thewasteland---t.s.eliot

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1、TheWasteLand---T.S.EliotTheWasteLandisa434-linemodernistpoembyT.S.Eliotpublishedin1922.Ithasbeencalled"oneofthemostimportantpoemsofthe20thcentury."Despitethepoem'sobscurity—itsshiftsbetweensatireandprophecy,itsabruptandunannouncedchangesofspeaker,locationandtime,itselegiacbut

2、intimidatingsummoningupofavastanddissonantrangeofculturesandliteratures—thepoemhasbecomeafamiliartouchstoneofmodernliterature.Amongitsfamousphrasesare"Aprilisthecruellestmonth"(itsfirstline);"Iwillshowyoufearinahandfulofdust";and(itslastline)themantraintheSanskritlanguage"Sha

3、ntihshantihshantih."ThepoemisprecededbyaLatinandGreekepigraphfromTheSatyriconofPetronius.InEnglish,itreads:"IsawwithmyowneyestheSibylofCumaehanginginajar,andwhentheboyssaidtoher,Sibyl,whatdoyouwant?sherepliedIwanttodie."Followingtheepigraphisadedication(addedina1925republicat

4、ion)thatreads"ForEzraPound:ilmigliorfabbro"HereEliotisbothquotingline117ofCantoXXVIofDante'sPurgatorio,thesecondcanticaofTheDivineComedy,whereDantedefinesthetroubadourArnautDanielas"thebestsmithofthemothertongue"andalsoPound'stitleofchapter2ofhisTheSpiritofRomance(1910)whereh

5、etranslatedthephraseas"thebettercraftsman."ThisdedicationwasoriginallywrittenininkbyEliotinthe1922Boni&LiverighteditionofthepoempresentedtoPound;itwassubsequentlyincludedinfutureeditions.ThefivepartsofTheWasteLandaretitled:1.TheBurialoftheDead2.AGameofChess3.TheFireSermon4.De

6、athbyWater5.WhattheThunderSaidThetextofthepoemisfollowedbyseveralpagesofnotes,purportingtoexplainhismetaphors,references,andallusions.Someofthesenotesarehelpfulininterpretingthepoem,butsomearearguablyevenmorepuzzling,andmanyofthemostopaquepassagesareleftunannotated.Thenoteswe

7、readdedafterEliot'spublisherrequestedsomethinglongertojustifyprintingTheWasteLandinaseparatebook.Thirtyyearsafterpublishingthepoemwiththesenotes,Eliotexpressedhisregretat"havingsentsomanyenquirersoffonawildgoosechaseafterTarotcardsandtheHolyGrail".Thereissomequestionastowheth

8、erEliotoriginallyintendedTheWasteLandtobeacollectionofindividualpoem