"The Burial of the Dead" Annotations
From The Waste Land Wiki
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"You gave me hyacinths first a year ago; | "You gave me hyacinths first a year ago; | ||
They called me the hyacinth girl." | They called me the hyacinth girl." | ||
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+ | Hyacinth was a companion of Apollo that was killed by Apollo's stray discus. Hyacinth's blood miraculously generated a flower, which Apollo inscribed with his grief, explaining the patterning of the flower which seems to say "ai" the traditional Greek expression of grief. Apollo, the representative of high culture and prophecy, betrays his adherent, representing the cultural dilemma that concerns Eliot--that high culture has left Europe. | ||
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