This is the fourth and final part of the series of episodes where I will present for you the classic poem “The Waste Land” read by the poet T.S. Eliot.
This poem is the story of a soul in despair.
In the section titled “What the Thunder Said” Eliot presents the most dramatic section of the poem. He begins by presenting an apocalyptic world of the suffering hordes where the end of the world is met with both boredom and surrender. Eliot draws upon the Hindu fables known as “The Upanishads” to explain that thunder “gives,” “sympathizes”, and “controls”, through it’s “speech”. The answer Eliot reveals is that civilization gives nothing, has no sympathy for others and ultimate surrenders itself to fate.
In the end, the Fisher King stands on the shore willing to do his best to put his kingdom in order although he does not understand why it has become a wasteland. The Waste Land
Humanity lives in a waste land; but everywhere there is hope for transformation and rebirth. We transform the waste land into paradise by giving of ourselves and loving one another without thought or hesitation. We have sympathy for each other and take control of our fate. The way to survive the waste land is to do our best, surrender ourselves to one another and experience a peace beyond understanding.
