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Webster was much possessed by death. And saw the skull beneath the skin; And breastless creatures under ground. Leaned backward with a lipless grin. Daffodil bulbs instead of balls. Stared from the sockets of the eyes! He knew that thought clings round dead limbs. Tightening its lusts and luxuries.
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- Stanza Two
- Stanza Three
- Stanza Four
- Stanza Five
- Stanza Six
- Stanza Seven
- Stanza Eight
In the first stanza of ‘Whispers of Immortality’, the speaker discusses the beliefs and works of John Webster. He is best known today as a dramatist and author of ‘The Duchess of Malfi. He was a contemporary of Shakespeare and appealed to Eliot in how he got to the truth of a situation. The first line makes this clear as the speaker states that Web...
In the second stanza, the speaker expands on the sight of a skinless person. This same creature which lacks the outward appearance of humanity, has “Daffodil bulbs instead of…eyes.” This is another terrifying sight and is related directly to a play by Webster titled, The White Devil. Towards the end of that particular work, a ghost brings in a flow...
In the next four lines, the speaker turns away from Webster to discuss English poet John Donne. The speaker states that Donne was “such another” like Webster, who prioritized his senses. He was deeply engaged with his world and sought out all experiences. Through his thoughts, Donne came to know the world and, more importantly, realize the ever-pre...
The fourth stanza makes clear that Donne had a good understanding of what death is and how important it is to one’s life. He understood the “anguish” that is part of one’s bones. It is an “ague,” or illness, deep within the body. So integral is humanity’s path toward death that it lives within one’s physical frame. The next two lines explain that e...
When Eliot gets to the fifth stanza, the poem changes. In its original form, the two sections were separated by five dots, denoting a change in the current topic but not the larger themes. He immediately refers to “Grishkin.” This person is not well-known like Webster and Donne before her. It has been speculated that she was a Russian woman who was...
In the sixth stanza, the speaker introduces another image, that of a “Brazilian jaguar.” He compares the cat to Grishkin and describes how she is about to “scamper” after a “marmoset.” The two are contrasted in their power. The marmoset is helpless at the hands of the jaguar. She moves with the “effluence of cat.” The final line states that Grishki...
Although Grishkin was favorably compared with the jaguar in the sixth stanza, in the seventh, she overtakes it. Both, when they are in their native homes, whether in a “drawing-room” or the ”arboreal gloom” of the forest, smell distinctive. Grishkin obviously smells more favorably, in this case, “rank[er],” than the jaguar does. Its smell is less o...
The eighth stanza ends the poem with a strange yet clever conclusion. The speaker states that the “Abstract Entities,” or the essence of the world, circle around Grishkin. This philosophical language relates back to the earlier stanzas in which the speaker refers to “pneumonic bliss.” He states that “our lot,” meaning all human beings, from the spe...
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
Aug 8, 2017 · Sex and death. There’s a certain symmetry to the poem: there are four stanzas about death, and then four stanzas about eroticism. (And, of course, each of the stanzas has four lines, increasing the almost mathematical patterning of the poem.)
IV. Death by Water. Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead, Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep seas swell. And the profit and loss. A current under sea. Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell. He passed the stages of his age and youth.
- I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river. Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable, Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier;
- The river is within us, the sea is all about us; (…) The bell. In this powerful stanza from T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Dry Salvages,’ the poet delves deep into the symbolism of the sea, exploring its multifaceted nature and its profound impact on human existence.
- Where is there an end of it, the soundless wailing, (…) Prayer at the calamitous annunciation? In this poignant stanza, the poet delves into the themes of mortality, impermanence, and the enduring impact of loss.
- There is no end, but addition: the trailing. (…) And therefore the fittest for renunciation. In this stanza of ‘The Dry Salvages,’ the poet explores the profound impact of time and emotional experiences on human existence.
The Waste Land Summary & Analysis. T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" is considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century, as well as a modernist masterpiece. A dramatic monologue that changes speakers, locations, and times throughout, "The Waste Land" draws on a dizzying array of literary, musical, historical, and popular cultural ...
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Text of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot with annotations, references, map, and Eliot's notes.
