Thinking Activity: Waiting For Godot

Hello readers..

Our professor Dr. Heena mem Zala gave a one task on the famous novel Waiting for Godot.so this Blog is the answer of my classroom work. Let's discuss on it. 

So first I gave brief introduction about this novel:-

“Waiting for Godot” is a play by Samuel Beckett. Waiting for Godot is Beckett's translation of his own original French play, “En attendant Godot”, and is subtitled in English only "a tragicomedy in two acts”. The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The premiere was on 5 January 1953 in the Theater de Babylone, Paris. The English language version was premiered in London in 1955. In a poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre in 1990 it was voted the "most significant English language play of the 20th century".

There are only five characters who appeared on the stage sixth one does not appear on stage. The story is whole around of that sixth person who never comes – Godot. Vladimir and Estragon both are waiting for Godot and while waiting they are trying to kill the time by various acts. In play two more characters are Lucky and Pozzo, who are slave and master. They both come on the stage as giving relief to the audience from only seeing Vladimir and Estragon. The fifth character is the Boy, who come on the stage to give news about Godot that he will not come today but tomorrow he will come. This play has been considered as a absurd play with the theme of existentialism.

The play is a typical example of the Theatre of the Absurd, and people use the phrase 'waiting for Godot' to describe a situation where they are waiting for something to happen, but it probably never will. ..The most important example of hidden meanings in the play is Godot, which is similar to God. Godot symbolizes salvation that religion promises but never comes true. Estragon means “tarragon” in French, while Pozzo is Italian for water. Lucky's name suggests the unluckiness of the sufferings.

After this brief introduction I would like to gave answers for questions which is asking by medam:-

1. What do you think about the characters of the play?:-

I find that characters in this novel all are represented nothingness. In there works they do nothing. They waiting for Godot whom they never seen. And one thing is that they speack that they stand and going but they nothing to do like that and sitting there. If we see the main characters 'Estragon and Vladimir, we can see that they are waiting without knowing the purpose they are waiting for. They have no main purpose about thier life and thier existence. If i talk about other characters that pozzo And lucky they represent The idea of slavery. How his master treat like him as animal. It is show that they have no feelings. They don't care for anybody. But one thing is important that both main characters hsve trust on each other and its good thing. But thier this type of Waiting and this type of some absurd activities make them absurd characters in novel.

2.What do you say about their activities and its significance?

Both Estragon and Vladimir are essentially Everymen, representing all of humanity, but they also contrast in some ways. Estragon is primarily concerned with feelings, particularly his own suffering, rather than intellectual thoughts, and he has trouble understanding much of Vladimir's logic and philosophy.

I find that Estragon struggles with his boot and this activity has no anykind of purpose. And there is no any kind of perspective we get in their activities.The repetitiveness of the play is best illustrated by Estragon's repeated requests to leave, which are followed each time by Vladimir telling him that they cannot leave because they are waiting for Godot. We see that same actions occur over and over again and suggests that these actions happen more times than the play presents. 

3. Is there any similarity between the situations in the play and the lockdown period of 2020?

 I find similarities between both play and period. In this play we find theme of absurdity. And in real life I also feel like absurd just because of pandamic situation. Just because of this pandamic we not allowe to go out from our home. All people stop their work and other working source. Nobody has anykind of income source to earn money. All the things was stop like if we compare that is with characters of the play that they said that leave the place but don't do that same we also faced this type of condition. We want to come out but we do nothing. We waiting for  the normal situation and the time that when all things became noraml and we live life as we live ago but we have no idea what this happned. And same thing in this play valdimir and Estrogen waiting for Godot without any kind of purpose.

4. Did you feel like existential crisis?

Yes,I felt existential crisis during Lockdown.

I felt that I lose my excitence because there is no meaning i find in my life. But I learnt many things from this situation that people are arounding us is more important than any kind of others things. I feel that to live a better life all the things are important like health, money, relationship. We are human beings so we need to all the things to live a safe life. I was very afraid of losing my friend.

5)What did you do to pass time?

One side that I enjoyed this time because I have spending more time with my family. Beacuse I stay in rural area so I went to town for study so I am spending five years in hostel so after five year I spend minium one year with my family. I don't like to see movies but in that time I saw lot's of movies and webseries. And specially I learnt cooking very well. I spending one hour with my grandfather beacuse he is very knowledgeable person so he tell me one story daily. Some of way it's enjoyble period of my life.

