The Hermit-Thrush

But the sound of water over a rock
Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pine trees

Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop

But there is no water

What The Thunder Said

It was quite depressing/relieving to realize that this fifth section of Wasteland would be the last of Eliot. However, after my initial shock (if you could call it that) and a second read-through, I realized the significance and the symbolism behind this climactic ending. After our online discussion on water during class, I cannot help but wonder about Eliot’s repetitive use of water and the wasteland’s lack thereof. With the wasteland’s lack of water and the rain that eventually comes, Eliot certainly makes it seem as though water is pure and brings life. After the rooster cock-a-doodle-doos, rain is ushered forth from the heavens and brings life to the barren wasteland. Although this sounds beautiful and enlightening, I feel confused by Eliot’s previous condemnation of Spring and April as the cruelest month. Could it be that Eliot merely used the Wasteland as a symbol for the dormant state of society and rain ushering forth the birth of true reality? Or does he simply mock Spring, Summer, Sex, and all the other splinters of society and claim that the Wasteland, although now more lively, will eventually become more corrupted than before? That brings me to another interesting point that I would hope to discuss: the use of the Rooster as a calling for rain. The symbolism for this empty chapel, this single rooster, and the rain that ensues certainly has significance regarding the Bible and almost mimics Jesus’ return to our Earth. I certainly cannot say that I comprehend his metaphors and symbolism (or even my own logic for that matter).

London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down

Poi s'ascose nel foco che gli affina

Quando fiam uti chelidon - O swallow swallow

Le Prince d'Aquitaine à la tour abolie

The Fire Sermon

Eliot always has profound titles for his poems, and so I decided to look up Fire Sermon tonight. Originating from Buddhism, the Fire Sermon preaches about achieving liberation from suffering through the detachment from the body, the senses, and the mind. Thinking back to my sophomore year and the tortures of World Religions, I remember Buddhism placed a large emphasis on the roots of suffering and the solution to our suffering. The Four Noble Truths basically claims:

1) life leads to suffering
2) suffering is caused by craving
3) suffering ends when craving ends
4) reaching an enlightened state through following Buddha’s path liberates you from cravings.

During the first two parts sections of Waste Land, Eliot criticizes the state of society and the immorality that has ensued from sin. In The Fire Sermon, Eliot expands on these sins by relating them to the “ultimate” wasteland. This wasteland is cold and wet, blasting wind through its piles of garbage. Although I would associate a wasteland with the image of a desert, a desert has heat and energy and movement. Eliot’s wasteland however has only garbage and the occasional twitch from a rat. This wasteland is desolate and is completely frozen in place. Similar to the past sections, this wasteland connects to modern sins and cravings that contradict the Nirvana that is achieved through Buddhism. I noticed a few items in particular that he criticized indirectly.

“empty bottles = drunkenness
“sandwich papers” = gluttony
“silk handkerchiefs” = wasteful extravagance
“cardboard boxes” = poverty
“cigarette ends” = addiction
“the sound of horns and motors” = technology
“brown fog” = pollution
“Old man with wrinkled female breasts” = sexual digression (transexuality, homosexuality, etc)
“Stockings, slippers, camisoles, and stays” = sexuality

All of these symbols are cravings of modern society that deviate from the natural state of man and are corruptions of the human mind. I find it interesting to isolate the aspects of society Eliot found troubling. However, I have yet to discover the purpose of these poems and their connections to one another, apart from simply stating what is wrong with the world.

The Gates of Hell

Today our class exemplified the pursuit of knowledge in all of its purity by wrestling through the frozen gale of Philadelphia to journey to the Rodin Museum. This museum was special in that it contains the Bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin named “The Gates of Hell.” At first, I was astonished by the pure size of the monumental sculpture. However, after getting over my initial shock, I was able to appreciate the artistic beauty of each individual sculpture. The Gates of Hell is unique in that although it stands as a singular work of art, it is a combination of smaller pursuits in artistic beauty. It is the culmination of the sculptures within the gate that encapsulates viewers. Although I respected Ugolino and the Three Shades in their artistic positioning, it was the sculpture at the bottom left corner that continuously held me in awe. Covered in a cloth, the woman held a wheel and had what looked like wings attached to her back. The cloth shrouds this character in mystery and it is this secret that continuously attracts me. Speculations are endless and the woman can easily be interpreted as an Angel of Fortune. However, I may never be able to realize Rodin’s true intentions for this specific character. Nonetheless, this entire sculpture is remarkable not only for its size and detail, but also its artistic positioning and the sense of mystery it encapsulates. I truly enjoyed this journey to the Rodin Museum as my first Lawrenceville field trip.

Entry to Hell

According to Greek mythology, Theseus and Pirithuous travel to the underworld in attempt to abduct Persephone. However, their plan fails and they are instead captured as prisoners.
While on a mission to capture Cerberus, Hercules finds them trapped in this underworld, but is only able to save Theseus. In fact, Dante mentions this in Canto IX: “If you remember well, your Cerberus still bears his chin and throat peeled clean for that!” (IX, 98-99) Therefore both Hercules and Theseus have gone to, and escaped from hell.
Furthermore, since Dante bases his visions of hell on Virgil’s Aeneid, we can also assume that Aeneas has gone to, and returned from hell. Of course there are countless other mortals that could have entered hell, including Orpheus and Odysseus.
However, what’s important is not the number of mortals that have entered hell, but the fact that mortals have indeed entered hell. According to Dante, the first gate of hell was forced open by Jesus during his first coming, during his death. However, if the Pilgrim is unable to travel through this second gate, how were the past heroes able to before Jesus opened it?

Cantos 5-7

During Cantos 5-7, Dante continues his journey through the circles of Hell and on the way learn of the relationship between crime and punishment. Travelling through the second, third, fourth, Dante meets the souls of those who have committed sins of Lust, Gluttony, and Avarice. Part of the Seven Deadly Sins, these three sins are categorized into a group of evil thoughts known as Lustful Appetite. In these Cantos, Dante realizes that the crimes a soul commits on earth are determinant of its punishment in the underworld. Those who had lusted for earthly pleasures in life thus suffer the torrential storms that molest their sin-stained souls and the bestial judgment of Minos’ serpentine tail. After passing to the third circle of hell, Dante finds Cerberus guarding the souls of the Gluttonous. Having lived their lives in greed and excess, these souls now dwell in the underworld in the excrement and waste that pours from the sky. Cerberus, like these greedy souls, fights for even the simplest earthly material: mud. Unlike Aeneas’s Sibyl, Dante’s Virgil grabs merely a handful of this excrement filled mud to pacify the ferocious dog. Continuing onwards to the fourth Circle of Hell, Dante discovers the lair of Plutus, the god of wealth. In this circle, the priests, popes and cardinals of Avarice and those that led Prodigal lives of waste are condemned to an eternal competition, pushing weights in shameful song, screaming “Why hoard?” and “Why waste?” It is interesting how Dante, a Catholic, would directly criticize the religious leaders of his own faith for hoarding wealth by condemning to this fifth circle of hell. It makes me question the integrity of his faith. As Canto Seven ends, Dante is left entering the Fifth Circle of Hell to explore the River Styx, its ferryman Phlegyas, and its unfortunate residents of Wrath and Sloth.