The Wasteland

Zachariah Hennessey Journal Assignment- The Waste Land “ Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.” – Eliot, Tradition and the Individual Talent Eliot believed poetry should be a lot like archaeology, the process itself like a carefully excavated …

…want?’ and she replied, ‘I want to die’” The use of spiritual texts, and a variety of them, was merely a compilation of all the various ways to escape the many “hells” here on earth. At the time of the writing of the poem, many people were looking to escape from their emotions, including Eliot, and spiritual texts represent guidelines for achieving that release. This is why their use in The Wasteland is so significant.