1. Monotony
One of the most prominent theme in T.S. Eliot's “The Waste Land” is the monotony and dreariness of life. In section III “The Fire Sermon”, the line “I can connect nothing with nothing...My people humble people who expect nothing” shows the apathy that has taken over the world. The poem depicts a world with no passion, which makes everything, even sex and death seem mundane and monotonous. In section IV “Death by Water” the speaker says “He passed the stages of his age and youth, entering the whirlpool.” This line speaks of time passing without any great incidence. Time drags and you join the legions of others making their way through life just as drearily as yourself. Life is a nihilistic cycle of birth and death with nothing of significance in between.
2. Forgetting the Past
A very prominent theme in "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot is depression, and the feeling of pressure to be more than you are. In “Burial of the Dead” Marie looks back at how happy her life used to be and reflects gravely on what she has become. Of her past she says “there you feel free.” This is in stark contrast to the bleakness of her current life, “I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.” In the fourth stanza of “Burial of the Dead”, a sailor reminisces with an old cohort about the horrors their past, and the skeletons in their closet. He says “Oh keep the Dog hence, that's friend to men, Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!” This shows he fear of his past and his desire to keep it buried, hidden and, ultimately, forgotten.
3. Sexuality
One of the more subtle themes present in “The Waste Land” is that of sexuality and its futility. The sexual encounters in the poem all lack passion, love, and purpose. According to Eliot, sex is all we have to give, therefore we do so out of necessity, not desire. In section II “A Game of Chess” two women sit gossiping in a bar about a woman, Lil, whose husband Albert refuses to leave her alone sexually, despite the fact that her last pregnancy almost killed her. Albert returns home after four years in the army and expects to be pleasured, if not by his wife then by another woman. In section III, Mr. Eugenides invites the speaker to a weekend at a hotel for homosexuals. Homosexuality is the epitome of futile sexuality, owing to the fact that it can never lead to regeneration. Also in section III, a small house agent's clerk makes love to the poor and lonely typist who is too disinterested to stop him, regardless of the fact that doing so ruins her perfect image. Lastly, the Fisher King, who could not reproduce due to a genital injury, represents the ultimate fruitlessness of sexuality that does not lead to regeneration. His sterility is mirrored in his country and the wasteland it has becoming because there is no hope of an heir. Each of these encounters is met with indifference and futility and resignation, as opposed to the sexual tension and passion usually associated with sexuality.
1. Nihilistic View of Modern Culture and the Future
The most prominent theme in T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land is the pessimistic view of modern culture and the future. Eliot’s main focus is his opinion of contemporary society, which he believes is decaying. His ultimate wasteland is the modern city: it’s post-war appearance, dry, barren and static, and how it’s society functions. Strongly emphasized throughout the poem is the view that there is no hope of the future. The Fisher King, his main inspiration, is stepping down and there is no resurrection for Phlebas the Phoenician or the for crucified Christ in “What the Thunder Said.” As Eliot explains, “He who was living is now dead/ We who were living are now dying,” this portrays the powerful nihilistic perspective that Eliot has developed. He alludes to this pessimism throughout the poem, emphasizing it prominently among most of his scenic descriptions and historical references. There is very little that indicates any kind of regeneration of culture, aside from the rain in the “What the Thunder Said,” which indicates a renewal, as well, the none-western words at the very end are also a hint towards Eastern culture being a source for restoration.
2. Modern Sexuality that is Ultimately Fruitless
A prominent theme in many of T.S. Eliot’s pieces is lust. His second section of The Waste Land, “A Game of Chess,” explores exclusively the matter of sexuality among two different, modern women, and his third section, “The Fire Sermon,” has a large portion witnessing the encounter of two lovers, which is often viewed as rape. The subject of lust and sex is a common occurrence in the poem but the most important theme that emerges is futility and vulgarity of this sexuality. None of the encounters that are explored or mentioned in The Waste Land are regenerative, the characters are sterile. This theme of fruitless sexuality is a comment on the overarching theme centered around pessimism about the future. Eliot is stating that there is no new life, the same way there is a unmistakeable lack of water throughout the poem, suggesting no reproduction and no future. This is particularly directed towards his opinion of modern sexuality, which he describes as cheap and emphasizes it’s futility.
