The Waste Land

T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land," first published in 1922, is a considered his masterpiece. This modernist poem that takes a harsh look at society in the aftermath of World War I through five sections, which employ multiple, shifting speakers and explore themes of trauma, morals, and spiritual death. The poem illustrates this physical and emotional devastation through the use of myriad metaphors and literary devices, ending with a final call for charity, compassion, self-control, and peace.