Exploring The Waste Land

This was my internet research for The Waste Land, this site is a learning resource allowing exploration of T.S.Eliot poem. Part of the site uses a framed presentation of the poem with hyperlinked notes, definitions, transtlations, cross referenced, texts of works alluded to, commentary, and questions to the reader. So I thought this was helpful for me. I learned about a few points of Eliot's one was, "the only way to learn about life is by exploring" well that is so very true. I learned many readers have had difficulty following this poem, so we are not alone. This site said that Eliot's use of allusion is part of the reason it is so difficult.
I found how some of the words used or items used in his poem where for reasons of his own, so some of this poem is part of Eliot but it is still a bit chunky for me and I will try to read it again this summer and see what effect it will have on me then.

Exploring

Class discussion helps!!!

I have found that discussing the readings and hearing everyones opinions has helped me a lot to understand the materials we have read. Once you hear how someone else thought the readings meant, you get more about the readings. Like with the individual poems we read, (mine was Blackberries) once I heard what someone else thought it meant, I would re-read it and see the same thing or I would say "oh thats what that meant" LOL so I love the class discussions on the reading in helps to understand and enjoy the readings that much more.

Battle Royal

I honestly hated this story. I do not like to think that people can be that cruel to anyone. The way they treated the girl was disgusting and the way the boys where treated was worse. It was hard to read how they were tortured for entertainment. I would have rather died than go through any of that. It was even harder to understand how the boy still had the courage and strength to read his speech, I would not have been able to survive what he did. That was a sad and cruel story.

The Company of Wolves:

Chilling, dark and scary! I like that in a story it makes it interesting. I could not wait to see what happen when she got to her grandma's house, but then her grandma was killed and now I did not like that wolf and thought, "well there goes the girl" but what a twist the ending had. She dealt with her fears by seducing the wolf and who knows maybe they will live happily ever after!
I did not like the idea it was on Christmas or that it was mention in the story, but I will have to look into that a bit more.

My scholarly journal article that I found is James e. Miller, Jr. T.S. Eliot: The Making of an American Poet, 1988-1922. This article showed me how many people out there were doing tons of biograpical works on his life and adding some interpretation to his work too. So this was interesting to me. Eliot quoted this on his own poem, "I'd say that my poetry has abviously more in common with my distinguished contemporaries in America than with anything written in my generation in England. That I'm sure of...In its sources, in its emotional springs it comes from America." with this quote scholars claim Eliot as an "American" poet. this is something I put to mind when re-reading his poem. Basically they are trying to figure out, (like us) what was on Eliot's mind when he wrote this poem, and I think theie trying to say to, separate his poem from his life. It is just pure and simple poetry my dear! LOL