Exploring The Waste Land
Questions linked from The Waste Land, Part I, line 1


Part I
Line 1

Stylistically compare these two renderings of the opening lines of The Waste Land.

As published:

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.

An alternate rendering:

April is the cruellest month,
Breeding lilacs out of the dead land,
Mixing memory and desire,
Stirring dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm,
Covering earth in forgetful snow,
Feeding a little life with dried tubers.

What is the difference in the meaning of these two renditions? Do you read these passages differently? When you read these passages aloud do you read with a different speed or emphasis? How common would the style of the first rendition be in 1922?


Exploring The Waste Land
File name: qq001.html
File date: Sunday, September 29, 2002
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