Modernism And The Crisis Of Civilisation: A Comparative Study Of “The Waste Land” And “Australia”

Author(s)	Ms. Maya Khatun, Mr. Subhas Mandal
Country	India
Abstract	This paper examines the representation of the crisis of civilisation in T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” (1922) and A. D. Hope’s “Australia” (1943) within the broader context of Modernism. Both poems, emerging in the aftermath of World War I, convey profound cultural disintegration, spiritual emptiness, and intellectual crisis. Eliot’s work portrays a fragmented Western civilisation characterised by a loss of faith, moral decay, and existential despair, while Hope critiques the sterility and derivative nature of the colonial Australian identity. Through a comparative analysis of imagery, symbolism, tone, structure, and philosophical foundations, this study contends that both poets diagnose the crisis of modernity from distinct yet converging perspectives. Eliot’s deeply allusive and fragmented poetic method reflects the breakdown of meaning, whereas Hope’s controlled and ironic style reveals the hollowness of transplanted culture. Despite their bleak portrayals, both texts suggest the possibility of regeneration. Eliot through spiritual transcendence rooted in Eastern philosophy and Hope through the potential for intellectual awakening.
Keywords	Modernism, Crisis, Civilisation, Hollowness, Intellectual Awakening
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-04-12
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.74444

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