The Waste Land

First published in 1922, ‘The Waste Land’ is a poem by T.S. Eliot, a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic, and editor. Deemed one of the 20th century's major poets, he is a prominent figure in English-language Modernist poetry. This five-part poem is a portrayal of its time, a work that describes the disillusionment of the modernist era and the anguish that the era of writers of that time were handling. It comes from the place just after the First World War, a period in which the world was in chaos. Many young men had lost their lives or livelihoods from the warfare, households were ripped apart, and the survivors lacked purpose and will about how to move forward. Its imagery of disarray and disillusionment together create an impactful and insightful work of art.