3. The Cycle of History and War
T.S. Eliot’s main theme focusing on his nihilistic view of the future and modern culture stems off of his opinion of the first world war. At the time of The Waste Land’s creation, WWI had just finished and Eliot saw the modern world that emerged afterwards as a decaying version of itself. In order to emphasize his belief that this Great War was a slaughter of far too many and enormously destructive, he makes several references to past wars, comparing the two. Specifically, he alludes to the war at Mylae, between the Roman Republic and Carthage; this war is known to historians as a particularly bloody one. Eliot also touches on other cycles of history, such as the destruction, restoration and destruction of many great cities, indicating his standpoint on the downward spiral of culture. These allusions to history and great written pieces of the past show his theory that there is repetition in culture yet the reader also notes that in The Waste Land there is no regeneration, so perhaps Eliot believes that there is only repetition of downward cycles and the eventual loss of culture. The only indication he ever gives otherwise is the use of Eastern languages at the very end, meaning that the only hope for regeneration and continuation of society is to look to Eastern culture for inspiration and leave behind the cycles of Western civilization.
1. Nihilism
Although Nihilism is not as abundantly evident throughout The Waste Land as some other themes, it is definitely an underlying message. Much of the poem focuses on fruitlessness and the idea that there is no regeneration, creating a bleak reality for the reader. However, there is no release from this reality, as other poems may offer. The idea is that there is simply reality. There is no release in the afterlife, no savior. There is simply reality and death, nothing more. This nihilistic philosophy is most evidently represented in the section Death by Water, where the sailor has drowned and is simply decaying; there is no afterlife or release waiting for him. He is simply dead. Similarly in the beginning of What the Thunder Said, in the lines “He who is living is now dead, We who are living are now dying.” there is reference to Christ, however he is not resurrected. Through the nihilistic undertones of the poem Eliot has created a bleak reality for both his characters and the reader. A reality that cannot be escaped as that is all there is. There is no place to escape to, no afterlife; no paradise to reach in the end, there is only the reality which is presented to us. In this way Eliot has taken the reader into a wasteland that cannot be escaped.
2. Fruitless Sexuality
The idea of fruitless sexuality is extremely evident in The Fire Sermon section of the poem, although there are references to sexuality throughout the poem. In every stanza of The Fire Sermon a different instance of an unromantic sexual encounter is described. Each encounter is harsh and leaves at least one of the participants, or rather victims in most cases, emotionally traumatized to some degree. Furthermore, the fruitless sexuality encompasses the idea that there is no regeneration, another common theme throughout the poem. Eliot uses this harsh portrayal of sexuality to display the cruelty of modern society. He has taken something that can be viewed as pure and natural and turned it into something harmful and demoralizing; in the same way that modern society has been twisted into something destructive. Therefore, it is through the use of these sexual encounters that the reader comes to understand the helplessness of the modern citizen and therefore the inability for society to regenerate and start anew.
3. Being Consumed by One's Own Reality
Almost every stanza in The Waste Land represents a different situation or story. The protagonists of each stanza is completely consumed with their own story and is unaware of a reality outside of their own. Although there are many parallels between different characters and different situations, each story is unique. This idea is the entire basis of the poem. The reader is given tiny snippets into the lives of Eliot’s characters, both fictional and non-fiction, yet we are not shown enough to truly understand any of these characters. It is through this method that Eliot is able to establish the chaos of the modern world as the reader has the feeling of being caught in a crowd, surrounded by strangers whom we catch a glimpse of yet are no closer to knowing or understanding. This enables Eliot to trap the readers in a wasteland of their own. They become caught in a crowd of people whom cannot be understood and are left frantically searching for reason, an idea that closely mirrors Eliot’s own interpretation of a citizen in modern society. It is through his ambiguous and confusing style that Eliot is able to trap his readers in the same bleak reality that his characters exist in, showing them no escape, as he believes there is none. In the end, the readers themselves become trapped in their own interpretation of his barren wasteland.
