T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land as a Modern Rewriting of Classical Myth

Abstract

T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (1922) stands as a landmark of Modernist poetry, renowned for its fragmentation, intertextuality, and profound cultural critique. Central to its structure and meaning is Eliot’s deliberate engagement with classical myth, particularly Greek and Roman traditions, which he reinterprets to address the disillusionment of the post–World War I generation. This paper examines The Waste Land as a modern rewriting of classical myth, focusing on the transformation of figures such as Tiresias, the Fisher King, and fertility myths rooted in Ovid and Virgil. By drawing upon James Frazer’s The Golden Bough and Jessie Weston’s from Ritual to Romance, Eliot employs myth not merely as ornament but as an organizing principle that lends coherence to a fragmented cultural landscape. Through textual analysis, the study explores how Eliot adapts ancient narratives of death, rebirth, and prophecy into symbols of modern sterility, alienation, and the search for renewal. The poem’s layering of classical and contemporary voices underscores its vision of civilization caught between decay and the possibility of regeneration. Ultimately, this paper argues that Eliot’s use of myth functions as a means of cultural survival, demonstrating how timeless archetypes can be reshaped to articulate modern crises. The study highlights the continued relevance of classical literature in understanding the complexities of twentieth-century modernism.