T.S. Eliot: Hope Beyond the Waste Land

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In The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot displays the dark and depraved qualities of humanity. These qualities are especially prevalent in “The Fire Sermon,” where society has fallen victim to sexual immorality and corruption. Due to this subject matter, scholars conclude that Eliot is pessimistic about the future of Western Civilization, but this point of view overlooks one of the core messages of the poem which is communicated through Eliot’s reference to Augustine at the end of “The Fire Sermon.” While “The Fire Sermon” appears to showcase and criticize the corrupt members of humanity, Eliot’s reference to Augustine hints at hope. Just as society was at its most morally and spiritually corrupt, so too was Augustine before his conversion. It was not until the saint pursued the truth through relentless study of both ancient and modern texts and scriptures that he was converted. This transformation from sinful to saved is what Eliot is trying to communicate through The Waste Land. Through his allusions to Augustine’s Confessions, Eliot illustrates how society is at a painful point in the search for moral and spiritual purity, but it is a necessary evil, and with Augustine as an example, achieving purity is possible.  

Augustine’s conversion story in the Confessions is one of the most influential in history, influencing works such as The Waste Land. From Manichee to saint, Augustine’s conversion recounts the journey of one who is as far from moral and spiritual purity as possible, caught in his own sins and the sins of those around him to the pinnacle of spiritual health. His conversion was not a miraculous one, however. It was a trial by fire. Augustine had to suffer at the hands of his own sins before he could come to Christ. He had to study texts of philosophy and theology before he could claim himself to be a Christian. It is this path that Eliot is replicating in The Waste Land. Eliot uses Augustine’s journey as a roadmap for The Waste Land. Each aspect of the conversion process, from sinful to suffering to purified, is accounted for as the poem progresses. One of the most powerful parts of this process is “The Fire Sermon,” where the darkness of modern London reflects the evil Augustine encountered, and partook of, in his younger years. This dark point in Augustine’s journey is reflected when Eliot specifically references Augustine’s arrival at Carthage: 

To Carthage then I came 

Burning burning burning burning  

O Lord Thou pluckest me out 

O Lord Thou pluckest 

Burning. 

Eliot’s use of this reference in “The Fire Sermon” connects this point in The Waste Land to Augustine’s conversion process. The city of London in The Waste Land is in a morally dark place. The protagonist witnesses scenes of assault, infidelity, and disconnection and begs to be taken and purified of the sins of the city, much like Augustine at Carthage. These comparisons between Eliot and Augustine go beyond the text alone and are reflected in the respective lives of the authors. 

While writing The Waste Land and the Confessions, Eliot and Augustine were forced to witness their cities fall to corruption while they themselves suffered personal crises. Audrey Rodgers explains how during the period leading up to T.S. Eliot composing The Waste Land, the poet experienced multiple personal crises. The poem, composed in the years following World War I, reflects a society focused on individual pleasure and experience over morality as a response to its brush with death and destruction. It was also during this time that Eliot’s wife was committed to an institution, and he himself suffered a mental breakdown. This suffering made its way into “The Fire Sermon,” where the Thames is polluted. Cleanth Brooks describes the atmosphere as “the sterile burning of lust. Modern man, freed from all restraints, in his cultivation of experience for experience’s sake burns.” This burning is similar to what Augustine sees upon his arrival in Carthage: “all around me hissed a cauldron of illicit loves” (III.34). Much like how Augustine is witnessing the depravity of Carthage and desiring to be purified of the city and of his own sins, so too is the narrator of The Waste Land, as he helplessly witnesses the affairs, abuse, and pollution that have plagued his city. Yet this subject matter is often misconstrued, and readers thought Eliot was blatantly criticizing and addressing the hopelessness of society.  

After publishing the poem, Eliot was met with mixed responses. Early readers saw the text as confusing. While they admired Eliot for his style and skill, the overall meaning was not fully understood until later in history. Readers and critics eventually reached a consensus about the overarching theme of purity through struggle, but the emphasis was and continues to be misplaced. Those critiquing The Waste Land focus on the evil itself and not what humans can learn from it. For example, Richard Drain writes that that the modern world is the waste land and human sensibility has died. Drain implies that there is no hope for the modern world and that man has fallen to such and extent that saving himself is impossible. This assessment could be considered accurate to an extent during the time of The Waste Land, but it leaves no room for improvement or interpretation. Drain also explains that people have become alienated from life, the sexes, and from the self. While these are all aspects of the society depicted in The Waste Land, especially in the scene between the Typist and the Clerk, Drain offers no semblance of hope for the residents of the waste land. Instead, he focuses on the depraved aspects of humanity. These perspectives of the poem leads to a rather dismal reading of The Waste Land, and lose sight of any moral or spiritual growth in the narrative. 

