The Waste Land: An Existentialist Analysis of Death, Time, and Absurdity

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the existentialist perspectives of Heidegger, Camus, Sartre, and others, as well as the concepts of 'being-towards-death', temporality, and the absurdity in 'The Waste Land', as well as the path to transcend it. Through analyzing the narrator hidden between the fragmented characters in the poem, as well as the narrator's spokesperson Tiresias, it can be seen that 'The Waste Land' regards death as a prerequisite for existence, and the two are inseparable in the poem. By examining the time concepts and historical references in the poem, it can be seen that the poet distinguishes between the past, present, and future, making people aware of the influence of temporality on existence. Through analyzing the two pairs of paradoxes of 'desire and desolation' and 'propriety and impropriety' in the poem, it can be seen that Eliot's attitude towards the absurd is to recognize and utilize it to achieve poetic expression. By exploring the meaning of existence in the meaningless absurdity of 'The Waste Land', it can be seen that Eliot is disappointed with reality rather than hopeless, and believes that in a wasteland-like modern society, people can still find the 'way up' for self-redemption.