by T. S. Eliot
28 As] Of ts3 ‖ Of ringed by Pound with as ts3a drawing-room] drawing room ts3
Eighth stanza:
ts1, ts2, ts4:
And some abstracter entities
30
Have not disused a certain charm.
But I must crawl between dry ribs
To keep my metaphysics warm.
29–32] bracketed by Pound with 30 and 32 additionally bracketed by him ts1a
29 And] ringed by Pound ts1a And some] There are ts4
30 disused] ringed by Pound with “??? otherwise O.K.” ts1a
30] Preserve a sacerdotal charm, ts2 ‖ Which still maintain a certain charm. ts4
29–30] del Pound with The sons of god might may feel this charm ts2
[Poem I 47–48 · Commentary I 532–34]
ts3:
But Donne and Webster passed beyond
30
The text-book rudiments of lust,
And crawled at last between dry ribs,
Having their Ethics of the Dust.
29–32] bracketed with If abs ents [= abstracter entities] | would fall | for this charm | Our Webster Donne [the names ringed] | Tribe | run [uncertain] crawl | betw ribs, and, at foot, if and two illegible words by Pound ts3a ‖ Tho entities | I must to keep | metam warm Pound ts3b.
30 lust] with “Should I avoid using the word twice?” ts3b
ts5 is as the published text, with variants as follows:
29–30] “And” and “the” bracketed Pound ts5a, with “If | might” and, below, “abstracter” (perhaps for “If even abstracter entities | Might circumambulate her charm”)
29 the Abstract Entities] ts5, US 1920+ ‖ abstracter entities LR, 1919, AraVP
30 charm;] charm: ts5
31 crawls] Pound ts5a, LR+ ‖ crawl ts5
32 our] ts5, US 1920+ ‖ its Pound ts5a, LR, 1919, AraVP
Additional stanzas:
ts1:
As long as Pipit is alive
One can be mischievous and brave;
But where there is no more misbehaviour
I would like my bones flung into her grave.
forming the final stanza of a six-stanza poem, with Pound having ringed the first line, ringed where and joined it to “??”, and ringed and del the whole stanza with“why” ts1a.
ts2:
Our sighs pursue the vanishd shade
And breathe a sanctified amen,
And yet the Sons of God descend
To entertain the wives of men.
[5]
And when the Female Soul departs
The Sons of Men turn up their eyes,
The Sons of God embrace the Grave—
The Sons of God are very wise.
forming the final stanzas of a seven-stanza poem, above which TSE wrote: “I think it had better stop here”.
[1] vanishd] the d typed over e
[3] descend] “? tense” and “when did you last | fear the converse | or | what angel hath cuckwoled thee” by Pound (alluding to “And when did you last see your father?”, a popular catchphrase after the title of W. F. Yeames’s Victorian painting).
[Poem I 48 · Commentary I 534]
Further jottings by Pound: “or did Jahveh | ? The Sacred Ghost | did not disdain | copulationion in carnal form | —et les anges, | le diodem | de son” (perhaps recalling Villon: “Je ne suis, bien considéré, | Fils d’ange portant diadème” [I’m not, duly considered, the son of an angel wearing a diadem] Le Grand Testament XXXVIII.)
Mr. Eliot’s Sunday Morning Service
Published in Little Review Sept 1918, then 1919+.
ts1 (Berg): leaf of lightweight typing paper accompanying Notebook. Ribbon copy annotated by Pound.
Epigraph] not ts1 1st reading, then added above title Look, look,] Look look ts1 ‖ “Look, look printings prior to US 1920 master,] master ts1 two] two of the ts1, printings prior to US 1920 caterpillars.] ts1, US 1920+ ‖ caterpillars.” LR, 1919 ‖ caterpillars”. AraVP Attribution] 1936+ ‖ not ts1 ‖ capitals and small capitals US 1920, 1925, US 1952 The Jew] 1932+ ‖ Jew printings prior to 1932
AraVP indents even-numbered lines.
1–4] bracketed Pound ts1
5 Word,] ts1, printings prior to US 1920 ‖ Word. US 1920+ (see McCue 2012, Proposal 8).
6 τὸ ἕν,] ts1, US 1920 ‖ το εν LR, AraVP ‖ τὸ ἕν 1919 ‖ τὸ ἔν, US 1920 2nd and 3rd printings (1927, 1929), 1925+ (corrected long after). In printing ts1, March Hare mistranscribes the third character. Faber director Peter du Sautoy agreed with a correspondent in 1965 that the breathing then in print should be changed, but it was not. Schmidt 1982a restores the original breathing, but changes the punctuation to a semi-colon.