1. Desolation and Disappointment
The entire idea of a waste land promotes feelings of desolation and disappointment. The lifeless image that comes to mind promotes the disappointment that comes with desolation - no life, no opportunities, no potential, nothing. This idea of nothingness is also emphasized - through the woman who lost her virginity, and can now “connect/Nothing with nothing.” In fact sexuality is largely a source of disappointment in The Waste Land, however not the only source. Disappointment is portrayed in the last section, when the narrator is in a place with “no water but only rock/Rock and no water and the sandy road.” Constantly without water, constantly traveling without sustenance creates a strong mood of desperation and disappointment. Especially the “dry sterile thunder,” seemingly promising rain when in actuality there is none. Disappointment and desolation are also emphasized through the changing of seasons, how the “river’s tent is broken; the last fingers of leaf/Clutch and sink into the wet bank [and] The wind/[Crossing] the brown land, unheard.” This not only uses imagery to paint a picture of a waste land, but also shows emotional disappointment at the change of seasons, how the life of spring and summer has left, only to be replaced by winter. The “loitering heirs of city directors;/Departed, have left no addresses” emphasizes abandonment, but through the metaphor it creates - that the nymphs are summer girlfriends that the affluent youth (loitering heirs of city directors”) have abandoned. This not only embodies abandonment, but also disappointment and loneliness. All of these emotions and portrayals combined - desolation, disappointment, loneliness, and abandonment - succeed in creating a wholly inclusive idea of the poem itself. The poem is about many waste lands, and Eliot succeeds in portraying many different kinds of waste lands, be they actual waste lands or emotional, philosophical, or imagined wastelands, all through emphasizing the theme of desolation and disappointment.
2. Sexuality
Eliot uses the theme of sexuality, not as a means to emphasize love or passion, but instead indifference, aggression, and disappointment. The constantly recurring tale of the brutalization and rape of Philomela emphasizes sex in an extremely negative and blunt manner. This unfavorable reminder of sex also emphasizes the theme of disappointment. The tryst between the typist and the carbuncular man also portrays the idea of sex as a disappointment, where she is “hardly aware of her departed love” post-coital. In fact, there are critics who see her as an image of possible perfection, had it not been for her folly of indifferent sex. The carbuncular man is portrayed as both a lover and an aggressor - where he “engages her in caresses” but also “assaults,” although his “exploring hands encounter no defense.” The ambiguity of this stanza makes it hard to interpret whether it was rape, like Philomela, or not. Secondly, Tiresias, the narrator in this stanza also gives the reader insight to his own romantic life, where he has “fore suffered all ... sat by Thebes below the wall/And walked among the lowest of the dead.” We are connected to real life once more with the experiences of three maidens who lost their virginity and are now reflecting on this experience with dismay; one “can connect/Nothing with nothing.” “ The broken fingernails of dirty hands” much reflects her own idea of herself in this situation; helpless, broken, and stained. Overall, these characters may have little to do with each other, and are used in separate parts of the poem, however overall they create the idea that, from sexuality and young lust, nothing good can come. All of the tales of sexual liaisons end positively, except for that of Elizabeth and Leicester; however, she was still the “Virgin Queen” and therefore there truly was no tangible sexuality between the two.
3. Death, Dying, and Reincarnation
The theme of death is closely tied to that of desolation, however Eliot both uses death as a means of portraying reincarnation, as well as portraying death as the classically morbid and depressing idea. Using this as a theme emphasizes the depressing and death-like nature of a waste land; how the lack of life is apparent, and how this image makes an impression and truly creates the idea of a wasteland. In the second stanza, Eliot makes use of death as a theme by alluding to it through the “stony rubbish” which has covered whatever “branches [that] grow” or “roots that clutch;” the lack of this vegetation, these signs of life, give the reader the image of a life-less place - one where the “dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief.” In the fourth stanza, Eliot refers to an entire “crowd” of people who “death had undone,” “[flowing] over London Bridge, so many.” He then refers to a “corpse [Stetson had] planted last year in [his] garden,” which brings more imagery and focus onto death and the process of dying. However, Eliot also uses death as a means of alluding to reincarnation, both through titling the third section - calling it the Fire Sermon, after one of Buddha’s sermons - but also through referring to Christ, in “What the Thunder Said.” Eliot refers to Luke 24, where Jesus had risen, and walks along, “gliding wrapts in a brown mantle, hooded,” beside two travellers; the narrator and his companion. This allusion to the reincarnation of Christ both emphasizes the theme of death, as well as living, and this juxtaposition is what makes Eliot truly good at creating depth to his themes.
