The Waste Land - T. S. Eliot

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Résumé :
The Waste Land is a classic poem by T. S. Eliot, considered a landmark text of the Modernist movement. Famous for juxtaposing Eastern cultures with Western literary references, The Waste Land has been celebrated for its eloquence, depth of meaning and numerous subtleties. Rich with allusions to religious texts of Hinduism and Buddhism, ancient literature, and Eliot's own life, the poem is admired to this day and is a common text in school and university English literature courses. Painstakingly composed, the original drafts of The Waste Land were far longer than the final edition which is composed of five distinct parts. Truncation occurred on the advice of Eliot's contemporary and friend Ezra Pound. A famous line - And we shall play a game of chess/The ivory men make company between us / Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door - was removed at the request of Eliot's wife Vivienne, it is thought for being too revealing about their married life....

Biographie:
Thomas Stearns Eliot, (1888 - 1965) was a British essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic and one of the twentieth century's major poets. He moved from his native United States to England in 1914 at the age of 25, settling, working and marrying there. He eventually became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39, renouncing his American citizenship. Eliot attracted widespread attention for his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915), which was seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement. It was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language, including The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday (1930), and Four Quartets (1943). He was also known for his seven plays, particularly Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and The Cocktail Party (1949). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948, for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry.

Sommaire:
The Waste Land is a classic poem by T. S. Eliot, considered a landmark text of the Modernist movement. Famous for juxtaposing Eastern cultures with Western literary references, The Waste Land has been celebrated for its eloquence, depth of meaning and numerous subtleties. Rich with allusions to religious texts of Hinduism and Buddhism, ancient literature, and Eliot's own life, the poem is admired to this day and is a common text in school and university English literature courses. Painstakingly composed, the original drafts of The Waste Land were far longer than the final edition which is composed of five distinct parts. Truncation occurred on the advice of Eliot's contemporary and friend Ezra Pound. A famous line - And we shall play a game of chess/The ivory men make company between us / Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door - was removed at the request of Eliot's wife Vivienne, it is thought for being too revealing about their married life....