T.S Eliot refers to water as absent or polluted several times throughout "The Waste Land." A few examples of Eliot's references include "no sound of water" (line 25), "dull canal" (line 189), "the river sweats oil and tar" (line 266-267), and repeated references of no water or even the sound of water (lines 331, 334, 353, 359). The themes discussed in class groups included cultural fragmentation, sterile human relationships, and a lack of spiritual direction and connection. I believe "The Waste Land" discusses the loss and stagnation resulting from loss of human trust, whether in cultural progression, human intimacy, or spiritual/religious advancement. Each section of the poem depicted barren landscapes, barren relationships (whether in fertility or emotional contentment), and barren spiritual hope. The cause for the barren circumstances revolves around water, either a lack of it, or the pollution of it. World War I created new extremes in the human experience, including loss of human life, methods of agonizing death, economic hardship, and a lack of trust in government, God, and humanity. Images of broken landscape (lines 19-24), broken relationships (lines 158-164, 234-242), and broken hope (lines 388-389, 426-427) all reflect a lack or pollution of trust. Eliot's borrowing from Dante's Inferno, "I had not thought death had undone so many" (line 63) reveals the reach of the wasteland following the war. His fragmented form and content also reflect the upheaval and chaos resulting from the war. In this poem, water is symbolic of the trust that needs to be purified and/or restored in order for human existence to once again sustain, create, and thrive. Otherwise, it remains a wasteland.
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