THE POWERFUL USE OF ALLUSION IN T.
S Alana Jackson
ENGL 2027 Sect 8
ELIOT’S,THE WASTE LAND 11/21/2024
TOPIC INTRODUCTION
I wanted to pick this topic
My topic will focus on the because allusions within
use of allusions within The The Waste Land are
Waste Land and how those abundant and I feel as if
allusions help with the there is a reason as to why
conveying the overall there are so many external
meanings and themes of literary references, and how
this epic poem all those references connect
together.
SOURCES
The sources that I am using are T. S Eliot's “The Wasteland”- A Spiritual Pilgrimage
through Allusions by Faiz et al. AND Existential Crisis and Spiritual Struggle in the
Poetry of T.S Eliot’s by Pandya and Mohore
The first source is a study that was done to demonstrate a multitude of things but
moreover they wanted to indicate allusions used in all 5 sections of The Waste Land
and how these allusions were maintained to create an effective message
The second source is a journal done by Pandya and Mohore to demonstrate how The
Waste Land is a journey for a man going through an existential crisis and his spiritual
struggle
The reason as to why I am using these sources is due to their role in supporting my
thesis and also their perspective of the usage of allusions
MY ASSERTION
• My assertion is that the intentional usage
of allusion by T.S Eliot helps to create a
theme that are hard to capture with words
and their impact on, The Waste Land.
These allusions to help create more
meaning and impact within separate
themes, which in turns helps to the overall
connectivity of this classic poem.
OPPOSERS
• Although there is no explicit rebuttal to the use and importance of allusions
within The Waste Land, there are some critiques about the amount used.
• To someone who is not use to allusions, the amount used within The Waste Land
could seem like an overkill
• While this is a valid concern, this stance does not account for the overall
purpose and reasoning behind the abundant use of allusions. It fails to account
for the connective aspect of allusions and their impact on the themes
HOPE TO I hope to gain a more thorough
understanding and appreciation of
GAIN
The Waste Land
I also hope to be aware of the
allusions and their full depth
I know that analyzing literary
devices does seem very daunting, I
do believe that this will not only help
one understand The Waste Land but
also, they may be able to connect
with it more
WORK CITED
• Faiz, Tanzila, et al. “T. S Eliot’s ‘The wasteland’: A spiritual pilgrimage through
allusions.” Voyage Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, 30 Oct. 2023, pp. 178–
196, https://doi.org/10.58622/vjes.v3i4.102.
• Pandya, Dr. Uma, and Dr. Vipin Mahore. “Existential crisis and spiritual struggle in the
poetry of T.S Eliot’s.” International Journal of Advanced Research in Science,
Communication and Technology, vol. 4, no. 4, 17 Apr. 2024, pp. 134–142,
https://doi.org/10.48175/ijarsct-17424.
• Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Michael North. New York:
Norton, 2001.
• Brooks Jr, Cleanth. “The Waste Land: An Analysis.” The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot: A
Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Michael North. New York: Norton. 2001. 258-275.