One of the most prominent theme in T.S. Eliot's “The Waste Land” is the monotony and dreariness of life. In section III “The Fire Sermon”, the line “I can connect nothing with nothing...My people humble people who expect nothing” shows the apathy that has taken over the world. The poem depicts a world with no passion, which makes everything, even sex and death seem mundane and monotonous. In section IV “Death by Water” the speaker says “He passed the stages of his age and youth, entering the whirlpool.” This line speaks of time passing without any great incidence. Time drags and you join the legions of others making their way through life just as drearily as yourself. Life is a nihilistic cycle of birth and death with nothing of significance in between.
2. Forgetting the Past
A very prominent theme in "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot is depression, and the feeling of pressure to be more than you are. In “Burial of the Dead” Marie looks back at how happy her life used to be and reflects gravely on what she has become. Of her past she says “there you feel free.” This is in stark contrast to the bleakness of her current life, “I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.” In the fourth stanza of “Burial of the Dead”, a sailor reminisces with an old cohort about the horrors their past, and the skeletons in their closet. He says “Oh keep the Dog hence, that's friend to men, Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!” This shows he fear of his past and his desire to keep it buried, hidden and, ultimately, forgotten.
3. Sexuality
One of the more subtle themes present in “The Waste Land” is that of sexuality and its futility. The sexual encounters in the poem all lack passion, love, and purpose. According to Eliot, sex is all we have to give, therefore we do so out of necessity, not desire. In section II “A Game of Chess” two women sit gossiping in a bar about a woman, Lil, whose husband Albert refuses to leave her alone sexually, despite the fact that her last pregnancy almost killed her. Albert returns home after four years in the army and expects to be pleasured, if not by his wife then by another woman. In section III, Mr. Eugenides invites the speaker to a weekend at a hotel for homosexuals. Homosexuality is the epitome of futile sexuality, owing to the fact that it can never lead to regeneration. Also in section III, a small house agent's clerk makes love to the poor and lonely typist who is too disinterested to stop him, regardless of the fact that doing so ruins her perfect image. Lastly, the Fisher King, who could not reproduce due to a genital injury, represents the ultimate fruitlessness of sexuality that does not lead to regeneration. His sterility is mirrored in his country and the wasteland it has becoming because there is no hope of an heir. Each of these encounters is met with indifference and futility and resignation, as opposed to the sexual tension and passion usually associated with sexuality.
1. Nihilistic View of Modern Culture and the Future
The most prominent theme in T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land is the pessimistic view of modern culture and the future. Eliot’s main focus is his opinion of contemporary society, which he believes is decaying. His ultimate wasteland is the modern city: it’s post-war appearance, dry, barren and static, and how it’s society functions. Strongly emphasized throughout the poem is the view that there is no hope of the future. The Fisher King, his main inspiration, is stepping down and there is no resurrection for Phlebas the Phoenician or the for crucified Christ in “What the Thunder Said.” As Eliot explains, “He who was living is now dead/ We who were living are now dying,” this portrays the powerful nihilistic perspective that Eliot has developed. He alludes to this pessimism throughout the poem, emphasizing it prominently among most of his scenic descriptions and historical references. There is very little that indicates any kind of regeneration of culture, aside from the rain in the “What the Thunder Said,” which indicates a renewal, as well, the none-western words at the very end are also a hint towards Eastern culture being a source for restoration.
2. Modern Sexuality that is Ultimately Fruitless
A prominent theme in many of T.S. Eliot’s pieces is lust. His second section of The Waste Land, “A Game of Chess,” explores exclusively the matter of sexuality among two different, modern women, and his third section, “The Fire Sermon,” has a large portion witnessing the encounter of two lovers, which is often viewed as rape. The subject of lust and sex is a common occurrence in the poem but the most important theme that emerges is futility and vulgarity of this sexuality. None of the encounters that are explored or mentioned in The Waste Land are regenerative, the characters are sterile. This theme of fruitless sexuality is a comment on the overarching theme centered around pessimism about the future. Eliot is stating that there is no new life, the same way there is a unmistakeable lack of water throughout the poem, suggesting no reproduction and no future. This is particularly directed towards his opinion of modern sexuality, which he describes as cheap and emphasizes it’s futility.
