Let’s Get it On

As per usual, the readings share themes we have dealt with all semester. The From Ritual to Romance Chapter closely examines the “’Fertility’ ceremonies” and the dancer which it mentioned previously. The excerpts from Metamorpheses also focuses on fertility through Tiresias, the blnd prophet who experiences both genders, and Philomela, who is herself an embodiment of sex and fertility and represents a rather arid one once she is raped. Jove says, “You women get more pleasure out of love [t]han we women do. I’m sure,” in the beginning of Tiresias, which sets the tone for conversation about sex and legacy.

This is a theme that comes up many times in The Waste Land, in fact it is one of the main themes of the poem. The title signifies that not only is this poem talking about the literal waste land on the battle field, but the waste land is also a symbol for a lost connection in terms of fertility of the land as well as in a reproduction sense. We see the two connect to the Holy Grail stories in the other book, and through the mentions of the Fisher King in the poem.