6) How was your psychological condition?

In starting I enjoyed the all things. But we know that  situation take a long time to recover. So at home I get boreing because I can't meet my friends. And I felt that there is no any meanig of my life. And I was too irritated from this pandamic situation. I realised that I was totally disturb and I feel that this time also  repet again. And not also me but all people facing same because no one have like to stay at home 24 hour.

Thank you....

Wasteland by T.S.Eliot

Hello readers...

This blog is the part of my classroom thinking activity which Is given by Dr.Dilip sir. In this blog I talk about on' The Waste Land' is the masterpiece of T.S.Eliot. And as per my understanding I try to give answers which is mentioned here.

About poem:-

  'The Waste Land' is the masterpiece of T.S.Eliot. Eliot describes rotten state of human life in 20th century. The waste Land is the land where is nothing can be grown. The waste land is the Land of fertile, fruitless, and hollowness of human Beings in Modern age.  The Waste Land first appeared in the United Kingdom in the October issue of Eliot's " The Criterion " and in the United States in the November issue of " The Dial."

we all know that the poem ' Modern Epic ' divided into five parts. Each part is juxtaposes fragments of various aspects and it is just like episodic events which seems like 'Story within Story.' 

Central theme of the poem:-

In the poem we find many themes like:-

1)Death

2)Rebirth

3)The Seasons

4)Lust

5)Love 

6)Water

7)History

I find that The poem is based on the major theme of " Sexual Perversion and spiritual degradation." Eliot's wasteland resembles myths to show that how in modern wasteland even this kind of sin is committed by the people, and how people have lost faith in spirituality.

1) What are your views on the following image after reading 'The Waste Land'? Do you think that Eliot is regressive as compared to Nietzche's views? or Has Eliot achieved universality of thought by recalling mytho-historical answer to the contemporary malaise?

Frederic Nietzsche was a German philosopher who gave the term ' Übermensch', which means superhuman, a human being with remarkable abilities. Eliot is regressive as compared to Nietzsche, he have used many myth in his poem waste land, there is nothing wrong in being regressive because people learns from past. If people have done something wrong in past they can recover or learns not to repeat same thing in present. Eliot gave example of myth in the context of present.Nietzsche believe in human power as 'superman', he is not believe in supernatural things and tradition, for him The God is dead and he says that man can survive and make better future himself.Through the mythical views like Upnishada ,logic, supernatural power and various cultures, Eliot wants to evoke the people that past is very good lesson to make better future, people can learn through past and from supernatural things.

I gave first priority to Eliot's view. Because it's considered more realistic than Nietzsche.Nietzsche gave priority to future and other side Eliot gave priority to past.

22) What are your views regarding these comments Is it true that giving free vent to the repressed 'primitive instinct' lead us to happy and satisfied life? or do you agree with Eliot's view that 'salvation of man lies in the preservation of the cultural tradition'?' 

Frued is believed in individuality and talk about "primitive instinct" where as Eliot believed in preservation of cultural traditions which means all together. 

Frued was wrote that for progress of any individual primitive instinct was needed but in order to preserve tradition Eliot says that their is need for to grew together, for that example of Buddha was perhaps suitable. 

 If we look both side and think that  Eliot has powerful ideas rather than Sigmund Freud Another thing is that We all are lives our lives with specific perspective, with discipline and with moral rituals. Although life became more appropriate and enjoyable. Thus here i don't agree with idea of Freud.We are human beings and we all have desires but it's take right place when it's depending on our happiness. So it is true that giving free vent to the repressed 'primitive instinct' lead us to happy and satisfied life. In this context I would like to support the frued's statement. 

3) Write about allusions to the Indian thoughts in 'The Waste Land'. (Where, How and Why are the Indian thoughts referred?)

There are many reference to Indian spirituality in “The wasteland”. Some of them are here.

1) River Ganga and Himalaya:-

River Ganga is known for its purity and also for purification. While Himalaya is known for spirituality and peace. In poem we find that  Eliot finds the solution of all contemporary problems in spirituality. That is the reason he referrers Ganga and Himalaya here.