The state of society was in fact deplorable, and Eliot acknowledged this, but what is often lost is the idea that there was a purpose to the suffering. Russell Kirk summarizes this purpose in his biography of Eliot: 

From ancient theological and poetical and historical sources, burningly relevant to our present private and public condition, we summon up the moral imagination… if we face down the horror, and dare to ask the questions, we may be heard and healed.” (81) 

Kirk explains how the suffering that is depicted throughout The Waste Land and especially in “The Fire Sermon” is not just suffering for its own sake. It is a learning experience, and not just an evil of which humanity must rid itself to become pure. The suffering and pain in the poem motivate the protagonist to move forward past the evil that is in “The Fire Sermon” and previous poems. If one continues to see Augustine’s conversion as a model for growth in The Waste Land, then a quotation from the Confessions proves to be quite helpful. Augustine writes: “My madness with myself was part of the process of recovering health, and in the agony of death I was coming to life. I was aware of how ill I was, unaware of how well I was soon to be” (VIII.146). Augustine is on the brink of a spiritual breakthrough near the end of the Confessions, yet in the moment he is completely unaware. He is too caught up with the pain and questions he is experiencing to see how close he is to finding answers. It is this moment that Eliot emulates in The Waste Land. In the final section of the poem, Eliot uses the imagery of a storm. Within this section, it is difficult to see how the poem will resolve, but the storm finally settles in the last stanzas. Augustine’s statement summarizes what many scholars like Drain misunderstand about “The Fire Sermon” and The Waste Land as a whole. They focus on the illness of society rather than what is to be gained by experiencing suffering. Augustine reminds readers to be mindful of suffering so as to remember that there is the possibility for redemption.  

Viewing suffering this way is not an easy task. Much like Augustine, readers and scholars are easily caught up in the process of purging sin and not the reason for the burning. They see the evil in The Waste Land as something shameful to be discarded, and while that is partially true, there is more to suffering than purification. In the Confessions, Augustine writes that “human beings obtain normal pleasures of human life not as they come on us unexpectedly and against our will, but after discomforts which are planned and accepted by deliberate choice” (VIII.138). With this statement, Augustine emphasizes how suffering must be accepted and overcome by choice. It is not something to shun or turn away from, but rather something to work and triumph over—not something that should be indulged in or loved, but deliberately and methodically purged. This perception of suffering is supported by A.D. Moody’s essay on The Waste Land, in which he argues that the poem is “far from being merely about emptiness and waste, it is a triumph over the waste regions of the self and its world.” This idea goes against the perception that the poem is a representation of the hopelessness of society and supports the position that it is a celebration of the work it takes to overcome the sinful nature of humanity. The process of overcoming sin and suffering, according to Augustine’s method of purification, takes a vast amount of study.  

When considering the Confessions and The Waste Land, one can turn to the search for truth that takes place in both works to see what is to be gained from suffering. In The Waste Land, the search for truth and purity is represented by characters from ancient and classical works such as Tiresias and the Fisher King. The former represents the search for knowledge and the latter the search for spiritual purity. 

I Tiresias, old man with wrinkled dugs 

Perceived the scene, and foretold the rest- 

I too awaited the expected guest. (228-230) 

In these lines, Tiresias sees the beginning of what will become the assault of the Typist. He sees the makings of the scene and is so familiar with human nature that he predicts the outcome. Having witnessed everything from ancient Greek epics such as The Odyssey to humanity in The Waste Land, Tiresias holds within himself all classical knowledge. His perspective of history grounds the readers and calls him to witness alongside him what society has become. Robert Langbaum addresses this connection and writes, “Through the Tiresias consciousness in him, the protagonist repeatedly finds an underlying ancient pattern but also sees that in the modern situation the pattern does not come to the preordained conclusion.”. The presence of Tiresias as described by Langbaum urges Eliot’s audience to look for the connections to ancient writings and philosophy while also recognizing that the modern world has changed from the classical.  

It is important to note that Tiresias, despite all his knowledge, is incapable of stopping any of the immorality that is taking place in the wasteland. He is a mere spectator, and much like the classical knowledge he represents, he is only effective as a guide to a certain extent. One is not meant to stop after classical knowledge fails to purify evil; it is quite the opposite. A.D. Moody writes that “it is vital in The Waste Land that our sympathetic life should be stirred, not fixed in Tiresias’ basilisk stare.” Moody explains that while there is insight that Tiresias provides, the readers are meant to move beyond him and connect with both the suffering and the good that takes place in The Waste Land.  