7] And after many [illegible] months ts1 alt del mensual] menstrual ts1 1st reading ringed and emended by Pound
8 enervate] the castrate ts1 1st reading, with enervate supplied and ringed by Pound after “o.k.”
9–16] braced Pound ts1
11 Baptized] US 1920+ ‖ Baptised ts1, printings prior to US 1920 (see McCue 2012 Proposal 17)
12 browned] browned. 1974
16 Father] father AraVP
16 ^ 17] three asterisks ts1 ‖ four asterisks printings prior to US 1920 ‖ six dots US 1920
18 penitence;] penitence, ts1. Pound braced the word here and in 21 and linked them
20 pence.] ts1, US 1920+ ‖ pence, printings prior to US 1920. (Moody 307 suggested removing the full-stop but did not mention that there had previously been a comma which made the sequence follow conventional grammar.)
21–28] braced by Pound with “lacking syntactic symplycyty”
[Poems I 48–50 · Commentary I 534–40]
21] And through the gates of penitence ts1 1st reading ‖ And through the penitential gates ts1 2nd reading. Above the line Pound wrote ports of p. Deleting the first two typed words he wrote Under and “Qy. Penetrate?” (probably because of “penetrate” in Whispers of Immortality 11)
23 Where] To where ts1, with first word del Pound souls] soils 1925, 1932 proof, corrected by TSE
24 dim.] 1919 ‖ dim.* [footnote: * Vide Henry Vaughan the Silurist, from whom the author seems to have borrowed this line.] ts1 ‖ dim, LR
25–28] ts1 1st reading:
Salmon stretched red along the wall
Sweet peas invite to intervene
The hairy bellies of the bees
Blest office of the epicene.
with 26 underlined by Pound with “?” The stanza then struck through probably by TSE ‖ ts1 2nd reading:
Along the garden wall the bees
With hairy bellies go pass between
the staminate pistilate
Blest …
27 pistillate,] 1936, Sel Poems, 1963+ ‖ pistilate: printings prior to US 1920 ‖ pistilate, US 1920, 1925, 1936 proof, US 1936, US 1952
29–30] braced Pound ts1
30 the water] not Sel Poems 1954, Sel Poems 1961 pbk (later corrected). The omission was pointed out by David Curry and acknowledged by TSE, 21 June 1962.
32 polymath] underlined and divided “poly | math”, with “μαθαιος or μανθανο?” [for μάταιος, μανθανω] Pound ts1 (see Commentary)
Sweeney Among the Nightingales
Published in Little Review Sept 1918, then 1919+.
ts1 (Berg): leaf of lightweight typing paper accompanying Notebook. Carbon emended by TSE and Pound.
ts2 (Berg): leaf of lightweight typing paper accompanying Notebook. Carbon emended by TSE and Pound.
ts3 (Cornell, Wyndham Lewis collection (4612), Box 51 Folder 25): violet carbon with annotation by Wyndham Lewis. He probably did the typing (letter-spacing the title and leaving spaces in “coffee- cup”, “window- sill” and “some one”).
AraVP indents even-numbered lines.
Title] letter spaced, originally with only first word having a capital, although among was emended to Among ts3 ‖ Sweeny among the Nightingales AraVP contents
[Poems I 50–52 · Co
mmentary I 539–46]
Epigraph] not ts1 1st reading, ts2 1st reading, ts3 ὤμοι,] ὤμοι ts1, ts2 πέπληγμαι] πεπλήγμαι ts1 ‖ πεπληγμαι ts2 ‖ πέπγηλμαι LR καιρίαν πληγὴν ἔσω] ἐν πλευροῖς εἰσω ts1 ‖ ἐν πλευροις εἰσω ts2 καιρίαν] χαιρίαν Sel Poems 1954 proof (corrected in unknown hand with “chi, not kappa”) πληγὴν] πγηλὴν LR, AraVP (corrected by TSE in Edgar Jepson’s AraVP, autographed 5 Feb 1920, and in John Quinn’s copy, autographed 23 Sept 1920; both Yale) ἔσω.] ἔσω LR, AraVP, Sesame, Sel Poems 1954, Sel Poems 1961 (later corrected)
Second epigraph (1919 and AraVP only)] Why should I speak of the nightingale? The night- | ingale sings of adulterate wrong. 1919 ‖ WHY SHOULD I SPEAK OF THE NIGHTINGALE? THE | NIGHTINGALE SINGS OF ADULTEROUS WRONG. AraVP (the only epigraph in the volume set in small caps), corrected by TSE in Quinn’s copy to ADULTERATE
4 giraffe.] giraffe, ts1
6 westward toward] Pound underlined ward · · · ward with “X” ts1 ‖ westward to LR, 1919, AraVP
8 hornèd] 1936+, emendation by TSE in Thayer’s AraVP ‖ horned printings prior to 1936, Faber Bk Mod V gate.] gate; ts1
12 sit] rest alt added and del by Pound ts1 (see 18) knees] knees; ts3 ‖ knees, TSE’s emendation in Morley’s US 1920
13 pulls] del and restored ts1 (see 16) cloth] cloth, ts3, TSE’s emendation in Morley’s US 1920
14–15] one line ts3, with division added by Lewis
15 Reorganised] Reorganized ts3, LR, 1919, US 1920, US 1952 floor] floor, TSE’s emendation in Morley’s US 1920
16 draws] pulls ts1 1st reading
18 Sprawls] Sits ts1 1st reading, ringed by Pound and linked to sit in 12, with Lops (Pound) and Stands (TSE) alts. (OED “lop”, v.2 2a and 2b.)
