T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land (bloom's Modern Cr... -

: He interprets it as a "Romantic crisis poem" that merely pretends to be an exercise in Christian irony.

: Bloom argues that despite its European setting and allusions, the poem is essentially an American self-elegy masking as a mythological romance. T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land (Bloom's Modern Cr...

: Essays delve into Eliot's use of the Fisher King and Grail legends as frameworks for a spiritually barren modern world. : He interprets it as a "Romantic crisis

: Bloom explores Eliot's "agon" or struggle with his literary precursor, Walt Whitman , suggesting that Whitman's elegiac voice haunts the poem's structure. Critical Themes Explored : Bloom explores Eliot's "agon" or struggle with

: Critics in this volume view the poem's non-linear structure as a reflection of the "fragmented modern consciousness" following World War I .

: Some sections examine how Ezra Pound's extensive editing shaped the final version of the poem. The Waste Land: T. S. Eliot, Harold Bloom - Amazon.com