The Wasteland(A Game Of Chess)

Question 1

What is the Wasteland a response to?

Answer 1

The Wasteland is a response to the first world war a key part of context

Question 2

What is the 1st part of the Wasteland about

Answer 2

It is about a Cleopatra like figure, surrounded by extravogant items.

Question 3

How would you argue that people were blinded by money

Answer 3

Eliot’s use of listing, displaying a cleopatra like setting, surrounded by extravogance, the “burnished throne” glowing on the “marble”, highlights how we are overwhelmed with the idea of wealth so much that it distorts what is really infront of us. Wealth is displayed as a type of cloud to the mind, highlighted through the “smoke” and bright “flames” displaying how we are blinded by wealth. Furthermore, it is depicted as a type of narcotic that pervades our mind, “synthetic purfume”.
- Surrounded by material objects
- Blinded by the idea of wealth so

Question 4

How is dysfunctional relationships displayed in the first section of Chess.

Answer 4

First we see “Philomel”, the story of Philomel is a greek myth alluding to the violence and ugliness of human relationships.
We also get this idea that the air is clouded by “synthetic purfumes” and “smoke” invoking a setting which is clouded by gas and fog. This could be interpreted as a narcotic pervading the air, displaying how love is hypnotising, something dangerous that should be avoided.

Question 5

In the second part of Chess how are dysfunctional relationships conveyed

Answer 5

In the second part of Chess Eliot presents a breakdown in communication between two individuals, reflecting the psychological and and emotional fragmentation of the post WW1 era. One speaker dominates the scene with rehtorical questions and anxious, suggesting they are not truely having a conversation, but rather speaking into a void. In contrast, the other voice lacks speech marks, appearing as an interior monolouge. This creates a disjointed, one sided interaction that mirrors the collaps of meaningfull conversation in a traumatized society.

Could Also spin this into Isolation/ Alienation in society

• Shortly after the quotation “Those were pearls that were his eyes”, echoes Burrial of The Dead, reflecting the idea of Death. This reflects how relationships aren’t just disjointed but have been completely destroyed post WW1, complete emotional collapse

Question 6

What is the significance of the third part of Chess

Answer 6

It portrays the Misstreatment of women in the patriarchy
- Women were viewed as replacable, “others will” - highlights their lack of voice
- Women were expected to give birth and look amazing “ought to be ashamed… to look so antique”

Question 7

In the final part of the poem what does it mean and what is its significance

Answer 7

The final part echoes Shakespears “Hamlet”, where hamlet rejected Othelia in a cruel and misserable way
In “Hamlet” Othelia drowns herself at the end of the poem, leaving the poem with a dark and melancholy feeling