'(2.
Eliot. T. S. The 0ockta$l Part.. ondon : =a-er and =a-er.)'C;.
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=a-er )'5%.
4
Eliot. T. S. 9The =ire Sermon.: In The Waste Land and 7ther Poe%s. ondon : =a-er and
=a-er )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. 9Fhispers of Immortalit,.: In Selected Poe%s. ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'5%.
Eliot. T. S. 9Fhat the Th#nder Said.: In The Waste Land. ondonE =a-er and =a-er. )'5%.
.
Sha+espeare. Filliam. 2ac&eth. ondon: /eng#in -oo+s. )'';.
Stevens. Fallace. 9The Man *ith the "l#e H#itar.: 1n Selected Poe%s. ondon: /eng#in
"oo+s. )'6%.
Fords*orth. Filliam. 9Daffodils.: in The 0ollected Works of Words8orth. ondon: /eng#in
"oo+s. )'C%.
Secondary Sources:
Arnold. Matthe*. The Sacred Wood: +ssa. on Poetr. and 0r$t$c$s%. ondon: Meth#en. )'4&.
"ergon!i. "ernard. ed. T.S +l$ot Four Quartets. ondon: Macmillan /ress TD. )'5'.
"o#a!!i. Mohamed a!har. Self 1%ag$nat$on and +th$cs $n Shelle.6s Poetr.. T#nis: =ac#lt, fo
Arts and $#man Sciences of T#nis. %&&3.
"roo+s. 7leanth et al. A%er$can L$terature : The 2akers and the 2ak$ng. 0e* Lor+ affiliated
/#-lishers. Macmillan imited. )'C;.
7astle. Hregor,. The )lack8ell 3u$de to L$terar. Theor.. ondon: "lac+*ell /#-lishing.
%&&C.
7oote. Steven. The Waste Land. ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'4;.
Eliot. T. S. To 0r$t$c$*e The 0r$t$c. ondon: =a-er and =a-er. )'C6.
4
ima. #is 7osta. 0ontrol of the 1%ag$nar.: ,eason and 1%ag$nat$on $n 2odern T$%es.
Metropolis: Dniversit, of Minnesota /ress. )'66.
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=a-er. )'C6.
General Works:
"arthes. Roland. 9The Death of the A#thor.: In 1%age! 2us$c! Te9t. Trans. Steven $eath. 0e*
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