Revisiting Tradition and Chaos :Postmodernist Interpretation in T.S.

Eliot's "The Waste

Land"

Abstract
Thomas Stearns Eliot'sThe Waste Land(1922) has been analysed by many researchers from various
perspectives. Its analysis as a fusion of modernism and post-modernism is still interesting to be done. The
present research analyses the poem from modern and post-modern perspectives. It focuses on the critical
analysis of the poem that signifies the moral and cultural degeneration of the modern world. This research has
two dimensions i.e. The Waste Land(1922) and the two theories. As a literary theory or movement, modernism
is a style of art, literature and architecture that advocates those ideas, methods and philosophies which have a
bricolage with the tradition. Focusing on the linguistic, stylistic and structural aspects of the poem, the
researcher concludes that this poem is the hallmark in modern poetry. On the other hand, post-modernism as a
literary theory questions the social orders, break boundaries and parodies modernism. It presents an irony of
obsolete modernity. Post-modern literature has gothic and classical setting. It uses the techniques of
juxtaposition, paradoxes, unreliable narrator and tends to have a connection with the past. The research
focuses on the critical analysis of the poem in the light of modernism and post-modernism. The researcher
traces out the traits of modernism and post-modernism in
The Waste Land(1922) and declares it the fusion of both.
Keywords
Postmodernism, Tradition, Disillusionment, Meaninglessness

Introduction

Thomas Stearns Eliot was born on 20 th September 1888 in U.S.A. He died 4 th January 1965 at the age of
seventy-six. His literary career spreads over 45 years in which he gets a dominant position in the realm of
literature. He was an American-British poet, literary and social figure, critic and a playwright. He came to
Europe and stayed in London during the time of WWI. He worked as a professor in poetry at Harvard University
and remained the director of "Faber and Faber" by publishing several plays. At his young age, Eliot was
regarded as a rebel because his conception about the contemporary society was radical. Mostly, he has
painted a gloomy picture of modern society and depicted it as spiritually diseased, materialistic and fragmented
in his masterpiece like The Waste Land, The Hollow Men and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Tilak,
2015; Williamson,1955) This research is about the analysis of Eliot'sThe Waste Land in light of modernism and
post-modernism. In this research the researcher analyses The Waste Land through the lenses of modernism
and post-modernism as a literary theories or movements' Eliot's The Waste Land (1922) is widely considered
as one of the most read and important poems of 20th century. It epitomizes the movement of modernism
because Eliot, in this poem experimented with form, style, language and setting. It was published in 1922 in the
UK in monthly issue of Eliot's The Criterion in October. In this poem, Eliot uses a fragmented style of writing by
giving allusions. He alludes to Chaucer, Dante, Shakespeare, Conrad, Byron, Ezra Pound, Tennyson, Bible,
Greek Mythology, Hindu Mythology, Hindu Scriptures, Lord Buddha, and many more (Tilak, 2015). The Waste
Land (1922) is told in different voices that shifts between satire and a prophetic tone. It is divided into five
sections. The first section paints the themes of spiritual drought, disillusionment, civilizational malaise and
despairs of modern world with the title The Burial of the Dead. The 2ndsection with the title A Game of Chess
has different alternative narrators who address the same theme as that of the first section. The third section,
The Fire Sermon has a philosophical debate and imagery of death juxtaposed with the events and concepts of
modern age. This section starts with the prayer of Saint Augustine that is juxtaposed by Elio with the modern
time. The remaining parts, Death by Waterland What the Thunder said, concludes the themes like
disintegration of modern society, moral degradation, materialism and loss of spirituality. This research has
modernism and post-modernism as its theoretical framework. Modernism is a literary movement or theory that
has the deliberate and conscious shift from the styles, attitudes and beliefs of past. Modernism relies on new-
expressionism and innovative forms in literature regarding it's setting, tone, language and depiction. It has its
roots in late 19th and early 20thcentury. The Cosmos of 20 th century changed after the massacre of WWI that
made the demand that the course of the society has to be changed. Post-modernism, on the other hand, is a
literary theory or movement that marks a diversion from modernism. It rejects modernism in many ways. For
instance, it questions the modern claim of progress and enlightenment. It provides the lamenting and mournful
tone of modernism. It relies on experimentation in art but having its roots in past and tradition. Unlike
modernism, post-modernism in literature relies on the norms, attitudes, and styles of past's literature. It does
not repress and forget the past but concern the past values. It has paradoxes, juxtaposition, gothic elements,
unreliable narrator, and allusions to the past and history. Post-modernism is a shift in disciplines like social
science, art, literature and architecture. It began back in 1950s and continues till date. In short, both modernism
and post-modernism represents the disorientation, disorder, fragmentation and insecurities of modern world.

