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hi every body i am reta from lebanon im postgraduate student in the american university i am working now on eliot's poetry and i wander if any body know somethong about the shakesperian elements in his masterpiece the waste land............and thank you for every body here for this opportunity to share me my wonerings;) :) :)
Hi reta!
Let me see if I could be of nay help…. Shakespearean elements in wasteland?
Some of the quotes that are picked verbatim from Shakespeare are obviously some of them…”those are the pearls that were his eyes”-the burial of the dead is taken from the tempest.. And again, the same quote in “the game of chess”.
The image of sea change in the section” death by water” comes from Ariel’s song in the tempest, also, In the fire sermon, lines “on a winter…….before him” refers to The tempest. A passage where Ferdinand is made to think of his father…
“ ….sitting on a bank….with sweet air” in act 1 scene ii.
In the section A Game of Chess. The reference to Cleopatra “ the chair she sat……throne” is based on Enobarbus’s description of Cleopatra in shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
The bartender’s call “ hurry up! It’s time” in the section a game of chess too has a reference to Shakespeare, which I’m not sure of.
The lines “ this music kept….waters” in the fire sermon refers to the tempest . ferdinand’s words recalling the music and responding to arie’s song. He expresse the grief over his father’s supposed death.
Lines 280 –85 “beating oars….shores” in the fire sermon refers to ceopatra from Shakespeare’s antony and Cleopatra.
Hi Reta…
According to my personal observation, what seems to combine Eliot with Shakespeare is their innovation in the creation of imagery. We all know that Shakespeare was a master of novelty in the creation of unconventional images that have never crossed one's mind, this talent reappears in Eliot's poetry.
Also, both of them borrow their themes and ideas from other cultures. Shakespeare's plays are the melting pot of variant Oriental and Occident cultures. Similarly, one can trace this collage of cultural images in Eliot's Waste Land as well.
You also must have noticed the mentioning of Shakespeare in The Game of Chess, the 2nd part of the Waste Land. Its awkward spelling and pronunciation "Shakespeherian" (notice the "h"), as he says in line 128, must indicate something.
By the way Reta… I recently wanted to contact Professor Christopher Nassar, I guess he teaches in your university, I got two of his emails that turned to be wrong, I also have his extension office number, yet he never answers the phone. Will you please tell me if there is any way to contact this person, any true email or something, he is a Wildean specialist and I need to consult him about some issues. I would be most grateful if you could help.