Madame Sosostris in T.S. Eliots The Wasteland - 1428 Words

Madame Sosostris Lines 43-59 of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land present Madame Sosostris as the Tarot card-reading psychic who bears bad news. While this stanza has been interpreted in a myriad of ways, two important features are commonly regarded as Eliot’s intent. (1) The clairvoyant is considered â€Å"the wisest woman in Europe† because the world is a tattered wasteland where everyone is in search of answers – a fortuneteller provides false security with her seemingly absolute understanding of destiny, and everyone is desperate enough to believe her. (2) Because Eliot regards fortunetelling as little more than empty consolation for the desperate, he writes with levity to poke fun at the concept. These two points comprise the general gist of†¦show more content†¦However, Sosostris could be referring incorrectly to the Queen of Cups, which shows an attractive woman near cliffs. The Queen of Cups card is supposed to be indicative of one of two things: (1) a woman wh o is gifted with a high imagination, or (2) a woman who is unreliable and cannot be depended on. Both of these points seem to describe Madame Sosostris accurately. Line 50. The lady of situations. This description is comically vague. Eliot uses unclear language to show that predictions can be accurate regardless of outcome. Situations are bound to happen. Line 51. Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel, The man with three staves card is properly referred to as the â€Å"Three of wands.† Not only does Madame describe this card with the improper language of a novice, she completely fails to address the fortune the card is meant to signify: strength and enterprise, or economic failure due to too overly ambitious plans. Despite Eliot’s commentary, â€Å"the Wheel† is not a card in any Tarot deck, unless he is referring to the Wheel of Fortune card, which can signify good or bad luck, depending on whether the card is drawn upright or upside down. Nevertheless, Sosostris never acknowledges the fortune indications of the card but merely mentions it with an incorrect name and moves along. Line 52. And here is the one-eyed merchant,Show MoreRelatedAnalysis of The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot Essay1620 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot Q5 Much of what Eliot writes about is harsh and bleak, but he writes about it in a way that is often beautiful. Comment fully on both parts of this assertion. Most first time readers of Eliots work would, probably, agree that his poems read as bleak and depressing. They would also say that many of his poems portray society as having a terminal illness, but when we look deeper you can see that amid the anguish not all is lost and there is hopeRead MoreEssay on Water and Religious Motifs in The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot1525 Words   |  7 PagesThe Waste Land: Water and Religious Motifs In his poem The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot employs a water motif, which represents both death and rebirth. This ties in with the religious motif, as well as the individual themes of the sections and the theme of the poem as a whole, that modern man is in a wasteland, and must be reborn. In the first section, Burial of the Dead, water (or the lack thereof) has a primarily negative meaning. It is first mentioned in lines four and nineRead MoreAnalysis of The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot1571 Words   |  7 PagesIf Renà © Descartes’ â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum† embodies the essence of what it means to be a unified and rational Cartesian subject, then T.S. Eliot’s â€Å"heap of broken images† eagerly embraces its fragmented and alienated (post)modern counterpart. The message this phrase bears, resonates throughout the entire poem: from its title, â€Å"The Waste Land†, to its final mantra â€Å"Shantih shantih shantih†. All words, phrases and sentences (or just simply images) which make up this poem seem to, in Levi-Strauss’ wordsRead MoreEssay Biography of T.S. Eliot4139 Words   |  17 PagesBiography of T.S. Eliot T.S. Eliot changed the face of poetry. He has been regarded as the most celebrated poet of his era. This Nobel Prize winning poet is credited with viewing the world as it appears, without making any optimistic judgements. Despite the ire of Mr. Eliot, it would be safe to regard him as a prophet of doom. His works reflected his frustration with mankind, and the seeming need to be released from this cold world. It was once said, â€Å"How unpleasant to meet Mr. Eliot.† (TimeRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Wasteland 1313 Words   |  6 PagesT.S Eliot’s â€Å"The Wasteland† is a fragmentary poem written in the early 1900’s, the poem displays themes of physical existence and the non-existence of a modern life. In fact, which can be seen in the first part of the poem itself, which is broken down into 4 iridescent yet, colorless parts. The Burial of the Dead, Game of Chess, The Fire Sermon, Death by Water and What the Thunder Said; they are all profoundly r elated they are designed to convey the over arching themes of the poem. It has countlessRead MoreEssay on Dryness and Spiritual Decay in The Waste Land2469 Words   |  10 PagesDryness and Spiritual Decay in The Waste Land      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   T.S. Eliot peppers The Waste Land, his apocalyptic poem, with images of modern aridity and inarticulacy that contrast with fertile allusions to previous times. Eliots language details a brittle era, rife with wars physical and sexual, spiritually broken, culturally decaying, dry and dusty. His references to the Fisher King and mythical vegetation rituals imply that the 20th-century world is in need of a Quester to irrigate the land. TheRead MoreThe Waste Land by T. S. Eliot2649 Words   |  11 Pages A wasteland [weyst-land] is defined as: land that is uncultivated or barren; an area that is devastated as by flood, storm, or war; something as a period of history, phase of existence, or locality that is spiritually, or intellectually barren; one of the most important poems of the twentieth century (Dictionary.com). The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot, has puzzled its audience and been tossed aside by the general population since 1922, when the poem was published. To a read er not committed to delving