Literature Review

Thomas Stearns Eliot is one of the most important poets and literary critics of the modern age. His name has
become synonymous with modernism that comes in the realm of literature especially in criticism. He belongs to
the long line of poet-critics, after Wordsworth who has presented his views about poetry and literary criticism.
All his works are iconic, but The Waste Land (1922) is important Fusion of Modern and Post- Modern Elements
in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land (1922) landmark in the history of English poetry, and one of the most talked
about poem of 20th century. It is along poem of more than four hundred lines in five sections. It is written in
1921 presenting a bleak and gloomy picture of human predicament in 20th century. It highlights the
disillusionment of 20th century modern man. It has a fragmented form full of literary and mythological allusions.
Shrestha Roma (2013), a well-known critic, in her research "The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot: Critical Analysis"
says that the poem is the panorama of spiritual drought and spiritual loss of modern society. It is rather a wrong
call that the poem is a sigh or longing for the glorious past, because Eliot has contrasted the past with the
present. He has not glorified the past but valued the past over present situation(p.4).Another critic, Edmund
Wilson (1931), in his book A Study in the Imaginative Literature of 1870-1930 writes: "The setting of the poem
is one in which not only the crops have ceased to grow and animals to reproduce, but the very human
inhabitants have become incapable of having children"(p.117). The critic, in this comment, stretches the
attention of the reader to the portrayal of society in general while women in the poem. The image of women is a
part of moral structure of the poem. Eliot sketches women of his age as a faithless, lustful and sterile to show
the atmosphere of his poem as one of the betrayals and disappointment. She further adds that Eliot has
represented a falling world in which women are suffering from boredom and lack of ambition or frustration in
love. The poem is full of decaying and ruined human values. David Spur (1984), in his book Conflicts in
Consciousness: T.S. Eliot’s Poetry and Criticism, writes: "The poem gives a gloomy picture of despairs and
disillusionment but there is a hope that the world can go back to how it was" (p.26). The critic comments
contrary to the argument that The Waste Land is totally about the crises of modern scenarios. He still believes
that the poem has a hope and expectations of the modern world to rebuild the countries and revive them again.
Spur further adds that same was the case with the man of modern world after WWI as depicted by Eliot. They
were struggling to stand back but they had a hope of development and prosperity. There is another name
among the critics about the poem, George Williamson (1955), who in his book A Reader’s Guide to T.S. Eliot: A
Poem by Poem Analysis writes: "The people of The Wasteland are not made happy by the return of the spring,
of fruitfulness to the soil: they prefer the barrenness of winter or the dead season" (p.74). Eliot has thoroughly
highlighted the society in his poetry as barren, sexually perverse, immoral in attitudes, spiritually sterile and
faithless. Keeping such dogmas in consideration, the critic, Williamson, is commenting that the people of the
wasted land are happy in the disorder of deadly winter. They do not want spring to come and enlighten their
lives, but they are continuously longing the loss of intellect and sterility of soul. Furthermore, he is criticizing the
modern man through the words of Eliot that fruitfulness of soil is preferred over the cruelty of winter or deadly
season. A modern writer, Wayne Kestenbaum (1988), in his research article "The Waste Land T.S. Eliot and
Ezra Pound’s Collaboration on Hysteria" quotes Ezra's words and notes: "Eliot’s
The Waste Land is I think the justification of the movement of our modern experiment since 1900" (p.113). Here
the critic goes after the words of Ezra Pound. He quotes Ezra's words about the poem which clearly shows that
The Waste Land is by every means the epitome of modernism. It is a hallmark in modern literature. Eliot’s The
Waste Land appeared when people were struggling for their identity. They were in disharmony because of the
repercussions of first WWI. In other words, Wayne says that Eliot gives an image of dystopian world after the
tragic ending of WWI. The poem indirectly questions the aftermath of war. It has all those elements that
