Wendy Cope’s “Wasteland Limericks” offers a delightfully irreverent take on T.S. Eliot’s notoriously dense and challenging poem, The Wasteland. This witty and concise response, comprised of just five limericks, manages to capture the essence of Eliot’s work while simultaneously poking fun at its highbrow style and complex allusions. This article delves into Cope’s clever deconstruction, exploring how she uses humor and simple language to disarm Eliot’s modernist masterpiece.
Contents
A Limerick for Each Section
Cope’s strategy is simple yet effective: she dedicates one limerick to each of the five sections of The Wasteland. This structure allows her to systematically address the key themes and imagery of each part, highlighting their absurdity through the lens of the limerick form.
I. The Burial of the Dead: From Despair to Drollery
Cope’s first limerick transforms the bleak opening of The Wasteland into something surprisingly lighthearted:
“In April one seldom feels cheerful;
Dry stones, sun and dust make me fearful;
Clairvoyantes distress me,
Commuters depress me—
Met Stetson and gave him an earful.”
The opening line, “In April one seldom feels cheerful,” directly contrasts with Eliot’s famous line, “April is the cruellest month,” instantly shifting the tone from despair to drollery. The anxieties evoked by Madame Sosostris and the throngs of London commuters are similarly deflated, culminating in the humorous encounter with Stetson.
II. A Game of Chess: Trivializing the Grandiose
The second limerick targets the opulent yet unsettling imagery of “A Game of Chess”:
“She sat on a mighty fine chair,
Sparks flew as she tidied her hair;
She asks many questions,
I make few suggestions—
Bad as Albert and Lil—what a pair!”
Cope’s use of colloquial language, such as “mighty fine chair,” undercuts the grandeur of Eliot’s descriptions. The fragmented conversation, filled with both superficiality and underlying tension, is reduced to a simple observation about a troublesome couple.
III. The Fire Sermon: Concise and Comical
Cope tackles the complex allusions and fragmented narratives of “The Fire Sermon” with remarkable brevity:
“The Thames runs, bones rattle, rats creep;
Tiresias fancies a peep—
A typist is laid,
A record is played—
Wei la la. After this it gets deep.”
The contrasting imagery of the Thames, bones, and rats is presented in a quick succession of short phrases, highlighting the poem’s disjointed nature. The flippant tone of “Tiresias fancies a peep” further diminishes the seriousness of Eliot’s portrayal of the mythical prophet.
IV. Death by Water: From Tragedy to Triviality
Cope’s treatment of “Death by Water” is particularly striking, given the original section’s brevity:
“A Phoenician named Phlebas forgot
About birds and his business—the lot,
Which is no surprise,
Since he’d met his demise
And been left in the ocean to rot.”
The tragic fate of Phlebas is rendered almost comical by Cope’s matter-of-fact language and the concluding image of rotting in the ocean.
V. What the Thunder Said: A Shower of Quotes
The final limerick addresses the culminating section of The Wasteland, “What the Thunder Said”:
“No water. Dry rocks and dry throats,
Then thunder, a shower of quotes
From the Sanskrit and Dante.
Da. Damyata. Shantih.
I hope you’ll make sense of the notes.”
Cope’s description of Eliot’s use of quotations as “a shower of quotes” is both accurate and amusing. The inclusion of the Sanskrit words “Da. Damyata. Shantih” followed by the ironic “I hope you’ll make sense of the notes” perfectly captures the bewilderment many readers feel when confronted with Eliot’s erudite allusions.
A Lighthearted Look at a Literary Landmark
Wendy Cope’s “Wasteland Limericks” offers a refreshing and accessible entry point into T.S. Eliot’s challenging work. By using humor and simple language, she demystifies the poem and invites readers to engage with it in a new and lighthearted way. While not diminishing the importance of The Wasteland, Cope’s limericks offer a valuable reminder that even the most serious literary works can be approached with a sense of playfulness and wit.