Ever wanted to learn more about the world? Learn about different cultures, languages, philosophies, and religions? This may be a gamble, but this blog post will assume the answer is yes. Here are two words to assist the reader on this educational journey: read Eliot.
Eliot draws upon many aspects of culture for his poetry. In his classic “The Waste Land”, Eliot uses four different languages before the poem even begins! But perhaps most notable is his use of intertextuality and connection. The first paragraph hints to Walt Whitman, with the use of the word “lilacs”, while the next line directs the reader back hundreds of year to Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, and furthermore the next reference is for an area of Germany. The first ten lines transport the reader to different time periods and even geographic locations. The intrepid reader will research these other sources and try to figure out how they all fit together while simultaneously gaining an education in a variety of subjects.
Eliot is almost a puzzle. Every word in his poem is deliberate, and ever reference is carefully thought out. Though it may seem tricky to know where the references are in the text (especially in an unannotated version) that is part of the fun of Eliot. The Biblical references may be easier to catch, but the rest are worth struggling with.
Eliot, if truly studied, opens new academic worlds. Did the line “pearls that were his eyes” come up in Eliot? Yes? It’s from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Never read The Tempest? Then go read The Tempest and truly study Eliot and the reference. (It’s really quite accessible, very much recommended.) One line in Eliot can prompt a whole five acts of Shakespeare. Indeed, not just The Tempest, but Hamlet too is referenced. A comprehensive Shakespeare education may be gained from “The Waste Land”.
Imagine how satisfying it can be to read a reference and instantly place the source. It’s like a metaphorical pat on the back for a job well-done or a quick confidence bolstering moment. Eliot is rife with such moments.
The multiplicity of languages Eliot are quite difficult to keep up with. Not to suggest learning 6 new languages just to read Eliot –that’s very difficult – but maybe look up the words or search the phrases. And while the Google search page is open, read more about the source of the quote (if it is indeed a quote), to acquire some context. Maybe the French comes from a story about the Holy Grail, or a name derives from Greek folklore – both occur in the poem – and having that background information enriches the understanding of the poem. Knowing original source material helps the poem come “alive” for the reader.
As quotations, references, and sources are stumbled upon in Eliot, it is necessary to ask how the work adds to Eliot’s writing, and what the reader can gain by knowing more about the other texts. The importance of knowing the original sources reaches farther than just Eliot, but all other works who quote Eliot’s sources too. Of course, by that time the reader will not need to locate the sources but can skip straight to the pat on the back.
Very true - the intertextuality in Eliot's work really benefits everyone: Readers who are very well versed in literature get that "pat on the back" when they can put together the connections, and readers who don't recognize the outside pieces Eliot includes can now delve into them and do some research on the side.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly must be rewarding to find references in Eliot's work and instantly recognize them! It also just shows how deliberate Eliot was in his writing. If so many words and phrases allude to so many diverse things, his entire poem is numerous works in itself, like you said.
ReplyDeleteWhile patting yourself on the back for recognizing references may feel gratifying, the more important question concerning references is what you mention at the end: what do they add to the text? The notes on The Waste Land certainly do not give enough background on the source to be enable one to answer those questions. Furthermore, even as I knew some of the references or looked them up, such as the ones from the Bible, I did not see how they enhanced his work. There may have been some tangential association between the two works, but it was hard for me to find the deeper connections of the reference and how it is adding to the text, beyond merely giving readers the opportunity to pat themselves on the back.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good post to highlight the multitude of sources Eliot combines in his poetry-- off the top of my head, I remember he uses Latin, Sanskrit, among others. I've found that learning to integrate multiple sources makes for a much more intellectually agile reader and helps build your worldview.
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