Tempest

Chapter 9. "Tempest"
In this section of The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot depicts a scene of decay and disillusionment along a canal, where a rat drags its slimy belly on the bank, evoking a sense of filth and desolation. The speaker reflects on themes of death and loss, recalling the demise of a king and his father, while skeletal remains lie undisturbed, their silence broken only by the occasional patter of the rat's feet. The harshness of this imagery is juxtaposed with fleeting sounds of horns and motors, symbolizing modern life's intrusion into a decayed past. References to characters like Sweeney and Mrs. Porter further highlight the vulgarity and moral decline of the present, while bird calls ("Twit twit twit" and "Jug jug jug") evoke a sense of primal, almost mocking repetition, adding to the atmosphere of degradation and fragmentation.
The Waste Land
Produced by Kenneth Marshall
Poetry by T.S. Eliot
Music Inspired by Sun Kil Moon ‪@caldoverderecords‬
Produced with A.I. using Udio Music ‪@udio_music‬
x.com/kenrmarshall
A rat crept softly through the vegetation
Dragging its slimy belly on the bank
While I was fishing in the dull canal
On a winter evening round behind the gashouse
Musing upon the king my brother’s wreck
And on the king my father’s death before him.
White bodies naked on the low damp ground
And bones cast in a little low dry garret,
Rattled by the rat’s foot only, year to year.
But at my back from time to time I hear
The sound of horns and motors, which shall bring
Sweeney to Mrs. Porter in the spring.
O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter
And on her daughter
They wash their feet in soda water
Et O ces voix d’enfants, chantant dans la coupole!
Twit twit twit
Jug jug jug jug jug jug
So rudely forc’d.
Tereu