T.S. Eliot's poem "The Wasteland" depicts a post-apocalyptic world suffering from drought, where humanity is experiencing death and pain. The speaker is accompanied by a hooded figure that represents Death, leading the speaker towards the end of civilization. Eliot lists fallen cities like Jerusalem, Athens, Alexandria and London to portray the downfall of major empires. The poem provides a solution through an Indian myth - that people must learn to "give, sympathize and control" themselves to attain peace and prevent further drought, representing the spiritual salvation of humanity.

1. The Wasteland
“What The Thunder Said”
By T.S. Eliot

2. Observations
“After the torchlight red on
sweaty faces, After the
frosty silence in the
gardens, After the agony
in stony places, The
shouting and crying”
Images of Hell.
Humankind is suffering an
abyss of death & pain.

3. Observations
“Here is no water but only rock”
“Mountains of rock without water”
“If there were water we should stop and drink”
Water symbolizes life and renewal
Without water the land is dry and dying,
as well as the people living in it.
Hell is once again depicted as a
mountainous region.

4. Question One
“Who is the third who
walks always beside you?
When I count, there are
only you and I together,
But when I look ahead up
the white road, There is
always another one walking
beside you”
As T.S. Eliot asks, who
is this figure walking
with the speaker?

5. Answer
“Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded”
The hooded figure “gliding” with the speaker
could be the Death. We see images of Death
always hooded and hiding his face.
Since he is gliding, it indicates that the figure is
not human, yet more of a higher being.
“Walking beside you.”Death is leading the
speaker into the end of civilization. The end is
probably near.

6. Question two
“What is the city over the
mountains, Cracks and
reforms and bursts in the
violet air, Falling towers,
Jerusalem Athens
AlexandriaVienna London,
Unreal”
What does this passage
emphasize?

7. Answer
T.S. Eliot is portraying the downfall of the major
empires and cultures of the Middle East and
Europe.
Eliot lists the course of Western civilization,
from its origins in classical and biblical cultures
to its modern European influences.

8. Question
three
What does the term Datta,
Dayadhvam and Damyata
signify?

9. Answer
Ancient indian myth
People once became disloyal to God, as a result the
country went through a long drought. However, the
saints got together beside the Himalayan mountains and
prayed for rain. A deep cloud appeared and a thunder
roared three times- DA DA DA.
Datta- to give.
Dayadhvam-to sympathize.
Damyata-to control.

10. Continuing...
Eliot applies this solution to his poem, by solving
the spiritual problem of the modern wasteland.
Civilization is undergoing the same drought
since people started to become inhumane.
Death is showing the speaker what the world
may turn into if all civilization loses their
humanity.

11. Shantih shantih shantih...
To give
To sympathize
To control
If Humankind learns to
contribute these qualities
into their lives, then they
will receive ultimate
peace

12. The End