I’ve read “The Wasteland” before, and I still have no idea what’s going on. But I think that's part of the point. The wasteland of the poem is not just a literal rocky desert (though Eliot does talk about that in part 5), but the wasteland of London and the people who live there. Some of the themes and stories Eliot recounts in the poem include death, hopelessness, and a general sense that people don’t really care anymore. Take the women from part 3 for example. After her lover comes and goes, she just says “‘Well now that’s done’” (13) and puts on some music. The wasteland Eliot is describing here is one of barren emotions. According to Eliot, people just don’t get life anymore. I think that’s one of the reasons the poem is so hard to understand.
I don’t really have much else to say, but one stylistic point caught my eye. On page 9 (from the edition that was in the bookstore), Eliot has a little passage about hearing the wind and nothing. There are three words on this page set off in their own lines, but I’m only going to talk about the first two. These two words read “Do...Nothing” (9). There are plenty of other lines with single words that don’t spell out anything comprehendable, so this may just be a coincidence. I just thought it was interesting.
P.S. I commented on Drew’s and Caroline’s poss.
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