“the Fire Sermon”

How does Eliot make the transition from scene to scene?

“The Fire Sermon”

T. S. Eliot transition from scene to scene in “The Fire Sermon” with music. It opens with a river scene. It is cold, dry, and covered with garbage. Dead bodies and memories of war was all that was left behind. There was a lack life, except for rats. He even refers to the river as being broke. “Sweet Thames runs softly till I end my song, Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long.” Ending with “The rattle of the bones and chuckle spread from ear to ear, “which signifies death.

In the next scene has a sexual overtone. In lines 207-214, the speaker makes the suggestions of hotels and a reference to Tereus, who raped Philomela. In lines 215-217 Tiresias begins to speak, who is neither male nor female? Then there is the house clerk who engages in unpleasant acts with a despondent attitude.

Music begins to play, which reminds them of serenity and peace. “river sweats/Oil and tar" and the barges drift...red sail...swing on the heavy spar, "gilded shell/Red and gold.” This music represents the danger. The music takes you to scene with Queen Elizabeth and Leicester love affair and the good time they had together. "gilded shell/Red and gold".

Does there seem to be one speaker or two?

In “The Fire Sermon” it appears to be two speakers, the narrator and Tiresia, a Greek prophet.

How do we make sense of meaning out of the rush words?

“The Waste Land” very hard for me read and understand. The footnotes help to understand who the characters were. But at the same time it left me with more questions than answers. This has been by far one of the hardest assignments to complete. After reading “The Waste Land’’ several times I feel I only have the very basic understanding. It was about death, prostitutions, rape, homosexuality, and it was sad.