19 ^ 20] line space ts3, with arrow to cancel it by Lewis
20 Bananas] ts1, ts2 with comma added by Pound, ts3, US 1920+ ‖ Bananas, LR, 1919, AraVP grapes;] grapes, ts1
21] The animalcule in brown alt ts2 silent] ? tacit alt by Pound ts2 silent vertebrate] individual ts1, with “economic unit” Pound in brown] ts1, ts2 1st reading, US 1920+ ‖ contracts ts2 2nd reading ‖ exhales ts2 3rd reading, LR, 1919, AraVP
22 Contracts] Hovers ts2 alt
23 Rachel] Rachel, ts3 née] US 1920+ ‖ nee ts1 with née by Pound in margin (uncertain, with illegible word scrawled over or perhaps del), ts2 ‖ née ts3 (the accent added by Lewis) LR, 1919, AraVP
26 suspect,] suspect; ts1
29 reappears] reappears, ts2 1st reading
30 in,] in ts3, with comma added by Lewis
31 wistaria] wisteria ts1, ts2
33 someone] some one ts3
[Poem I 51–52 · Commentary I 541–45]
38–40] typing not showing at head of lines, probably because of a fold in the carbon paper, ts3. Supplied in pencil: Wh (38), And (39). The final line begins with the half-word -in but To sta- has not been supplied
38 aloud] AraVP, 1963 ‖ aloud, tss, LR, US 1920, 1925, printings prior to 1963, some printings afterwards of Sesame, Sel Poems and 1963. (Moody 307 advocated restoration of the comma.)
39 their] the ts3 siftings] Pound ts2, LR+ ‖ droppings tss, enclosed between slashes by Pound ts1, US 1920 (emended in Morley’s US 1920)
[Poem I 52 · Commentary I 546]
The Waste Land
1. The Drafts 2. Non-Authorial Typescripts
3. Relation of Q and T/W to the Printed Poem 4. Printings
5. The “Fresca couplets” 6. Other Witnesses
7. A Typescript Not Collated 8. Method of the Textual Description
This Textual History includes readings from the four original editions and subsequent lifetime editions as well as 1969 and 1974 (which were supervised by Valerie Eliot), with occasional reference to subsequent editions. It also gives the readings of “the drafts”: the manuscripts and typescripts of the poem as seen in The Waste Land: A Facsimile and Transcript (WLFacs) plus the two leaves of “Fresca couplets” ms1924 in the Bodleian Library (following note to 298 below). Also included are the readings of three other pre-publication typescripts not by TSE, and two autograph copies made by him late in life. Reference is made to the “miscellaneous poems” found with the drafts (which are printed among the “Uncollected Poems”), when specific lines of The Waste Land are indebted to them.
1. THE DRAFTS
The earliest extant drafts consist of both manuscripts and typescripts in the Berg Collection, reproduced in WLFacs. The manuscripts are:
ms1 (WLFacs 36/37): pencil draft, probably written in Margate, of [III] 259–65 = 422–28 (“O City, City”; given in WLComposite but omitted from ts3 before being reinstated in the published poem) and, below a rule, of 334–47 (“London, the swarming life”; lines adopted in ts3, which are given in WLComposite, but were deleted by Pound in ts3a and ts3b). Apparently from the same pad as ms2 and the leaf used for Elegy and, on the verso, Dirge ms1 (WLFacs 116–19), although not torn out at the same moment (see headnote to Commentary, 1. COMPOSITION). Assigned to Nov 1921 by Rainey 200–201.
ms2 (WLFacs 48–53): pencil draft, probably written in Margate, of [III] 266–311 = 429–74 (“The river sweats”; given in WLComposite). Three pages on two leaves (recto, recto, verso). “First draft” (Valerie Eliot). The last page has a sum, upside down:
76
97
113
286
[Poem I 53–61, 323–46]
Valerie Eliot suggests (WLFacs 53) that these figures refer to the number of lines in Parts I (after the deletion of 1–50), II and V. The date of the sum is unknown, but it might relate, for instance, to TSE’s dilemma over whether to divide the poem for serial publication (see Commentary headnote, 3. THE DIAL AND THE CRITERION).
