THE WASTE LAND (Eliot)

By the end of this unit, students will be able to: place T. S. Eliot within the overall context of the history and development of literature in the English language; place the two poems within the context of Eliot’s career; develop a logical, meaningful interpretation of both poems and offer evidence from the poems to support that reading; recognize and define dramatic monologue, stream-of-consciousness, free verse, allusion, motif, alliteration, assonance, consonance, internal and end rhyme; identify elements in both poems that can be characterized as "modern"; develop an understanding of Eliot’s philosophy of life, as shown in both poems; list major traits of the main characters in the poems; provide informed speculation as to the original audience for the poems and the effects the poems may have had on that audience; identify and understand the historical context for Eliot and his poetry; and locate and understand the major allusions in the poems. 64 pages ©2003.