For my final project I did an imitation of The Waste Land. I incorporated elements from T.S. Eliot, Louis Zukofsky, William Carlos Williams, and John Beer. From Zukofsky and Eliot I took formalities including allusions, footnotes, foreign languages, etc. However, similar to William Carlos Williams I would much rather inspire a broken world instead of talk about its imminent doom. Therefore, I incorporated the myth of Inanna, Sumerian goddess of war, love and fertility. Similar to Persephone, Inanna is often interpreted as an explanation for season change.
In the end of T.W.L. the reader has no clear answer as to whether or not rain has come and waste is over. I didn’t want to leave my poem in limbo. I wanted to convey that through love, all prospers. My finals lines are the same as Eliots, “shantih, shantih shantih,” but there is no question on whether that peace is achieved. Then, on top of all that I included direct quotes from the original T.W.L. and all of the imitation poets, which I twist to conform to my overall message.
Enjoy!