Ganga was sunken, and the limps leaves

waited for rain, while the black clouds

gathered far distant, over Himvant

The jungle crouched, humped in silence."\

2)Three Da:-

Eliot gives three 'Da':-

1)Datta(be a giver)- to give not only charity but giving oneself for some noble cause.

2) Dayadhvam(Empathize)- Sympathies yourself with the sorrows and suffering of others, come out of your isolation and love into others.

3)Damyata(self control)- Self control, control over one's passion and desire.

3)Shantih mantra:-

The poem complete with the word " Shantih." He used the word in the context of the peace of the world. here we can say that Indian thoughts about peace in every universal things.This can be considered as universal human law.

Thank you....

Morden Poems

Hello readers...

In this blog we try to analysis some of Modern poems. I try to find to the imageries and symbol in these all poems.

Let's first we see what is Modernism?

Modernism was a cultural movement of the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. It changed art, literature, music, architecture and drama. Modernism rejected tradition. It was interested in new ways of doing old things. Also, there was a belief that science and technology could change the world for the better. It refers to a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. ... Modernism has also been driven by various social and political agendas.

 Let's throw some light on characteristics:-

1)Individualism:-In Modernist literature, the individual is more interesting than society. ... 

2)Experimentation:-Modernist writers broke free of old forms and techniques. ... 

3)Absurdity:- The carnage of two World Wars profoundly affected writers of the period. ... 

4)Symbolism

5)Formalism

6)MAKE IT NEW- is the Modernist slogan

7) Frustration

8) Fragmentation

9) Isolation

10) Brokenness

11) Nothingness

 Now let's we analysis the poems:-

1) 'The Embankment'- T.E.Hulme:-

The Embankment" is one of the best known poem. This poem has completed into 7 lines. According to my point of view In this poem has may be central thought is lust and falling of man. How any types of lust leads man towards the decayed. This types of addiction became man's life completely weak and dull. So that this types hopeless people prays to god for shelter. It means that here arise question of existence.  In this poem I find symbol like poet as hopeless people in poem. In it we find that gold heels symbolises the ambition.

2)Image " by Edward Storer:-

Forsaken lovers,

       Burning to a chaste white moon

       Upon strange Pyres of loneliness and

       drought.

This poem has completed into only 3 Lines also.According to my point of view in the short poem seems like as an image. We can't bind in one certain idea about any Image. but here may be the Image of Sorrowful condition and everything looks like varnished. I can imagine that situation is became like as land of desert with full moon light. There are somebody on pyre and due to the lake of love and everyone certainly has payed the price. In this we find Symbols like moon and pyre that moon shows the  land of Desert with full moon and pyre refers the bad happening, Death,

Drought,Loneliness.

3)Darkness" by Joseph Campbell:-

Darkness

        I stop to watch a star shine

        in the boghole -

        A star no longer, but a silver

         ribbon of light.

        I look at it and pass on.

Campbell was an Irish poet writing  a similar kind of poetry to Hulme at around same time. Poetry doesn't come much more understated than this. This poem has completed into only 4 lines. According to my point of view I get some thing from title. Darkness also connected with death and something happening bad. Here I can say that Speaker will feel depression. As a part of depression Speaker face mental illness so that speaker don't like to see shining of stars but likes to see light. So that I have to say that this sky may be gives the feeling of boghole.  in it we find Symbols like darkness which represent depression, death, negativity also.Other symbol is that silver ribbon which presents mental illness.

4) "In a station of the Metro" - Ezra Pound:-

In this poem we find poet itself gives an image of the mechanism of life. The lifeless people going for the daily routine. The crowd of people are like living dead. Going for work without any enthusiasm. 'Petals' is used as metaphor for people and 'black bough' for a culture of living dead.

5) 'The Pool' - Hilda Doolittle:-

H.D. was one of the main practitioners of imagine, the short-lived poetic movement which pound founded in 1912. " The Pool" is one of H.D.'s finest short poems about coming face-to-face with her reflation in the waters of rock-pool.

Here I interpret that speaker has visited the river and pool. Pool is symbolically used for joined two shore of the river and rottenness . River is interpret something discovery because later on he finds something. This poem has completed into 5 lines only.

