The Waste Land
Beginning of paper
Ceremonies in ""
Ceremonies are prevalent throughout T.S. Eliot’s poem "The
Waste Land". Eliot relies on literary contrasts to illustrate the
specific values of meaningful, effectual rituals of primitive society
in contrast to the meaningless, broken, sham rituals of the modern
day. Thes ....
Middle of paper
.... of a primal ceremony is evident in this passage. The last
line of "He who was living is now dead" shows the passing of the
primal ceremony; the connection to it that was once viable is now
dead. The language used to describe the event is very rich and vivid:
red, sweaty, stony. These words evoke an event that is without the
cares of modern life- it is primal and hot. A couple of lines later
Eliot talks of "red sullen faces sneer and snarl/ From doors of
mudcracked houses ....
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Word count: 1245
Page count: 5 (approximately 250 words per page)
