The Waste Land - T.S. Eliot

numberonesurvivor75 Says:

May 26, 2009 - Well that's a great quote, but I get my impressions from Eliot's strong sense of traditionalism combined with the eclectic references to many old civilizations.

Oscar301 Says:

May 26, 2009 - masterpiece

leahr78 Says:

May 27, 2009 - do you have the rest of the poem recited by Eliot?

madeformv7 Says:

Jun 4, 2009 - I don't understand how his accent is like that. (He is from the West!!) It sounds like a traditional southern New England accent. I have that (although not so drawn out) and I am one of the last ones who still have it. It has been on the decline since after the Great War. Everyone thinks I am British. A bit like the Auntie Mame accent. That too is quite extreme!

weasley17 Says:

Jun 13, 2009 - He was born in St. Louis but went to Harvard and most of his family was from or had connections with New England. Also, he spent a lot of his life in England so it's a combination of the two...

karlval Says:

Jun 16, 2009 - The second strophe is incredible.

marbmcr Says:

Jun 19, 2009 - Eliot was American, indeed, but he became British subject in 1917. I've been stuying American and British literature, and it got my attention that Eliot is mentioned in both anthologies (that I have read) as one of the most remarkable writers of the 20th Century in both countries.

moupriksate Says:

Jun 19, 2009 - I couldnt agree more my friend. If you study poetry you could read also odysseus elytis and george seferis. They are from my country and they got the nobel prize. I believe that both these poets where influnenced by T.S. Eliot

davidhunteresq Says:

Jul 24, 2009 - he became a British subject in 1927 and lived in Britain 38years until his dieing day, perhaps he lost his accent over time, as many do, that would explain the accent.

polymath7 Says:

Jul 30, 2009 - I loathe Eliot, and would very much like to be able to deny his poetic genius, but alas, I cannot. Magnificent.

seans10 Says:

Aug 7, 2009 - I just heard Chris Matthews refer to February as the cruelest month. He's an illiterate blowhard prick. Are those Ezra Pound's notations at the beginning? The greater craftsman? I think so.

seans10 Says:

Aug 7, 2009 - If you listen to recordings of Ezra Pound, it's uncanny how similar his voice is to Eliot's. I'm tempted to call it a mutual affectation. But perhaps it's simply the accent of men so well-versed in the multi-linguistic universality of Latin poetry (as Pound and Eliot were) that they've internalized it. I don't know. Eliot was from Missouri, and Pound was from Idaho.

aileewiley Says:

Aug 27, 2009 - Wow. I am learning so much from reading all of your comments! I just wanted to say that it's good to hear his voice, but I suddenly feel a bit put to shame.

Yongshan28 Says:

Sep 3, 2009 - Matthews is useless. Pound however is a hack, and his unrecognizable renditions of tradition Chinese verse continue to mislead people even today.

seans10 Says:

Sep 4, 2009 - A hack? A who's-who of the greatest modernist poets and writers of the 20th century would disagree. Pound wrote some great poems and some not-so great poems. It was T.S. Eliot who dedicated The Waste Land to Pound, whose suggestions Eliot credited with making the Waste Land the landmark poem it is. As for his translations, I don't read, write or speak chinese so I can't really speak to that. It's not what he's famous for. Translations are a tricky business. But you're 21, no use to tell you that

krg86 Says:

Sep 16, 2009 - il miglior fabbro...Eliot Pound have their own charm. As for Pound's "unrecognizable renditions of tradition (sic) Chinese verse"; they're 'interpretations' and not strict 'translations' let alone 'renditions'. "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter" is particularly powerful.

usenetposts Says:

Oct 3, 2009 - He has an interesting way of reading it. I also read this, before hearing this, which is good, as I might have been influenced by it, but I never would have guessed that this was the author, as most people read it with more expression. Good German pronunciation, sort of Bavarian accent.

quagapp Says:

Oct 14, 2009 - I rewrote The Waste Land and read it in NY when I was visiting and here in Auckland where it went down very well. It started as an exercise suggested by Bernadette Mayer, one of list, i.e. "Rewrite someone difficult" I kept the Laforgian ironic (almost comical -the corpse..can bloom again! I didn't use that but it is amusing) tone but also the sense of revelation or "mystery" etc

quagapp Says:

Oct 14, 2009 - I am familiar with Eliot's reading but not of the Waste Land - which I learnt almost by heart when I was maybe 20 in 1968. We had his reading Prufrock and other poems -I think his reading is great. he is / was a great poet. Thanks for this.

willowsnsakura Says:

Oct 14, 2009 - O.O I have nothing intellectual to say, except that I thoroughly enjoyed "The Waste Land". As for my own, personal kind of comment...I will promptly forget his voice, and let the voice I gave him replace it whenever I reread this, as silly as that is. Not saying I dislike his reading, but he sounds too normal for such an innovative poem. ....A strange thing to say about the author, but....oh well. ^^; I would have been upset if I never heard him speak, though, so thank you! ^_^

Robospace Says:

Oct 19, 2009 - someone give me a good connotative meaning or thesis on this poem, i gotta do a paper on it soon

hopkins4545 Says:

Oct 21, 2009 - Pound was more important for the ideas he expounded on poetry than for his poetry itself, in my own opinion.

tetryst Says:

Oct 29, 2009 - I think the way he reads this is very telling - Eliot was a man who knew the difference between words that are meant to be read, and words that are meant to be spoken. The deadpan delivery just shows that he knows what the poem is, and isn't trying to make it into something more dramatic.

AuroraBoredom Says:

Nov 17, 2009 - Firstly, Eliot sounds like someone is crushing his shriveled, old balls. Secondly, Hitler states in his book "Mein Kampf" that "The Waste Land" was one of the prime sources for the Nazi movement. Thus, Eliot is the father of Nazism. Thirdly, Eliot was once on academic probation for masturbating in public. Fourthly, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" was a poem written to describe Eliot's homicidal tendencies. Fifthly, T.S. stands for Thomas Stearns. Worst name ever!

pippo89theverybest Says:

Nov 18, 2009 - Great poem, maybe Eliot's masterpiece, even though I don't like his way of reading it