At the same time as these two leaves, TSE tore from his pad the leaf he used for Elegy and, on the verso, Dirge ms1 (WLFacs 116–19). Assigned to Nov 1921 by Rainey 200–201.
ms3 (WLFacs 24/25): pencil draft of the published opening of Part III (“The river’s tent”) written upside down on verso of first leaf of ts3a and collated among the variant readings to [III] 173–182. Written to replace the Fresca passage of seventy lines which Pound deleted from ts3a. The bracketed line “(Sweet Thames etc)” and the curtailed line “By the waters” suggest that the allusions to Spenser and Psalm 137 were already understood, although there is no earlier documentary record of them. If TSE was remembering correctly when he wrote to J. M. Aguirre on 23 Nov 1958 that the line “By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept” was “probably written at Lausanne”, then a previous draft may have disappeared.
ms4 (WLFacs 28/29): pencil draft of seventeen lines (“From which, a Venus Anadyomene”) on a single leaf, for insertion in Part III (285 ^ 286) but subsequently omitted. Written on Pound’s quad-ruled paper, evidently before Pound’s deletion in ts3a of the passage into which these lines were to have been inserted. Assigned to Nov–Dec 1921 by Rainey 200–201, but more probably dating from Jan 1922 in Paris. Being subsequent to ts3, these lines are not used for WLComposite but appear within the variant readings.
ms5 (WLFacs 54–61): ink fair copy of the original, long Part IV, 475–567 (“The sailor, attentive to the chart”, given in its entirety in WLComposite as Part IV). “The writing suggests that Eliot may have been copying from an unpreserved draft” (Valerie Eliot). The four quad-ruled leaves are matched by ms4, but the neat hand is not. Both paper and hand, however, are matched by Dirge ms2, the fair copy (WLFacs 120–21). Assigned to Nov–Dec 1921 by Rainey 200–201, but more probably dating from Jan 1922 in Paris.
ms6 (WLFacs 70–81): untitled pencil draft of the whole of Part V, 568–678 (given in its entirety in WLComposite). On six quad-ruled leaves, matching ms4 and ms5, numbered upper right. Head of first leaf endorsed by Pound “OK” and “OK from here on I think.” “First draft” (Valerie Eliot). Assigned to Nov–Dec 1921 by Rainey 200–201.
The typescripts were made on three typewriters. The fir
st, used to type Parts I and II (each with the head title “He Do the Police in Different Voices”), was in poor condition by the time Henry Eliot visited his brother in 1921, so when Henry left on 20 Aug, he substituted his own machine along with a gift of money (see Vivien Eliot’s letter to him, 23 Aug). This second typewriter, used to type Part III, was a Corona which TSE wore out in the service of the Criterion in two years (TSE to Richard Cobden-Sanderson, 22 Aug 1923). The third typewriter, used to type Parts IV and V, was probably Pound’s, as Valerie Eliot suggested (WLFacs 63, 83). Magnification in the facsimile differs according to the size of leaf, as is especially evident from the typescripts of Parts IV and V.
ts title (WLFacs 2/3): ribbon copy from second typewriter on a single leaf of Verona Linen, formerly folded in half, with holes from having been twice pinned. Paper and typing match those of ts3a, with which this leaf appears to have been folded, although ts3a has no pin-holes. The crease does not match those of ts1, ts2a or ts2b. Assigned to Jan 1922 by Rainey 200–201.
[Poem I 53–61, 323–46]
ts1 (WLFacs 4–9): first known typescript of Part I. First typewriter. Ribbon copy, annotated by Pound and TSE. Three leaves of British Bond paper, formerly folded in half, with holes from having been twice pinned. “Probably a first draft”, Gallup 1968. Assigned to Feb–May 1921 by Rainey 200–201. Given in WLComposite for 1–130.
ts2: first known typescript of Part II. First typewriter. Assigned to Feb–May 1921 by Rainey 35. Two versions on British Bond paper:
ts2a (WLFacs 10–15): ribbon copy. Three leaves, formerly folded in quarters, with holes from having been twice pinned. “Probably a fair copy”, Gallup 1968. Annotated by Vivien Eliot, Pound and TSE. Vivien Eliot was apparently the first to comment, writing on the verso of the last leaf: “Make any of these alterations—or none if you prefer. Send me back this copy let me have it”. This suggests that it was sent to her by post, probably from Margate. TSE copied some of her notes onto the carbon (ts2b), before Pound annotated the ribbon copy. Given in WLComposite for 131–228.