constitute the movement of modernism. That is why, it justifies modernism. George Bernard Shaw, in his book
Annajanska: The Bolshevik Empress (2003) about modernism comments: All great truths begin as
blasphemies. Accepting this idea as a real facet of the earth, one is possible to realize, this was the case in
20th century. In that age, when industry had gone into a massive development, a rejection of religious notions
broke out. As a new generation under the dominion of machinery stepped into the world, the tendency toward
modernism, which had an ever-lasting hostility about religion, was more fevered. As a matter of fact, religion
was the “truth” of the time which began as “blasphemy” to the fresh mind of mechanical world. Therefore, with
the increase of such rejection, mankind devoted himself to realizing sheer “earthly” goals and underwent
psychological trauma of finding the world futile consequently. Since, he believed that everything is limited to this
world, and nothing but this world. And to try for something which is against the insatiable hunger of worldly
desires, he closed the door to moral and religious notions and opened it to earthly requests (p.14).The critic
here provides a linchpin for the arena of the 20th century. He highlights all those situations that caused the
movement of modernism to begin. He is talking about the age of the 20thcentury, which was the age of doubt,
the age of questions, the age of dissatisfaction and disillusionment. Master narratives like theocracy and
political systems come under question. The new generation came under the dominance of machinery. Religion
became hostile to modern narratives, and everything was observed in flux. Religion itself was considered as a
blasphemy by modern minds. So, man devoted himself to earthly and worldly pursuits. Everything has become
limited to this world, only negating religious beliefs. The same is the case with Eliot’s The Wasteland, which
also highlights the same issues as modern society. A French writer, Jean Francois Lyotard (1984), who is
considered the foremost writer who has given a universal and reliable distinction between the ideas of
modernity and postmodernity, categorically comments in his book, Defining the Post-modern (1984) by adding
the following: The idea of modernity is closely bound with this principle that it is possible and
necessary to break the tradition and to begin a new way of living and thinking, but this breaking is a manner of
forgetting the past, that is to say of repeating it, not overcoming it; postmodernism could be considered as the
expression of obsolete modernity, as an irony of modernism or laughing at avant-gardism (p.134). Lyotard is of
the opinion that modernists have assumed that it is necessary to break all ties with the past and tradition to be
new and novel. They have a bricolage of the views, trends, beliefs and attitudes of the past in art and literature.
This breaking is not in a manner to forget the past, but they are unintentionally repeating the past. On the other
hand, postmodernism presents the irony of modernism. It parodies modernism.
Research Objectives
1.To bring out the aspect of meaninglessness in Eliot "The Waste Land.
2.To explore and analyse the theme of absurdity in the text.
3.To highlight the significance and importance of the analysis and exploration of meaninglessness and
absurdity
Research Questions
1.In what ways does the poem The Waste Land present the aspect of meaninglessness?
2. How does the selected text project and foreground the theme of absurdity?
3.How Modern poetry differ from Post-modern poetry?
4.Why and how is exploration of meaninglessness and absurdity significant?

Methodology
Methodology is a chain of approaches and techniques used in the research process. It proffers guidance during
the research by providing principles and rules to conduct the research in a proper way. This research is
qualitative and mainly uses the approaches including description, interpretation and exploration. The research
method utilized in this qualitative research is textual analysis that focuses on the interpretation, exploration and
analysis of selected concepts of meaninglessness and absurdity leaving other themes or aspects present in the
target text.

Limitations
Several challenges, primarily related to inadequate secondary data had to be overcome in order to complete
this paper. This paper is mainly work on Tradition and chaos in postmodernist point of view. Though this paper
perhaps distinguished from other works. The limitation is experienced on the other papers are tried to meet up
here.

