A Double Dose of Depression

On The Waste Land

Have you ever been reading something and then realized after a couple of pages in that you don’t know what you’re reading? You have read the words that are on the page and understand what they mean, but all together they just seem like some big tangled mess that is entirely too complicated to understand? That is how I first felt when reading Eliot’s The Waste Land.  Now, when this normally happens I just go back and read it several times and then I understand it, however…this poem was different. I feel as though no matter how many times someone reads this poem, they are always going to feel a bit lost (I do at least). The poem makes me feel sad and angry, although if I’m being honest I am not entirely sure why. For starters, the series of events seems weird and I have no idea how it really all ties together. There is a walk through a park, angry yelling about the loss of a dead brother, an affair, a possible rape, and lastly an odd song that ends in the first line of the nursery rhyme London Bridges.  Don’t get me wrong, when I break it down slowly section by section I understand the bits and pieces, but the overall meaning to me is lost.  If you have any thoughts that may be helpful please share, because right now I feel as confused as Adam in Eve were when Sophia showed up in their post fallen world.

On The Second Coming

This poem is depressing, to say the least. I have never been keen to poetry of this type, but the eeriness of his prediction is kind of scary. I haven’t read a lot of Yeats before but by doing a quick search on poetry foundation it looks like this is one of, if not his most famous piece. I can see why, he was right. Wars take place every day and as Yeats writes “The blood-dimmed tide is loose, and everywhere”. The line that gets to me the most is “The ceremony of innocence is drowned” To me this line is so dark because innocence is something so sweet and precious that can be taken away so quickly. To picture the entire innocence of a world drowned just brings despair to my mind. Although if you think about it, I guess you could say that our current state of world has been drowned of its innocence through terrorist attacks, wars, and every day domestic abuse and violence. Although this topic and poetry is upsetting to read and talk about, it is important because you can’t change anything when you won’t even acknowledge it.

I wouldn’t say that either of these poems are my cup of tea, but I am glad I read them. 

Pun of the week : I wouldn’t say that reading The Waste Land was a waste of time, in fact I could read it a second time. Hahahahah I am not sorry.

P.S I commented on Will and Sophia's