Exploring The Waste Land
Questions linked from The Waste Land, Part II, line 96


Part II
Line 96

In The Waste Land Eliot wrote:

96)  In which sad light a carved dolphin swam.

What makes the light sad? Did this come from his description of the room? Or by saying the light was sad is he adding to the room's description? What mood is Eliot setting up and why?

On this line we have a dolphin that should be swimming but it is made of stone. What is the symbolism of water as used in The Waste Land? Noting that the dolphin has been used as a symbol of love what connections can we make? Is there a reason why the "sad light" phrase is so close to the use of the dolphin or is it coincidental?

The long deleted section of Part IV Death by Water had a mention of a porpoise. What was the purpose of this porpoise? Was the porpoise purple?


Exploring The Waste Land
File name: qq096.html
File date: Sunday, September 29, 2002
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