Skip to content
Storgy

The Annotated Edition

WHAT THE THUNDER SAID by T. S. Eliot

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

Read aloud in ~4 minOpen reading mode →

This is the fifth and final section of T.

Poet
T. S. Eliot
Era
Modernist (1922)
Themes
death, despair, faith
The PoemFull text

WHAT THE THUNDER SAID

T. S. Eliot, 1922

In the first part of Part V three themes are employed: the journey to Emmaus, the approach to the Chapel Perilous (see Miss Weston’s book) and the present decay of eastern Europe. 357. This is _Turdus aonalaschkae pallasii_, the hermit-thrush which I have heard in Quebec County. Chapman says (_Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America_) “it is most at home in secluded woodland and thickety retreats. . . . Its notes are not remarkable for variety or volume, but in purity and sweetness of tone and exquisite modulation they are unequalled.” Its “water-dripping song” is justly celebrated. 360. The following lines were stimulated by the account of one of the Antarctic expeditions (I forget which, but I think one of Shackleton’s): it was related that the party of explorers, at the extremity of their strength, had the constant delusion that there was _one more member_ than could actually be counted. 366-76. Cf. Hermann Hesse, _Blick ins Chaos_: “Schon ist halb Europa, schon ist zumindest der halbe Osten Europas auf dem Wege zum Chaos, fährt betrunken im heiligem Wahn am Abgrund entlang und singt dazu, singt betrunken und hymnisch wie Dmitri Karamasoff sang. Ueber diese Lieder lacht der Bürger beleidigt, der Heilige und Seher hört sie mit Tränen.” 401. “Datta, dayadhvam, damyata” (Give, sympathize, control). The fable of the meaning of the Thunder is found in the _Brihadaranyaka—Upanishad_, 5, 1. A translation is found in Deussen’s _Sechzig Upanishads des Veda_, p. 489. 407. Cf. Webster, _The White Devil_, v. vi: “. . . they’ll remarry Ere the worm pierce your winding-sheet, ere the spider Make a thin curtain for your epitaphs.” 411. Cf. _Inferno_, xxxiii. 46: “ed io sentii chiavar l’uscio di sotto all’orribile torre.” Also F. H. Bradley, _Appearance and Reality_, p. 346: “My external sensations are no less private to myself than are my thoughts or my feelings. In either case my experience falls within my own circle, a circle closed on the outside; and, with all its elements alike, every sphere is opaque to the others which surround it. . . . In brief, regarded as an existence which appears in a soul, the whole world for each is peculiar and private to that soul.” 424. V. Weston, From _Ritual to Romance_; chapter on the Fisher King. 427. V. _Purgatorio_, xxvi. 148. “‘Ara vos prec per aquella valor ‘que vos guida al som de l’escalina, ‘sovegna vos a temps de ma dolor.’ Poi s’ascose nel foco che gli affina.” 428. V. _Pervigilium Veneris_. Cf. Philomela in Parts II and III. 429. V. Gerard de Nerval, Sonnet _El Desdichado_. 431. V. Kyd’s _Spanish Tragedy_. 433. Shantih. Repeated as here, a formal ending to an Upanishad. ‘The Peace which passeth understanding’ is a feeble translation of the content of this word.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This is the fifth and final section of T. S. Eliot's *The Waste Land*, bringing the entire poem to a fragmented and introspective conclusion. A weary group of figures meanders through a decaying landscape, listening as thunder utters three commands in Sanskrit — give, sympathize, control — before witnessing the disintegration of civilization into scattered pieces. Ultimately, a peculiar, quiet peace settles in at the end. Imagine it as a world on the brink of collapse, pondering its failures while clinging to a handful of ancient words that might still hold meaning.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. After the torchlight red on sweaty faces / After the frosty silence in the gardens

    Editor's note

    Eliot begins with a series of "after" clauses that accumulate like discarded remnants. The images — torchlight, frosty gardens, anguish in desolate spots — resonate with the Garden of Gethsemane and the arrest of Christ. We find ourselves in a realm where something sacred has occurred and been betrayed. The repetition of "after" establishes a rhythm of fatigue, as if the speaker is documenting a series of losses.

  2. Here is no water but only rock / Rock and no water and the sandy road

    Editor's note

    Water symbolizes spiritual renewal throughout the poem, and its absence is emphasized through constant repetition. The barren, waterless terrain represents not only a physical desert but also an inner spiritual drought. The arguing voices and the angry, red faces reflect a civilization that has lost its ability to experience genuine emotion or faith.

  3. Who is the third who walks always beside you? / When I count, there are only you and I together

    Editor's note

    This passage famously referred to as the "third man" comes from Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, where exhausted explorers felt a presence that wasn't actually there. Eliot intertwines this with the road to Emmaus, where the risen Christ walked alongside two disciples without them recognizing him. The enigmatic figure symbolizes something—grace, meaning, or a companion in hardship—that can be sensed but never fully defined.

  4. What is that sound high in the air / Murmur of maternal lamentation

    Editor's note

    The poem expands into a sweeping view of cities and civilizations in decline. The "hooded hordes" swarm as the once-great cities—Jerusalem, Athens, Alexandria, Vienna, London—tumble down, serving as a reminder of every culture that has fallen. Eliot references Hermann Hesse's *Blick ins Chaos*, which portrayed post-WWI Europe as already tipsy on its path to destruction.

  5. In this decayed hole among the mountains / In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing

    Editor's note

    The Chapel Perilous from the Grail legend is depicted here as a desolate, crumbling site. In the legend, the knight must confront the chapel to heal the Waste Land — yet upon the speaker's arrival, they find only emptiness, a single dry bone, and the sound of the wind. A cock crows (similar to when Peter denied Christ), lightning strikes, and then rain begins to fall. The journey to this sacred site brings no immediate insight, only the hint of what might come.