Theoretical Framework
Post Modernism theory serve as the theoretical framework for the research. In this research, arguments are
based on textual references.

A Discussion of The Waste Land from a Postmodernism point of view

The Waste Land Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in America and settled in Europe. He is one of the most
influential writers and critics of 20th century being an elite scholar and poet. He lived in a chaotic and
fragmented era shattered and devastated by two world wars. So, he mirrors it artistically and accurately in his
writings'. S. Eliot's long poemThe Waste Land (1930) is a literary masterpiece that stirred great admiration as
well as criticism. With its publication, it shocked the literary world of its time. Although the poem lacks proper
sequence and coherence, yet it presents the true picture of the time. It is a real comment on the war-torn,
shattered and fragmented Western society. This long narrative poem consists of five sections which are in
fragments. It is a dramatic monologue and visionary fiction. The sections are divided thus: “The Burial of the
Death”, “A Game of Chess”,“The Fire Sermon”, “Death by Water” and “What the Thunder Said”.The first part
“The Burial of the Death” focuses on mortality and death that always haunt life.The second part “A Game of
Chess” is a comment on sexual activities in the modern and chaotic world where these activities are done as
formalities without any real joy and pleasure. The third part“The Fire Sermon” is also about the problems and
issues of sex in the modern society. The fourth part“Death by Water” focuses on death again.It hlighted the
mortal nature of human life in this world.The last part “What the Thunder Said” relates to restoration and the
poet tries to find some remedy for the suffering humanity in a miserable world.So far as structure of the poem is
concerned, it does not utilize traditional technique. Linesand stanzas are not connected well for the sake of an
easy reading of the poem. So, it is fragmented and ambiguous. Perhaps, there is a method in the madness
because the poem is composed in a society that is in fragments, without any logical sequence or order. People
have lost faith and moral values.They are spiritually dead. With the help of this depiction of the chaotic society,
the poet, in fact, tries to shake these spiritually dead people and compels them to think and meditate. In the
section “A Game of Chess”, the rich lady is forced to say, “Think.” (Eliot, 1s930, p. 20). Actually, Eliot tries
tourge the people to think and do something to come out of that chaotic condition.For the sake of true depiction
of the society, the poet tries to mix present with the past and populates his wasteland with diverse people
belonging to different ages and sections of the society and, in this way, overlaps time and history. These
different persons include St. Augustine, Buddha,Wagner and Ovid etc. He also portrays different places like
London and Jerusalem. There are allusions to different people and myths as well.Meaninglessness and
Absurdity in The Waste Land Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher and writer, thinks that human life is
primarily based on meaninglessness and absurdity. These two concepts are the foundation of his existentialist
philosophy.At the same time, he believes in man‟s power of action and freedom of choice which enable him to
give meaning to his meaninglessand absurd existence. He says, “Neither will an existentialist think that a man
can find help through some sign being vouchsafed upon earth for his orientation” (Sartre,1948, p. 34). It means
that man has been sent into a chaotic world where there are no signs to guide him. He is “thrown into the
universe and into desolate and into isolation” (Kern, 1970, p. 169).According to Ellis (1988), man faces anguish
because of this meaninglessness and absurdity (p. 24).T. S. Eliot‟sThe Waste Land(1930) is replete with these
themes. Eliot paints the picture of shattered and war-torn Western society. Almost all characters of the poem
are found encountering a meaningless, absurd and chaotic existence. The very title of the poem is quite
explanatory. The poem is a tale of the land that is full of the waste. This waste can be interpreted as the
meaningless and absurd existence the people were experiencing. All characters of the poem represent the
people of war-torn and shattered Western society where life lost all significance and meaning.The first section
“The Burial of the Dead” clearly comments on the absurd and meaninglesslife. The poem opens withthis
strange and unusual statement: “April is thecruellestmonth” (Eliot,1930, p. 9). It is strange because April is
generally considered a welcoming month that gives birth to life and causes hustle and bustle everywhere. For
the waste landers, it is the cruellest month because they do not intend to welcome life that, actually, has
become meaningless and absurd for them. It has lost charm and fascination. They do not want that
meaningless life to be restored. The waste landers seem to prefer winter that is considered a symbol of death
and decay. If life is meaningful, orderly and fascinating, the waste landers must welcome and enjoy it. It is a