6) " Morning at the Window" by T.S.Eliot:-

This poem written in London, Shortly after the outbreak WWI. In the poem context that may be lurk behind the poem's dark, Oppressive images of everyday life. It is an rhymed poem According to my opinion Speaker watched terrible sight out side from the window at early morning. He saw poor condition of his country and people Who lived on the pavement. They had not even enough food for eating and another side children played in mud. They have not good clothe. This poem has completed into 9 lines. We find Symbols like Basement,Trampled, edges ,Damp Soul, Twisted faces ,Muddy Skirts ,An Aimless Smile.

7) " The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams:-

I find some difficulty to understand this poem.This poem is best example of Imagination and metaphor. " The Red Wheelbarrow " Which used in farming and for transferring something. Here poet try to used rural imagery. Here In the poem bird of White chicken comes near for look beauty of wheelbarrow. This poem has completed into 8 lines. in this I find Symbols like Red Wheelbarrow and White Chicken.

 8)" l " by E.E.Cummings:-

I like this poem It is very short and significant.This poem appeared in 1958 in Cummings' collection 95 poems, so it's really a late modernist work. Although it's nine line long, it's only contains four words - cleverly arranged so that 'a leaf falls' appears parenthetically within the word ' loneliness'. It was creative poem with imagination. In the poem few lines but it's gives the feeling of loneliness. It's good idea about one single leaf fall on the ground which make poem very interesting. in this I find Symbols like leaf as loneliness.

9) " Anecdote of the jar " by Wallace Stevens:-

This poem First time published in 1919. It was one of the best Steven's best-known Short poems. It appeared in his first volume off  poems and has been baffling critics and readers. This poem has been completed into 12 lines. Here  poet has good imagination. I think poet puts Jar on the hill. It was represented progress and beauty of nature.

In this ony symbol is that brush presents recreation and wilderness.

10) " Insouciance " by Richard Aldington:-

In and out of the dreary trenches

Trudging cheerily under the stars

I make for myself little poems

Delicate as a flock of doves

They fly away like whitewinged

Doves.

Aldington and H.D. were husband and wife in the 1910-1920." Insouciance" is about writing poems in trenches. Aldington, like many men of his generation, saw action at the at the Western front during WWI. I think it is poem of soldier because they lives without fear of death. Title of the also suggest that thing but in the dreary trenches soldiers are might feel boring. Here used metaphor of doves as a death because one day we all gone as white winged doves. This poem has completed into 5 lines only. In it we find Imagination and metaphor  Dreary Trenches, Flock of Doves, White winged dove.

Word count:-1249

Study frames of Charlie Chaplin's Films The Modern Times and The Great Dictator

In this blog I would like to talk about the two famous movies by Charlie Chaplin. In this blog I take some frames From this Both movies. As a students of literature it is important to learn about film studies. Yes,I know that movies are for watching and entertaining but it is also part of the study. And I would like thanks to Dr.Dilip Barad sir that to aware us from this skill. And first time I see the movies as a study view because always I see movie as part of entartainment. And yes it's really greatful thing for me.

So, let's throw some light on Charli Chaplin sir.

Charlie Chaplin:-

Born :-16 April 1889

Died: 25 December 1977

When we hear this name in our mind we see a man with black clothes , with his hat and his stick and also a little mustache. We always become happy when we see this men and his walk.

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin KBE was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, The Tramp, and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry.

Let's see first movie:-

Modern Times:-

Frame study:-

Modern Times is a 1936 American silent comedy film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin in which his iconic Little Tramp character struggles to survive in the modern, industrialized world. It is notable for being the last time that Chaplin portrayed the Tramp character and for being the first time Chaplin's voice is heard on film. This movie is related with  the development of individualism,technological,political and indusrtialism.

Here , in  this frame we can see that Charli Chaplin reflect the morden times. It reflects that machines came and took place of humans and people working like machines whole day.

in this I understand that how's the situation of that time. After the invention of machines people became unemployed. And also that they became like sheep that sheep has no idea about  direction they follow only their masters. And in it we see that people also became like that they have no thier own idea only follow their masters instructions.

in this frame we can see that how his master treat their workers. He whole day keep eyes on thier employes by camera system.when Charlie went for to became fresh than his masters Says that went return  to work. He He was ask his worker to fast speed in all mashine and use own power in that work.

