The Waste Land---T.S. Eliot.doc

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1、TheWasteLand---T.S.EliotTheWasteLandisa434-linemodernistpoembyT.S.Eliotpublishedin1922.Ithasbeencalled"oneofthemostimportantpoemsofthe20thcentury."Despitethepoem'sobscurity—itsshiftsbetweensatireandprophecy,itsabruptandunannouncedchangesofspeaker,locat

2、ionandtime,itselegiacbutintimidatingsummoningupofavastanddissonantrangeofculturesandliteratures—thepoemhasbecomeafamiliartouchstoneofmodernliterature.Amongitsfamousphrasesare"Aprilisthecruellestmonth"(itsfirstline);"Iwillshowyoufearinahandfulofdust";an

3、d(itslastline)themantraintheSanskritlanguage"Shantihshantihshantih."ThepoemisprecededbyaLatinandGreekepigraphfromTheSatyriconofPetronius.InEnglish,itreads:"IsawwithmyowneyestheSibylofCumaehanginginajar,andwhentheboyssaidtoher,Sibyl,whatdoyouwant?sherep

4、liedIwanttodie."Followingtheepigraphisadedication(addedina1925republication)thatreads"ForEzraPound:ilmigliorfabbro"HereEliotisbothquotingline117ofCantoXXVIofDante'sPurgatorio,thesecondcanticaofTheDivineComedy,whereDantedefinesthetroubadourArnautDaniela

5、s"thebestsmithofthemothertongue"andalsoPound'stitleofchapter2ofhisTheSpiritofRomance(1910)wherehetranslatedthephraseas"thebettercraftsman."ThisdedicationwasoriginallywrittenininkbyEliotinthe1922Boni&LiverighteditionofthepoempresentedtoPound;itwassubseq

6、uentlyincludedinfutureeditions.ThefivepartsofTheWasteLandaretitled:1.TheBurialoftheDead2.AGameofChess3.TheFireSermon4.DeathbyWater5.WhattheThunderSaidThetextofthepoemisfollowedbyseveralpagesofnotes,purportingtoexplainhismetaphors,references,andallusion

7、s.Someofthesenotesarehelpfulininterpretingthepoem,butsomearearguablyevenmorepuzzling,andmanyofthemostopaquepassagesareleftunannotated.ThenoteswereaddedafterEliot'spublisherrequestedsomethinglongertojustifyprintingTheWasteLandinaseparatebook.Thirtyyears

8、afterpublishingthepoemwiththesenotes,Eliotexpressedhisregretat"havingsentsomanyenquirersoffonawildgoosechaseafterTarotcardsandtheHolyGrail".ThereissomequestionastowhetherEliotoriginallyintendedTheWasteLandtobeacollectionofindividualpoem