real tragedy of modern society where people seem to prefer death to life. The cruellest April that breeds “Lilacs
out of the dead land---(Eliot, 1930, p.9) is unwelcomed. In this section, a German countess, Marie, is seen
leading ameaningless and chaotic life. She is frustrated and shattered from within. That‟swhy she tries to get
relaxation in the company of her boy friend. She says, “With a shower of rain; we stopped in the/Colonnade,/
And went on in sunlight, into the Hof-/ Gartten” (Eliot, 1930, p. 9). She also tries to fill the emptiness of her soul
by reading books at night and enjoying the warm weather. She also goes down the mountains with her cousin
being nervous and confused. All of her activities show that she wanders helplessly in order to find some
recreation that is missing in her shattered and absurd life. Infact, this life is “a heap of broken images” and she
lives in a world where “the tree gives no shelter,the/ cricket no relief” (Eliot, 1930, p. 11). This meaning less and
soulless life must base on something meaningful and significant for the waste landers. This is the absurdity and
meaninglessness Sartre talks about while defining human life. He believes that man has to counter a chaotic
and meaningless existence that is nothing but a void. He says, “Life has no meaning a priori.Before you come
alive,life is nothing”(Sartre, 1957, p. 49). So, the life of the waste landers is nothing. It does not have any
meaning and significance.The second section “The Game of Chess” depicts chaotic and meaningless
existence. In fact,it is Sartre‟s stance that life is meaningless and chaotic. The characters of lovers in this
section are living in a world that is “utterly without absolute meaning” (Bohlmann 1990, p. 14). The lady of the
Rock sits and waits for the arrival of her lover. In her aristocratic chair, she looks “like a burn is hed throne”
(Eliot, 1930, p. 17). But she finds that her lover has lost the warmth of love and sex. He does not seem to enjoy
but meets his beloved in order to fulfil a formality. She cries out, “I never know what you are thinking” (Eliot,
1930, p. 20).
This love-less and cold lover is a true picture of modern man who has lost charm and all fascination of life
because of its absurdity and meaninglessness. The other couple is of Albert and Lil. Unlike the lady of the rock,
they are poor and belong to an average class. They also lead chaotic, tasteless, colourless and fragmented
lives.Abortions have ruined Lil‟s life and Albert faces and experiences the miseries and horrors of war. He is
badly shattered and encounters a meaningless existence. Lil has grown old before time and always fears that
Albert might turn to other women. He threatens her that “others can pick and choose if you can‟t” (Eliot, 1930,
p.24).Lil hates motherhood and destroys her health by eating birth control pills. It is height of absurdity that
fertility is being hated and condemned. Lil and Albert have a hollow and shallow relation that is nothing but a
compulsion. This is how the waste landers have lost meaning, charm and color of life.Even love and sex are
mechanical routines.Section three “The Fire Sermon” is sad and tragic vision of life that is hollow and absurd in
modern society. It is full of lust and is without real values. These values add charm and beauty to human
existence. In such society,sex is unprincipled and, that‟s why it has lost real ecstasy. It is nothing but a
mechanical routine. The waste landers are unable to be fully involved in love and sex.Consequently, their
boiling and bad nerves are not soothed by the ecstasy of sex and love. This happens because of the emptiness
of their spirits and souls. Their lives have become meaningless and absurd. In this section, the dull and dirty
picture of the river is a comment on this absurd live. River Thames once used to be a place of entertainment,
pleasure and joy. But, now, it is full of the waste.Eliot says, “The river sweats/ oil and tar” (Eliot, 1930, p. 35).
Moreover, the story of the daughters of the river is another picture of meaningless and absurd life. The first girl
gets raped at Richmond while lying on her boat. The frustrated man comes to her and rapes. In fact, he is also
looking some means to fill the emptiness of his soul. He thinks that rape might help. The chaotic and disorderly
modern life has forced people to be engaged in such useless and meaningless activities. Lack of faith and loss
of religion have deprived them of moral and human values. The second girl also passes through a similar
experience when she is assaulted by a lusty young man. The girl is unable to do or say anything. She simply
declares, “I made no comments” (Eliot, 1930, p. 37). The third girl is also a victim of the same assault and
encounters an absurd existence. She says, “On Margate Sand, / I can connect/ Nothing to nothing” (Eliot,
1930, p. 37). Her life is also insignificant and chaotic.This chaos, disorder and insignificance in the lives of the
daughters of the river mirror meaningless life. It is the meaninglessness and absurdity Sartre points out as the
foundation of life. According to Sartre(1948), man is born in a void and grows up in a world that is chaotic and
