Waste Land, The (version 3)

The Waste Land is T. S. Eliot's Modernist masterpiece, first published in 1920. Rich in allusions to Shakespeare, Dante, Baudelaire, the Bible, Marvell, Buddha, and the folklore of the Holy Grail, among other sources, the poem emphasizes the fundamental fragmentation and lack of connection that characterizes modern life and relationships. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)