Death is a process of life; the end to a beginning for all. However, each death is not the same. Some suffer to transition from life to death. Others leave more quietly than they came. But the idea of suffering seems to be Eliot’s niche in poetry.
“A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell” (1212, lines 315-317)
Water is a powerful force. We must have it to live, but with too much we are bound to die. Death by water is one the most painful deaths to experience, because of the process the body is put through. Your cells expand and burst from over saturation. Your lungs begin to fill quickly and air is pushed further away from your brain. The pressure begins to build as you reach to breathe nothing but water filled with oxygen you cannot use.
But Eliot’s death does not seem to be a literal expression of death, but a longing to die as age progresses. And a reminder of our fate.
“He passed the stages of his age and youth
Entering the whirlpool.
Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look windward
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.” (1212, lines 317-321)
They shall die, either at sea or somewhere. But their fate is sealed. Did they truly have a chance to live?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Chrishon,
Well, you certainly selected a challenging text for your final post! In this post you provide some great quotations, but your exploration of them is not as detailed or as deep as in your better work. I suspect the obscurity of The Waste Land may have something to do with that, although the looming deadline may as well.
You are correct, dear professor!
The title of the poem is quite frightening to me. Personally, I am terrified of open water. I also cannot swim, therefore, death by water would be horrible and terrifying to me. Indeed, the poem was extremely hard to understand and I applaud you for your effort to attempt to understand it. You did a great job.
I was defineatly avoiding this text but I am glad you posted on it. I agree with Costen that open water scares me, thus this poem seem like an unconqureable task. You did a great job at attempting to explain a very difficult piece of literature.
Post a Comment