Regeneration Out Of Death

The Waste Land, one of the representative works of modernism, was composed by T. S. Eliot in 1921-1922. Its open structure, along with the abundant images, scenes and voices mutating with each other makes it particularly open to different interpretations. On its first appearance in the Criterion, it aroused controversial comments. Some welcomed it as the model of modernism, which reflects the subtlety of modern art and the complexity of modern world. Some denied it as a great disaster because it is full of "pompous parade of erudition" and lack of thematic clarity. As for the theme of the poem, there are various interpretations and people' s interpretation of its theme will not cease today. Some interpret the poem as "the manifesto of the lost generation" and it reveals "the spiritual crisis of postwar Europe" . Some interpret from the poet' s personal life and regard the poem as "essentially the landscape of an inward desolation" . A general survey shows that people attach too much importance to the "death" motif in the poem rather than to the regeneration and hope which run through the poem and deserve to be considered. Different from other papers on The Waste Land, this dissertation will mainly focus on the regeneration and hope expressed in the poem from the perspective of Eliot' s own critical theory—new criticism. The Waste Land, noted for its apparent refusal of connections between images, scenes and voices, usually brings obstacles to readers' comprehension. I believe my thesis will be helpful to get a deep insight into the images, characters and voices that confusingly mutate into each other in the poem.The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One gives a general introduction to The Waste Land and critics' different interpretations of its theme and then states my viewpoint. In Chapter Two, regenerationout of death is strongly implied through the religious and mythical stories embedded in the poem. In Chapter Three, the imagery, especially the images of animal and the dual symbolic images of water and fire, displays profound hope and regeneration out of the desperate land. In Chapter Four, regeneration is laid out when disordered and desperate voices merge into the united and hopeful voice of the thunder. Chapter Five is a conclusion reinforcing my viewpoint.Death atmosphere pervades the whole poem, but it is not the only essence of the poem. Underneath the dead and desperate waste land bear hope and regeneration. But Eliot' s regeneration is bound with religion. The road he pointed out for modern man is an observation of religious doctrines.