In this we see that how they invest their self in thier work. How the machines are control them. Doing the work he fall into machine but he smiles and not a worry about their life.

In this video clip you can see that when it is the time of lunch that all machines stop but after the stoping work his body moving like he was still working. So I understand that how Machines are control the people. They working 12 hour on clock time so it's also effect on thier  body.

Doing the work in whole day it's creat effects on his mind so he tamparing the machines and run back to the people so he arrested by Police. But after left the police station here is arrived at hospital. But without a job he decided to start a new life. When he left the hospital doctor said that "Take it easy and avoid excitement."

 In this frame we can see that Charli had a bad luck. That he had no idea about things. He don't know that he kept a flag which considered that he was the group leader of unemployment, he took the flag for helping them but police arrested him.

 Here we find that the one female character.she has two little sisters and unemployed father. Here we find the  reflections of that times industrialization. She stole a banana for  her family and they happily eat the bananas. In our time also we find that being unemployed they take a wrong way to earn money.

This frame is very significant that because of an unemployment people commited suicide that time. And also We see the same situation this time also. We can see that girl father died in this frame so government taken a charges of that orphan girls but the elder girl run away from the Office.

As we see further Frame that she have to stolen because of her family. So she again stole the loaf of bread. But unfortunately she caught by one lady but Charlie take her crime on own self. later, they both are arrested by police. They escape from the police jeep.

Here we can see that they take e rest under the  tree and imagine the wonderful littel house. They both have a wish to brought their own house. Here we find that they both really enjoyed the dream which they seen.  They decided to brought thier own house as soon as.

When Charlie was at police station. By mistake he done well work so he get some luxuries in jail. So when officers said to him now he became free But he said that he was happy there. so that's things are going to think that became an unmployed people was happy to live a life in jail.

 in this last frame I understand that after the lot's of suffering girl asked very significant question that 'what's the use of trying? They both tries to solve thier problems and Live better life but again they get nothing. So Charli gave him courage and said that keep a smile.. let's we start a new beginning.

So in this movie we get a lot's of frames as symbol. Charlie reflect that how Machines control the human beings at that time as well as reflected contemporary situation.

The Great Dictator :-

Brief about movie:-

The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, scored by, and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. This movie is based on Jewish barber loses his memory after a plane crash. When he finally tries to make sense of his surroundings, he finds himself subjected to a dictator's tyranny.

Frames:-

this is the time of war. In it we can see a big weapon. A barber who is jew to control this machine. We can see how it is huge machine and how it's harmful for human. But one thing is that if we have no knowledge how works it is also harmful for owner. Than I understand that if we have not a proper knowledge for things and anything that we should not do that.

In this we find one character also. He was the dictator. He want to become like Hitler. He want to control the people and won the world through his power. We can see that how he used his power on people.when he gave a speech he talk about them and other side you control them. When people cheering for him than his raised hand was show that his power.

We also find this situation in our present time that our politician do that. This is the time of democracy though they try to control the peoples by his power.

See  this frame I selected this because you show the power of his hand. Just for two minutes he came and the painter and Sculptor did their work. So it's show that how he control the lowe class peoples.

When I see this scene in movie in my mind I was laughing that because it is relevant also in today's time. In this frame dictator to scatter one children but not for happy mind it's for show off. We can see that camera man capture the pictures. And other side we look in our situation our politician also make show off and try to trap the people in their sweet testimony.

In this frame after the giving of the children to her mother back he to lure his hand through their handkerchief. This show that for the only show off he did the all the things.

See in this frame I find that how he was happy to see this balloon of world  and he thought that he control the world from his power and position. But after the few minutes baloon erupt the ballon and he became sad. So I understand that power and position have their some limits. If you became greedy and try to get more power more than your capisity it's harmful for ourselves.

After the  plane crash barber lost his memory. He again came back and start the barbering. But in the power of dictator lower class peoples face lot's of suffering.we can see in this frame officers wrote jew on the door. And if people try to fight against them they treat them and try to bit him.

In this frame we also see that how officers are to tease the peoples.when this lady speak against them they throw the things which was in the thier hands. so we understand that how they used their power in wrong way. In our present situation it's not happened. But because of democracy sometimes people throw the stones on polices.

