The Burial of the Dead Quiz : The first section of The Waste Land, titled “The Burial of the Dead,” describes a world that is spiritually dead and barren, much like a wasteland. It starts with an ironic statement about April being the cruellest month, mixing ideas of rebirth and suffering. The speaker recalls childhood memories of winter, which is presented as a time of forgetfulness and peace. Then, a fortune-teller named Madame Sosostris appears, giving a mysterious tarot card reading that hints at the themes of doom and decay. The section ends with an image of a barren land and a crowd of dead souls walking over London Bridge, symbolizing spiritual emptiness.
Some References in The Burial of the Dead
| Reference | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Opening Lines (The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer) | The contrast between Chaucer’s joyful spring and Eliot’s cruel April shows the decay of modern life. |
| Madame Sosostris (Fortune-Telling and Occultism) | Inspired by A Vision by W. B. Yeats and the Tarot card tradition. |
| “Unreal City” (Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire) | Refers to London as a place of spiritual emptiness. |
| The Tarot Cards | “The drowned Phoenician Sailor” (linked to Shakespeare’s The Tempest). “The Hanged Man” (symbol of sacrifice and renewal). |
| Ezekiel 37 (The Valley of Dry Bones) | Biblical imagery of lifeless bones waiting for spiritual revival. |
| Dante’s Inferno | The crowd of people crossing London Bridge is compared to lost souls in hell. |
The Burial of the Dead Quiz
Previous Quiz : Words Often Confused Quiz : 20 MCQs
1 thought on “The Burial of the Dead Quiz : 15 MCQs”