life has no meaning (p. 28).Eliot‟s waste landers encounter same existence in a chaotic world. According to
Kaufmann (1956),such lives are “essentially tangible” (p. 17). In this section, there is another example of
chaotic and meaningless life. A typist girl working in an office is unfamiliar to the real significance and value of
life. Her life has sunk into nothingness. For her, sex is also a mechanical routine and a meaningless activity.
Her lover meets her but they
don‟t enjoy the real ecstasy rather she says, “Well now that‟s done: and I‟m glad it‟s/ over” (Eliot, 1930, p. 34).
It is real tragedy of her meaningless life that she is
satisfied with a tasteless activity. T. S. Eliot also calls London the unreal city and compares it with Carthage.
The city is unreal because it does not know real life. The working and walking people are spiritually dead. They
are nothing but machines. Their lives are meaningless and chaotic.Section four “Death by Water” presents the
tragic picture of life that is fully wasted in the worldly and materialistic pursuits. This hectic routine has
transformed man into a machine robbing him off moral, human and spiritual values. At the end, this
meaningless life has been swallowed by the cruel death . By perceiving life as tragic, Eliot reflects the very
foundation of Sartre‟s existentialist
philosophy that is based on meaninglessness and absurdity. In this section, Eliot finds that land is full of the
waste. It has turned barren. The water that causes rebirth of life and is symbol of purification, is now a cause of
death. The Phoenician sailor, Phlebas, drowns in the water and dies. “PHLEBAS the Phoenician sailor, a
fortnight/ Dead, / Forgot the cry of the gulls and the deep sea/ Swell/ and the profit and loss” (Eliot, 1930, p.
39). The dead sailor forgets everything after being carried away by the cruel waves. After living a meaningless
life that passed in counting coins, is being ruined by the whips of death. This is what human life is: without any
significance or value. This cruel fate and tragedy of the sailor is a warning and a lesson for all human beings.
They are being carried away by the ruthless waves of death. Eliot (1930) says, “Consider Phlebas, who was
once handsome/ and tall as you” (p.39) but, now, he is nothing and exists nowhere. In this section, Eliot gives
reference to an Egyptian effigy. That effigy is of the fertility god. It is thrown into the river at Alexandira but the
waves carry its head to Babylon. The head of the effigy is worshipped and considered as a re-born god. Eliot
wants to point out that there is salvation for the god but not for the sailor. It means that life devoted to higher
cause is meaningful and significant whereas the life of the waste landers is meaningless and insignificant
because they have lost religious and moral values. This life has become chaotic and disorderly. It is clear that
the life that is passed in counting coins like Phlebas is no life at all. It end son a note of nothingness. Eliot
warns modern man by showing him the tragic fate of the sailor. In fact,he wants the disillusioned modern man
drag himself out of his chaotic condition by realizing the absurdity and meaninglessness of his life. He can give
meaning to his absurd existence by committing to some higher cause. He must learn a lesson from the life and
fate of the sailor and strive for attaining a significant and meaningful life.In the final part “What the Thunder
Said”, T. S. Eliot claims that the thunder is a source of liberation for the waste landers whose lives are absurd,
chaotic and meaningless. They have lost real charm and beauty of the life owing to spiritual depravity and
moral degradation. Their life is hollow and shallow. Eliot (1930) says, “He who was living is now dead/ we who
were living are now dying”(p. 40). The death pointed out in these lines mainly points the moral and spiritual
death of the living.This death and loss of values has turned the fertile soil into a waste land. The charming and
blissful life has become insignificant and colourless. So, according to the poet, this chaotic life needs
immediate solution. Eliot makes a reference to Knight‟s journey to Chapel Perilous. The Knight is searching for
the Holy Grail that is a source of rebirth and regeneration. Eliot intends to say that the unfortunate modern man
has lost that Holy Grail and is wandering aimlessly with perplexed heart and confused mind. He cannot find the
actual cause and aim of his life. This Holy Grail stands for that higher cause that adds significance and
meaning to life. The shattered modern man needs that cause urgently. In this section Eliot also refers to Christ
trial. Christ is going to Emmaus in the company of his disciples. He disguises for the sake of confirmation of
resurrection. The hooded figure accompanying the disciples is, indeed, Christ who helps his followers in their
way to spiritual adventure. Eliot wants to say that modern man‟s meaningless and absurd life has no such
goal.Modern man has lost the company of the Christ who may help him or guide through his chaotic life.So the
meaninglessness, absurdity and chaos are largely caused by the shattered faith that has resulted in the loss of
moral, spiritual and human values.

