FRAGMENTS OF DESPAIR: MYTH AND ALLUSION AS REFLECTIONS OF POST-WAR DISILLUSIONMENT IN T.S. ELIOT’S THE WASTE LAND

Abstract

Objective: This paper studies T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land to comprehend how allusion and myth highlight the disillusionment of the post-war period. It investigates how Eliot’s mythical references and fragmented style mirror the hopelessness of a broken world.

Background: Published in 1922, The Waste Land emerges from the aftermath of World War I, a time of spiritual and cultural collapse. Eliot uses myth and fragmentation not only to portray individual agony but to reflect general despair of the society. Critics often deliberate The Waste Land with reference to its modernist characteristics, yet there is inadequate research focusing precisely on how Eliot’s myths and allusions indicate post- war disillusionment.

Methodology: This paper uses qualitative literary analysis by focusing on close textual examination of specific lines and allusions within The Waste Land. For this purpose, it refers to various scholarly sources to contextualize Eliot’s references. 

Results: The analysis shows that Eliot’s use of fragmentation and myth depicts a disillusioned society, with frequent images of decay and death revealing the traumatized reality of the time.

Recommendations: Future research should explore how other modernist works employe  myth to depict disillusionment, offering comprehensive understandings of literature’s  response to war.