3. The Cycle of History and War
T.S. Eliot’s main theme focusing on his nihilistic view of the future and modern culture stems off of his opinion of the first world war. At the time of The Waste Land’s creation, WWI had just finished and Eliot saw the modern world that emerged afterwards as a decaying version of itself. In order to emphasize his belief that this Great War was a slaughter of far too many and enormously destructive, he makes several references to past wars, comparing the two. Specifically, he alludes to the war at Mylae, between the Roman Republic and Carthage; this war is known to historians as a particularly bloody one. Eliot also touches on other cycles of history, such as the destruction, restoration and destruction of many great cities, indicating his standpoint on the downward spiral of culture. These allusions to history and great written pieces of the past show his theory that there is repetition in culture yet the reader also notes that in The Waste Land there is no regeneration, so perhaps Eliot believes that there is only repetition of downward cycles and the eventual loss of culture. The only indication he ever gives otherwise is the use of Eastern languages at the very end, meaning that the only hope for regeneration and continuation of society is to look to Eastern culture for inspiration and leave behind the cycles of Western civilization.
1. Nihilism
Although Nihilism is not as abundantly evident throughout The Waste Land as some other themes, it is definitely an underlying message. Much of the poem focuses on fruitlessness and the idea that there is no regeneration, creating a bleak reality for the reader. However, there is no release from this reality, as other poems may offer. The idea is that there is simply reality. There is no release in the afterlife, no savior. There is simply reality and death, nothing more. This nihilistic philosophy is most evidently represented in the section Death by Water, where the sailor has drowned and is simply decaying; there is no afterlife or release waiting for him. He is simply dead. Similarly in the beginning of What the Thunder Said, in the lines “He who is living is now dead, We who are living are now dying.” there is reference to Christ, however he is not resurrected. Through the nihilistic undertones of the poem Eliot has created a bleak reality for both his characters and the reader. A reality that cannot be escaped as that is all there is. There is no place to escape to, no afterlife; no paradise to reach in the end, there is only the reality which is presented to us. In this way Eliot has taken the reader into a wasteland that cannot be escaped.
2. Fruitless Sexuality
The idea of fruitless sexuality is extremely evident in The Fire Sermon section of the poem, although there are references to sexuality throughout the poem. In every stanza of The Fire Sermon a different instance of an unromantic sexual encounter is described. Each encounter is harsh and leaves at least one of the participants, or rather victims in most cases, emotionally traumatized to some degree. Furthermore, the fruitless sexuality encompasses the idea that there is no regeneration, another common theme throughout the poem. Eliot uses this harsh portrayal of sexuality to display the cruelty of modern society. He has taken something that can be viewed as pure and natural and turned it into something harmful and demoralizing; in the same way that modern society has been twisted into something destructive. Therefore, it is through the use of these sexual encounters that the reader comes to understand the helplessness of the modern citizen and therefore the inability for society to regenerate and start anew.
3. Being Consumed by One's Own Reality
Almost every stanza in The Waste Land represents a different situation or story. The protagonists of each stanza is completely consumed with their own story and is unaware of a reality outside of their own. Although there are many parallels between different characters and different situations, each story is unique. This idea is the entire basis of the poem. The reader is given tiny snippets into the lives of Eliot’s characters, both fictional and non-fiction, yet we are not shown enough to truly understand any of these characters. It is through this method that Eliot is able to establish the chaos of the modern world as the reader has the feeling of being caught in a crowd, surrounded by strangers whom we catch a glimpse of yet are no closer to knowing or understanding. This enables Eliot to trap the readers in a wasteland of their own. They become caught in a crowd of people whom cannot be understood and are left frantically searching for reason, an idea that closely mirrors Eliot’s own interpretation of a citizen in modern society. It is through his ambiguous and confusing style that Eliot is able to trap his readers in the same bleak reality that his characters exist in, showing them no escape, as he believes there is none. In the end, the readers themselves become trapped in their own interpretation of his barren wasteland.