Key Words:
Post-modernism, Tradition, Disillusionment, Meaninglessness.

Findings
The information comes from the Postmodernism point of view ‘The Waste Land.’ In addition, the researchers
tries to match the data with relevant sources like books and the internet.

Conclusion:
T.S Eliot's masterpiece,The Waste Land (1922),is a complex poem about cultural and social crises because of
moral and cultural loss of identity after WWI. In this poem, Eliot experiments with the verse form through
fragmented language and a new style. The title of the poem indicates modern society in the shape of an inert,
dry, and sterile wasteland that metaphorically represents Europe. Modern art and literature broke the traditional
connections with the past, as Eliot did through introducing new language and style to poetry. He experiments
with his own techniques regarding the composition of the poem that make the poem modern.On the other
hand, post-modern art emphasizes a connection with the past's attitudes and beliefs.The glimpses of post-
modernism can be seen in this poem by analysing the gothic elements, allusions to history and past,
juxtapositions, and the technique of the unreliable narrator. Hence, we can concisely say,we have a fusion of
modernism and post-modernism in this poem. The term "post" in post-modernism indicates something coming
after modernism. The modern attributes to The Waste Land (1922)were assigned at that time when it was
published. On the other hand, the post-modern qualities could be assigned to this poem through those qualities
that are common between modernism and post-modernism.On one hand,The Waste Land (1922)follows the
idea of neo-expressionism and avant-gardism,in which Eliot has tried something new, experimental and
surprising. It is a post-modern composition in which Eliot strictly adheres to history and past traditions by giving
different allusions and references.Modernism and post-modernism are theories/movements that coincide. They
have a blurred boundary of distinction between them. In this research, the researchers initially made a
difference between the two theories. Afterwards, she highlights those characteristics of modern and post-
modern artt hat comprise the poem. For instance, modernism is a peculiar tendency of contemporary times that
rejects the traditional and conventional values of art and literature by experimenting with neo-expressionism or
avant-gardism. Modernism laments the chaos, disorder, and anarchy of society, as Eliot does in this poem.
Therefore, the researcher declares The Waste Land as the epitome of modernism.Contrary to this idea of
modernism, post-modernism challenges and questions the idea of progress and achievement. It tends to have
a connection with the past. It relies on experimentation in art but has its roots in the past. Eliot used the
technique of an unreliable narrator. He has done juxtaposition and used structural irony. He has added Gothic
and classical elements and has referred to the past and tradition. Such characteristics make The Wasteland a
post-modern piece of literature.

References
1. Ahmad, F. F. & Alshara, M. A. (2015).Rejuvenation in T. S. Eliot‟s The Waste Land.European Scientific
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