THE
WASTE
LAND
::
T. S.
ELIOT
POEM MAP ENDNOTES SOURCES ABOUT

The Waste Land

Lines 100-103

So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale
Filled all the desert with inviolable voice
And still she cried, and still the world pursues,
“Jug Jug” to dirty ears.

Eliot's Note

100. Cf. Part III, l. 204.

Related Lines

Lines 203-206

Twit twit twit
Jug jug jug jug jug jug
So rudely forc'd.
Tereu

Context

For the story of Philomela, see the note to line 99.

Representations of birdsong recur throughout the poem and are usually linked with images of water. Additional examples include:

Line 313

Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell

Lines 356-358

Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pines trees
Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop
But there is no water

Lines 391-394

Only a cock stood on the rooftree
Co co rico co co rico
In a flash of lightning. Then a damp gust
Bringing rain