Death and Regeneration: An Interpretation of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land

Abstract

The world after the First World War was a huge waste land in which human body lost its vitality and the human soul became barren and empty. Confronted with this dual crisis of body and soul, Eliot in his The Waste Land written in 1922 pointed a way out of this human dilemma—Die first. Death is the heart and soul of The Waste Land. The first part discusses the death both of the body and soul. The second part analyzes the regeneration of the body and soul. The third part of the thesis discusses the complex relationship between death and regeneration—death as the beginning of the regeneration or say the precondition of regeneration. No death, no regeneration. And the modern significance of regeneration is also discussed in this part. By discussing the themes of death and regeneration of The Waste Land, this thesis intends to give readers a better understanding of this outstanding poem.  

Key Words: T. S. Eliot; death; regeneration; The Waste Land; deliverance

摘 要

“一战”后的世界如同一巨大的荒原。人的肉体已然失去其原有的生命力，而人的灵魂则处于极度空虚麻木的状态。面对精神与肉体的双重危机，艾略特在他的《荒原》（1922）中给出了自己独特的救世方案：先“死”后“生”。死亡是《荒原》的核心和灵魂，它和“生”熔铸在一起的，彼此无法分开。本文第一部分从肉体与灵魂两方面讨论人的死亡的主题；第二部分从肉体与灵魂两方面讨论人的重生的主题；第三部分则重点讨论作为新生之开端的仪式性死亡以及重生的现代意义。本文希望通过分析《荒原》的“死亡”“重生”主题来帮助大家更好地理解这篇诗歌巨作。

关键词: 艾略特、死亡、复活、荒原、拯救

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