1. Desolation and Disappointment
The entire idea of a waste land promotes feelings of desolation and disappointment. The lifeless image that comes to mind promotes the disappointment that comes with desolation - no life, no opportunities, no potential, nothing. This idea of nothingness is also emphasized - through the woman who lost her virginity, and can now “connect/Nothing with nothing.” In fact sexuality is largely a source of disappointment in The Waste Land, however not the only source. Disappointment is portrayed in the last section, when the narrator is in a place with “no water but only rock/Rock and no water and the sandy road.” Constantly without water, constantly traveling without sustenance creates a strong mood of desperation and disappointment. Especially the “dry sterile thunder,” seemingly promising rain when in actuality there is none. Disappointment and desolation are also emphasized through the changing of seasons, how the “river’s tent is broken; the last fingers of leaf/Clutch and sink into the wet bank [and] The wind/[Crossing] the brown land, unheard.” This not only uses imagery to paint a picture of a waste land, but also shows emotional disappointment at the change of seasons, how the life of spring and summer has left, only to be replaced by winter. The “loitering heirs of city directors;/Departed, have left no addresses” emphasizes abandonment, but through the metaphor it creates - that the nymphs are summer girlfriends that the affluent youth (loitering heirs of city directors”) have abandoned. This not only embodies abandonment, but also disappointment and loneliness. All of these emotions and portrayals combined - desolation, disappointment, loneliness, and abandonment - succeed in creating a wholly inclusive idea of the poem itself. The poem is about many waste lands, and Eliot succeeds in portraying many different kinds of waste lands, be they actual waste lands or emotional, philosophical, or imagined wastelands, all through emphasizing the theme of desolation and disappointment.
2. Sexuality
Eliot uses the theme of sexuality, not as a means to emphasize love or passion, but instead indifference, aggression, and disappointment. The constantly recurring tale of the brutalization and rape of Philomela emphasizes sex in an extremely negative and blunt manner. This unfavorable reminder of sex also emphasizes the theme of disappointment. The tryst between the typist and the carbuncular man also portrays the idea of sex as a disappointment, where she is “hardly aware of her departed love” post-coital. In fact, there are critics who see her as an image of possible perfection, had it not been for her folly of indifferent sex. The carbuncular man is portrayed as both a lover and an aggressor - where he “engages her in caresses” but also “assaults,” although his “exploring hands encounter no defense.” The ambiguity of this stanza makes it hard to interpret whether it was rape, like Philomela, or not. Secondly, Tiresias, the narrator in this stanza also gives the reader insight to his own romantic life, where he has “fore suffered all ... sat by Thebes below the wall/And walked among the lowest of the dead.” We are connected to real life once more with the experiences of three maidens who lost their virginity and are now reflecting on this experience with dismay; one “can connect/Nothing with nothing.” “ The broken fingernails of dirty hands” much reflects her own idea of herself in this situation; helpless, broken, and stained. Overall, these characters may have little to do with each other, and are used in separate parts of the poem, however overall they create the idea that, from sexuality and young lust, nothing good can come. All of the tales of sexual liaisons end positively, except for that of Elizabeth and Leicester; however, she was still the “Virgin Queen” and therefore there truly was no tangible sexuality between the two.
3. Death, Dying, and Reincarnation
The theme of death is closely tied to that of desolation, however Eliot both uses death as a means of portraying reincarnation, as well as portraying death as the classically morbid and depressing idea. Using this as a theme emphasizes the depressing and death-like nature of a waste land; how the lack of life is apparent, and how this image makes an impression and truly creates the idea of a wasteland. In the second stanza, Eliot makes use of death as a theme by alluding to it through the “stony rubbish” which has covered whatever “branches [that] grow” or “roots that clutch;” the lack of this vegetation, these signs of life, give the reader the image of a life-less place - one where the “dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief.” In the fourth stanza, Eliot refers to an entire “crowd” of people who “death had undone,” “[flowing] over London Bridge, so many.” He then refers to a “corpse [Stetson had] planted last year in [his] garden,” which brings more imagery and focus onto death and the process of dying. However, Eliot also uses death as a means of alluding to reincarnation, both through titling the third section - calling it the Fire Sermon, after one of Buddha’s sermons - but also through referring to Christ, in “What the Thunder Said.” Eliot refers to Luke 24, where Jesus had risen, and walks along, “gliding wrapts in a brown mantle, hooded,” beside two travellers; the narrator and his companion. This allusion to the reincarnation of Christ both emphasizes the theme of death, as well as living, and this juxtaposition is what makes Eliot truly good at creating depth to his themes.