This frame show that how the people are under control of the dictator. It's show that their is no value of other lower officers in front of officers who is the on highest position.

This frame is also relevant with our present situation. King of others countries came and warmly welcomed there but something happened that they fought while eating. So that the same situation in our time that our leaders went other countries and their others came here but in inner side they are enemy. No doubt that it's good that our politician leader have a positive thinking behind do this but there is lots of others things we not ignore that it is only for show off.

This is the last frame which I find. In this I find very significant speech by Charli Chaplin. By mistake but it is given by Barber not by Hynkel.In it he said that everyone has Right of freedom. Humanity is important than power, here I'm talking about which power through one can harm other not do good things. Here this speech is apply on t all human beings. He talk about the power and position which used by some wrong person. That's why it is correct that to use your power and position in right way and for people not for you.

Thank you....

The Waste Land - T.S.Eliot

This is the blog about the presentation on the overview of " The Waste Land".

Introduction:-

The waste land is one of the most popular poems of the 20th century. It is written by T.S. Eliot. It has been saluted as Eliot’s masterpiece the supreme power of the poetic art in modern times. It is a poem written in the epic mold. It presents messages for our turbulent times. 

T. S. Eliot:-

The poem 'The Waste Land' is written by Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965) was an American-born British poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. 

                       He has won the Nobel prize for literature in the year of 1948. With the publication in 1922 of his poem The Waste Land, Eliot won an international reputation. The Waste Land expresses with great power the disenchantment, disillusionment, and disgust of the period after World War I. The poem’s original manuscript of about 800 lines was cut down to 434 at the suggestion of Ezra Pound. The Waste Land is not Eliot’s greatest poem, though it is his most famous. Nevertheless, Eliot was unequaled by any other 20th-century poet in the ways in which he commanded the attention of his audience.

Notable works : 

✍️ "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915)

✍️ The Waste Land (1922)

✍️ Four Quartets (1943)

✍️ Murder in the Cathedral (1935)

About poem:-

The Waste Land poem is widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. ( Valentine Low ) In this poem we can find that the hundreds of allusions and quotations from other texts that Eliot peppered throughout the poem. In addition to the many "highbrow" references and quotes from poets like Baudelaire, Shakespeare, Ovid, and Homer, as well as Wagner's libretti, Eliot also included several references to "lowbrow" genres.

In poem we find 434 lines.

The five parts of The Waste Land are entitled:

1 ) The Burial of the dead

 

2) A Game of Chess

 

3) The fire sermon

 

4) Death by water

 

5) What the thunder said 

Part I opens with the famous line, "April is the cruellest month." The speaker, Marie, is a young woman who bears witness to the physical and emotional devastation caused by the war.

Parts II and III describe the inside of a wealthy woman's bedroom and the garbage-filled waters of the Thames, respectively. Part IV eulogizes a drowned man named Phlebas.

In the fifth and final part of the poem, the speaker "translates" the thunderclaps cracking over an Indian jungle. The poem ends with the repetition of the Sanskrit word for peace: "Shantih shantih shantih."

Title:-

The title Eliot chose was The Waste Land. In his first note to the poem he attributes the title to Jessie Weston's book on the Grail legend, From Ritual to Romance. 

          The poem's title is often mistakenly given as "Waste Land" (as used by Weston) or "Wasteland", omitting the definite article. However, in a letter to Ezra Pound, Eliot politely insisted that the title was three words beginning with "The".

Character list:-

1)Fisher King :

           In Arthurian legend, the Fisher King, also known as the Wounded King or Maimed King, is the last in a long bloodline charged with keeping the Holy Grail.

2)Madame Sosostris :

          Madame Sosostris figure is a reference to Miss Jessie Weston’s book. 

3)Phlebas :

           Describes a man, Phlebas the Phoenician, who has died, apparently by drowning.

4)Mr. Eugenides :

          Mr. Eugenides is a Smyrna merchant.

5)Philomela :

            Philomela or Philomel is a minor figure in Greek mythology.She is identified as being the "princess of Athens" and the younger of two daughters of Pandion I, King of Athens, and Zeuxippe. 

