Symbolism, Myth, and Structure in The Waste L...

Symbolism, Myth, and Structure in The Waste Land: A Critical Analysis

Author Name : Dr. Vijender Singh Tanwar

ABSTRACT

T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922) remains one of the most influential modernist works of the twentieth century, largely because of its symbolic density, extensive mythic allusions, and radically fragmented structure. This research paper examines the intricate symbolic patterns, interwoven mythological frameworks, and innovative structural techniques that shape the poem’s representation of spiritual desolation in the post–World War I era. Drawing on Eliot’s use of anthropological sources such as Jessie L. Weston’s From Ritual to Romance and James Frazer’s The Golden Bough, the paper highlights how myth functions not merely as literary ornamentation but as a central organizing principle that imposes meaning and coherence on the poem’s apparent disorder. The study further demonstrates that Eliot’s structural fragmentation mirrors the breakdown of social, cultural, and moral systems while simultaneously aspiring toward restoration through mythic parallels, symbolic rebirth, and allusive multiplicity.

Keywords: Symbolism, Myth, Modernism, Fragmentation, Spiritual Desolation, Fertility Myths, Ritual Cycles, Fisher King, Cultural Collapse, Regeneration, Intertextuality.