This document provides an analysis of T.S Eliot's poem "A Game of Chess" from his work "The Waste Land". It argues that the poem uses decaying relationships as a reflection of the breakdown of society. It describes how the relationships portrayed in the poem are twisted and lonely, filled with images of violence and death. It also examines Eliot's possible inspiration from his own unhappy marriage. Through literary allusions and symbolic language, the poem depicts relationships that are desperate, manufactured, and doomed to fail, mirroring Eliot's view of society after World War 1.

1. Annie Haigh
Thesis: A Game of Chess by T.S Eliot is a bitter attempt todemonstrate the struggle
in relationships as a reflection of the break-down of society.
Throughout ‘A Game of Chess’ we encounter many romantic relationships, twisted by Eliot
so that they are rendered ruins. What we witness are decaying and ultimately lonely unions,
filled via images of violence and death. Eliot could have used this section of the poem to
mirror his own unhappy marriage with Vivienne Haigh-Wood, who was a possible cause of
Eliot’s nervous breakdowns, he said himself that their disruptive relationship brought him,
‘The state of mind, out of which came The Waste Land.’1 This section was originally called ‘In
the Cage’ a reference to Henry James’ novel, is preceded by an epigraph featuring a Sybil in a
cage wishing herself dead. This sets the tone that the relationships they are about to uncover
are claustrophobic and disconcerting; the longing for death braces us for the desperation and
struggle which we will uncover here.
Eliot opens this section with clear literary allusion to Shakespeare’s ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’.
They had one of the most romantic, sweeping relationships within literature, however
everything backfired after Cleopatra made a fatal mistake, Anthony, her lover, dies in her
arms and she later commits suicide with the venom of an asp. The original line ‘The barge
she sat in, like a burnish’d throne’2 became a more modern version which suggests the
harshness of reality ‘The chair she sat in, like a burnished throne’3 despite the grand nature
of the surroundings, this literary allusion foreshadows the procrastinating relationship and
our expectations of their connection with each other is lowered.
The image of Cupid, the god of love in roman mythology, adds to the bizarre relationship. It
contrasts the nature of Cupidons usually associated with romance, as one ‘peeped out’4 and
the other ‘hid his eyes behind his wing’5 this gives us the impression that they are watching
1 Ronald Bush T.S.Eliot: The ModernistIn History 1991 p.10
2 Shakespeare Anthony and Cleopatra act2 scene 2
3 T.S.Eliot The WasteLand 1922 p.26
4 T.S.Eliot The WasteLand 1922 p.26
5 Ibid p.26

2. Annie Haigh
something they shouldn’t be. We are exposed to voyeurism; they are watching an intimate
scene uninvited and by extension so are we. The fact that they are hiding suggests that the
scene they are witnessing is explicit, making the reader uncomfortable and unnerved.
Eliot constantly describes the room as being ‘rich’6 with lots of ‘jewels’7 but then he
contradicts himself calling the perfumes ‘synthetic’8 we realise that he is portraying the room
to be luxurious and the womanto be wealthy, but the perfume is manufactured, not natural
the connotations of which are not pleasant; their relationship seems to also be manufactured
and fake, their love for each other is incomplete. The scent of the perfume is described as
‘odour’9 and ‘unguent’10, a far cry from a sweet, feminine fragrance. It also seems to be
overpowering for the woman as she feels ‘drowned’ this could be physically in the perfume
odour, or mentally in her own emotions. The structure of this verse represents the
uncontrollable cloud of perfume relating to having no control in the relationship, which
makes her submissive. The enjambment doesn’t allow the stop to breathe; this reflects the
image of inpatients and strife between the couple.
On display above the mantelpiece as then main focus in the room, is a painting of the change
of Philomel, which is described ‘as though a window’11.This is disturbing; the Greek myth is a
terrible story of violence and rape. It’s shocking that it has been described as a ‘window’12 as
if the painting is an insight into her own tragic life and failing relationship within which the
reader is beginning to feel has been ‘rudely forced’13. Philomela’s myth continues as we are
told about a nightingale which classically has the most beautiful song voice, and is mostly
associated with love, beauty and poetry, however the song in ‘a game of chess’ tells us the
bird ‘cried’14. The allusion to the beautiful call is juxtaposed with a harsh, guttural ‘jug jug’15
6 Ibid p.26
7 Ibid p.26
8 Ibid p.26
9 T.S.Eliot The WasteLand 1922 p.26
10 Ibid p.26
11 Ibid p.26
12 Ibid p.26
13 Ibid p.26
14 Ibid p.26

3. Annie Haigh
which means the call of this particular nightingale is no longer filled romance; Philomel was
supposedly turned into a nightingale, the name Philomela is Greek for ‘love song’ or ‘song
lover’ this brings a sense of irony to the reader because of Philomela’s story, the tragic story
of rape links to why the nightingale would no longer feel love, and the sound also links to
Philomela as she had her tongue cut out. The reader feels that the relationship which we are
inspecting in this section is definitely on course to fail, and will not end happily, the window
connotes a mirror image of her own relationship and how she is close to becoming Philomel.
The woman whose hair, after brushing, is ‘savagely still’16, is herself symbolic of her
relationship not working, it no longer passionate, and is a dead-end. Using ‘Savagely’ next to
the word ‘still’ creates an oxymoron, savagely suggests that it is out of her control and there
is nothing she can do; the word still is a powerful contrast, underlining a sinister nature or
danger to the stillness. The romanticised rhyme within this line of ‘stair’17 and ‘hair’18
contradicts this and shows that there could be a small ray of hope in the relationship;
however it is not likely because the rhyme is obvious; its simplicity links to the blandness of
their relationship and this woman’s mind is indistinctive.
The first speech in this section is from this mysterious woman and only her, she seems to
want her lover to respond to her, have a conversation, anything, but he does not reply. The
reader sees the element of loneliness, and begins to feel sorry for the unknown woman. We
are asked to hear a feminine voice because Eliot highlights that her ‘nerves’19 are bad and she
constantly wants an answer, almost as if she were nagging, a trait which is stereotypically
connected to femininity. The reader can see his reply, but notice it is not in speech marks,
meaning that it has not been spoken out loud so he would only be speaking this in his own
mind ‘I think we are in rats’ alley where dead men lost their bones.’20 His answer is a direct
15 Ibid p.26
16 Ibid p.27
17 Ibid p.27
18 Ibid p.27
19 T.S.Eliot The WasteLand 1922 p.27
20 Ibid p.27

4. Annie Haigh
link to World War One where men who fought in the trenches were killed and their bodies
were left, untouched; this is a hint to the decaying relationship between this couple, and also
how society is changing and falling, leaving and forgetting the past. Eliot edited this line,
originally the reply read ‘I think we first met in rats alley’21 this line is more harsh than the
other because if they met in rats alley, the whole relationship was never going to move
forward, there was never going to be any passion for each other they are just stuck in a dead
end relationship, struggling to either make an exit, or carry it on. There was nothing, just like
how Eliot feels about his marriage. This section illustrates the struggle of relationships
within the poem, and realistically shows us how the break-down of society can render this;
the connection to World War One reflects how society was falling apart and how, because of
the loss of men, it became known as the lost generation, the majority of relationships failed
because one half of it had wasted away, creating a personal waste land.
Word count:1,219
21 T.S.Eliot The WasteLand