  6. Ganga was sunken, and the leaves were full of rain / I could not / Speak, and my eyes failed

    Editor's note

    The thunder speaks — *DA* — and the Upanishads interpret it in three ways. *Datta* (give): what have we truly given? The speaker discovers that the only genuine gift he has ever offered is a fleeting moment of reckless surrender, a brief letting go of caution. Reflecting on giving also prompts us to consider the cost of genuinely opening ourselves up to another person.

  7. Dayadhvam: I have heard the key / Turn in the door once and turn once only

    Editor's note

    *Dayadhvam* (sympathize): the thunder's second command. Eliot draws on Dante's Count Ugolino, imprisoned in a tower to starve, and F. H. Bradley's philosophy, which posits that each consciousness exists like a sphere, cut off from all others. To sympathize means to attempt to pierce that solitude — yet the poem acknowledges that the barriers are quite formidable.

  8. Damyata: The boat responded / Gaily, to the hand expert with sail and oar

    Editor's note

    *Damyata* (control): the third command, and the most uplifting image in this section. A boat moving smoothly at the direction of a skilled hand reflects a vision of the self and the world in unity — control not as oppression but as mastery and adaptability. The heart, the poem implies, would have welcomed this too, had it been given the chance.

  9. I sat upon the shore / Fishing, with the arid plain behind me

    Editor's note

    The Fisher King is perched at the brink of his devastated realm, caught in a standstill where he can't move ahead or retreat. The fragments he collects against his ruins — bits of Dante, Nerval, the Pervigilium Veneris, Kyd's *Spanish Tragedy* — represent the shattered remnants of Western culture that the poem has been piecing together throughout. The question "Should I at least put my lands in order?" resonates on both a personal and a societal level.

  10. Shantih shantih shantih

    Editor's note

    The poem concludes not in English but in Sanskrit, echoing the formal ending of an Upanishad. Eliot himself notes that "the Peace which passeth understanding" is a weak translation. After all the chaos, fragmentation, and breakdown, the poem ends with a word that hints at something beyond what language can convey. The distinction between earned peace and merely the silence following weariness is a question the poem intentionally leaves unanswered.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is weary, visionary, and subtly desperate — like someone who has traveled a long distance and isn’t certain they’ve reached their destination. There are instances of haunting beauty (the hermit thrush, the boat on the water) alongside moments of looming dread (the hooded hordes, the crumbling cities). By the end, the tone transitions toward a form of stillness — not exactly peace, but a quiet absence of noise. Eliot avoids letting the poem turn sentimental; even the closing *Shantih* feels deserved rather than comforting.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Thunder and rain
In the Upanishads, thunder represents Brahman's voice imparting wisdom. In the poem, rain symbolizes the spiritual renewal that the Waste Land sorely craves—its arrival at the Chapel Perilous suggests that the long-standing drought, both literal and spiritual, might finally be coming to an end.
The third figure
The mysterious presence walking alongside the travelers evokes both the Emmaus story and Shackleton's Antarctic hallucination. It symbolizes whatever it may be — grace, meaning, the divine — that walks with us through human suffering while remaining elusive.
The key
The key turning in a lock, inspired by Dante's Ugolino and Bradley's philosophy, symbolizes the deep isolation of individual consciousness. Each person is trapped within their own unique experience, and sympathy serves as the effort — always incomplete — to unlock that barrier.
The Fisher King
From Jessie Weston's *From Ritual to Romance*, the Fisher King is a wounded ruler whose injury has left his land barren. He sits by the shore fishing, unable to heal himself or restore his kingdom, waiting for someone to ask the right question.
Fragments
The closing lines are a mix of quotes from various languages and traditions. These fragments represent the remnants of a civilization and are the only resources left for reconstruction — propped up against collapse instead of crafted into something complete.
The Chapel Perilous
In the Grail legend, the Chapel Perilous represents a daunting barrier that the questing knight must face. In the poem, it appears desolate and in ruins, suggesting either a failure of the quest or a sign that the sacred presence has departed — leaving behind only the wind and a solitary dry bone.

§06Historical context

Historical context

T. S. Eliot released *The Waste Land* in 1922, just four years after World War One ended. Europe had lost a generation of young men, and faith in civilization and progress had crumbled, leaving a cultural atmosphere of deep disillusionment. Eliot was facing personal challenges as well—his first marriage was troubled, and he struggled with his mental health, which led him to spend time in a sanatorium in Lausanne, where he wrote and revised much of the poem. Ezra Pound played a significant role in editing the manuscript, cutting it down to about half its original length. Eliot noted that "What the Thunder Said" flowed most easily for him, almost as if he were in a trance. The Sanskrit commands from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad—give, sympathize, control—reflect Eliot’s attempt to look beyond the worn-out traditions of Western culture for something older and less fractured.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

The thunder proclaims *DA*, which the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad interprets in three different ways based on the listener: *Datta* (give), *Dayadhvam* (sympathize), and *Damyata* (control). Eliot incorporates Sanskrit to connect beyond the Western tradition — depicted in the poem as worn out and fractured — in search of a wisdom source that still holds significance. These three commands also serve as a moral checklist for the shortcomings of the civilization portrayed in the poem.

Read next

Poems in the same key

Similar poems

ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE. — John KeatsDover Beach — Matthew ArnoldAsh Wednesday — T. S. EliotHugh Selwyn Mauberley — Ezra Pound

More by T. S. Eliot

Browse all T. S. Eliot poems →

Themes in this poem

Poems about deathPoems about despairPoems about faithPoems about memory