6)The Narrator :

          At times the Narrator seems to be Eliot himself; at other times he stands in for all humanity. In "The Fire Sermon" he is at one point the Fisher King of the Grail legend, at another the blind prophet Tiresias. When he seems to reflect Eliot, the extent to which his ruminations are autobiographical is ambiguous.

7)Stetson :

         A friend of the Narrator's, who fought in the war with him.

8)The Rich Lady:

       Never referred to by name, she sits in the resplendent drawing room of "A Game of Chess."

9)Typist :

         Lonely, a creature of the modern world. She is visited by a "young man carbuncular," who sleeps with her.

 

There are so many themes in poem:-

Themes:-

1) The seasons

2) Sex

3) Memory and the past

4) Water

5) Rebirth

6) Religion

7) History

8) Lust

9) Isolation

10) Appearances

1)The Seasons:-The Waste Land opens with an invocation of April, the cruellest month. That spring be depicted as cruel is a curious choice on Eliot’s part, but as a paradox it informs the rest of the poem to a great degree. What brings life brings also death; the seasons fluctuate, spinning from one state to another, but, like history, they maintain some sort of stasis; not everything changes.

2)Sex:-

In "The Waste Land," the status of sex is pretty much a measuring stick for how morally demolished society is. On several occasions, when it comes time for Eliot to show how truly low we've all fallen, he points toward sex—and not just sex, but the separation of sex from love.

3) Memory and the past:-

There's just no getting away from the past in "The Waste Land," but Eliot's biggest criticism of modern society is that it has gotten too far away from the past. Throughout this poem, you encounter a lot of personal memories; but for Eliot, these aren't nearly as important as the "cultural memory" he's trying to preserve in this poem.

4)Water:-

"The Waste Land" lacks water water promises rebirth. At the same time, however, water can bring about death. Eliot sees the card of the drowned Phoenician sailor and later titles the fourth section of his poem after Madame Sosostris‟ mandate that he fear “death by water.” When the rain finally arrives at the close of the poem, it does suggest the cleansing of sins, the washing away of misdeeds, and the start of a new future; however, with it comes thunder, and therefore perhaps lightning.

5)Rebirth:-

The Christ images in the poem, along with the many other religious metaphors, posit rebirth and resurrection as central themes. The Waste Land lies fallow and the Fisher King is impotent; what is needed is a new beginning. Water, for one, can bring about that rebirth, but it can also destroy.

6)Religion:-

For Eliot, one of the single greatest causes of Western civilization becoming "The Waste Land" is the fact that religion doesn't really have the influence it once did. In the old days, people didn't have to worry so much about questions like "Why am I here?" or "What's the meaning of life," because religion already had answers for these questions.

7)History:-

 History, Eliot suggests, is a repeating cycle. When he calls to Stetson, the Punic War stands in for World War I; this substitution is crucial because it is shocking. At the time Eliot wrote "The Waste Land," the First World War was definitively a first - the "Great War" for those who had witnessed it. There had been none to compare with it in history.

8)Lust:-

Perhaps the most famous episode in "The Waste Land" involves a female typist’s liaison with a carbuncula man. Eliot depicts the scene as something akin to a rape. This chance sexual encounter carries with it mythological baggage – the violated Philomela, the blind Tiresias who lived for a time as a woman. Sexuality runs through "The Waste Land," taking center stage as a cause of calamity in “The Fire Sermon.”

9)Isolation:-

Question: Hey Eliot, what's so wrong with the modern world?

Eliot's answer: Everyone is way too selfish.

Question: So what?

Eliot's answer: Well, haven't you ever wondered why you're so lonely? That's why.

In "The Waste Land," the great despair of modern existence doesn't just come from a sense of meaninglessness, but from a very deep loneliness. This loneliness, in turn, is something Eliot thinks we create for ourselves by constantly pursuing our own selfish interests. It's pretty simple: you can't spend your whole life trying to beat the people around you, then turn around and complain about being lonely. 

10) Apperance:-

Simply put, there are some pretty unattractive characters walking around "The Waste Land." The worst of all might be the two-thousand-year-old Tiresias, with his wrinkled dugs but the pimply-faced young man carbuncular might give the prophet a run for his money in the Ugliest Eliot Character pagean.

Symbols:-

Thank you...