Symbols in The Waste Land

When the poem was first printed in book form two months after its initial publication in the "Criterion" of October, 1922, the printer needed additional copy to fill a signature; since Eliot had no other poems ready at that time, he submitted the explanatory notes on "The Waste Land" which now fill about five pages in the "Complete Poems and Plays, 1909-1950". The notes have been the focus of much critical effort and comment, and Eliot has since remarked that he regrets having appended them.

One valuable function of the notes, nevertheless, has been to indicate some of the works that most importantly influenced the writing of the poem– among others (as we mentioned) Frazer's "The Golden Bough" and Weston's "From Ritual to Romance," books relevant to much of the basic symbolism used.

In the vegetative rites discussed in both, the figure of the Year-god was thrown into the waters of the Nile (or some other body of water) and later "fished out" (resurrected), symbolizing the rebirth of the life principle in the spring. This ritual also came to be associated with the religious initiation patterns to which primitive people seem to give much more open rec

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Waste Land, Pervigilium Veneris, God Incarnate, Fire Sermon, Madame Sosostris, Section IV, Ritual Romance, Sweeney Porter, Fisher King, Jug Jug, waste land, jug jug, twit twit, positive negative, madame sosostris, fisher king, vegetative rites, section iii fire, negative connotations, mind speaker, fire sermon, positive negative connotations, land madame sosostris, iii fire sermon, section waste land,
Approximate Word count = 2073
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)