This study of ancient and modern works is only a step towards moral and spiritual purity. It is not the solution. Humanity cannot overcome its nature on its own; rather, there is a higher truth that must be reached before purification can be fully attained. While recounting his studies in Carthage, Augustine explained to a priest that he had read books on Platonists and many Platonic works where “God and his Word kept slipping in” (VIII.135). The works themselves did not purify Augustine. In fact, the point was that they were insufficient in answering his questions. They caused him to search for what exactly would deliver him from his burning. What was far more important was that they guided him towards moral and spiritual purity. Using this process as a guide to read The Waste Land reveals how classical figures, such as Tiresias, that are known to be knowledgeable and wise are insufficient in the search for purity. They provide knowledge and a foundation upon which to build, but they are not the final source of wisdom. This does not mean that the study is in vain. As Russell Kirk describes: “Eliot draws upon the myths and the symbols of several cultures to find the questions that moderns ought to ask.” Kirk’s explanation shows how they are meant to motivate those who search for purity and cause them to question what exactly will help them to truly achieve that state.  

This idea extends to other areas of study such as medieval knowledge that is represented by the Fisher King. In The Waste Land, the Fisher Kind is a recurring character whose original story is often the center of the quest for the holy grail. The Fisher Kind is commonly depicted fishing alone and awaiting someone or something to restore him from his injured state. In The Waste Land, he is never restored. In the final section of the poem, “What the Thunder Said,” the Fisher King is still waiting and wondering whether or not he should set his affairs in order: 

I sat upon the shore 

Fishing, with the arid plain behind me 

Shall I at least set my lands in order? (424-426) 

The Fisher King’s longing to settle his affairs yet never accomplishing it is another instance of an embodiment of wisdom not fulfilling what is has set out to do. In the Fisher King’s story, once he is restored, the kingdom will flourish and the depravity that has settled over him and his people will be lifted, but this happy ending is not seen in The Waste Land. The Fisher King waits at the end, wondering if it is at last time to settle his affairs. Neither Tiresias nor the Fisher King is capable of reaching his goal of finding truth or being purified, but not all is lost. Even in these unfulfilled characters, there is hope for regeneration. George Williamson writes in his essay discussing the Fisher King that “the sexual maiming and restoration of the Fisher King is reflected in his land, and that when he is maimed the land is waste, but most of all that it is a regeneration story of a comprehensive kind.” Williamson addresses a key point of both The Waste Land and the Confessions: that at each story’s core there is the message of regeneration. As Augustine emerged out of the dark period of his life, there is hope for society in The Waste Land to do the same. Even though the city remains a waste land at the end of the poem, there is the promise of rain, and with rain, restoration. Eliot’s use of the Fisher King, while still reflecting the brokenness of society, anticipates renewal. 

Tiresias, the Fisher King, and their myths represent the search for knowledge and truth that is present in Augustine’s and Eliot’s works. Just as Augustine worked to triumph over his sins as he studied Plato, theology, and the scriptures, so too is Eliot going through different forms of knowledge and schools of thought in The Waste Land in pursuit of truth. Eliot does not shy away from knowledge that is not distinctly similar to that with which he aligns. Like Augustine, he is able to find hints of truth from characters and philosophers of various cultures. In fact, the title of “The Fire Sermon” is derived from a sermon of the Buddha that addresses how everything is burning with lust, passion, and a variety of other emotions. While none of these approaches offers a complete and effective answer to the questions Eliot is seeking in The Waste Land, each instead builds upon the others and serves as a guide for those who are searching, and each provides fragments that can shore up one’s ruins. 

While T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land can be a confusing and depressing text at first glance, a deeper meaning is revealed upon further consideration. By looking at Eliot’s allusions to Augustine’s Confessions, the message of suffering and sin experienced in The Waste Land is not meaningless; rather, it illustrates the search for truth and knowledge that humans must undergo in order to reach moral and spiritual purity. In the Confessions, Augustine writes: “You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain peace which is yours” (XXVII.201). The fire mentioned by Augustine is not necessarily bad. While it will most likely burn and cause pain, it was originally ignited by a desire for peace. This is reflected in the final words of The Waste Land: “Shantih shantih shantih” (Eliot 434). According to Eliot’s notes on the text, “Shantih” means peace, referring to the peace of God that surpasses all understanding (76). It is this peace that motivates man to work through suffering, and it is the same peace that comforts them at the end. Even though enduring through suffering may be difficult, the fire depicted in both the Confessions and The Waste Land is just as much meant for purification as it was for punishment. It is a slow process that should not be avoided, but rather embraced and overcome by choice. This message provides hope for old and new readers that there is the possibility for a better world beyond the waste land if one is willing to endure its trials in order to achieve it. 

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The featured image is “Decaying forest” (1852) by August Cappelen and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.