Peer review 3

Response to Georgia Houlihan’s “20th Century Literature Blog Post #3 – Is T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ powerful or just pretentious?”

Hi Georgia,

Firstly I love your reference to Tan’s visual break down of the poem; this plus the link to your earlier work really help give depth to your piece. Your self-aware introduction is personal yet still analytical and a great start to what is a strong discussion style piece of writing. I really enjoy your argument about the poems’ opaqueness possibly being a purposeful representation of Eliot’s tormented post-war state of mind. Your blog is a detailed, deep and well structure argument and an enjoyable read. My only comment would be that while the use of rhetorical questions strengthens the piece, that possibly the “So, what do you think?” is a little too casual for your piece and subtracts from the authority of your voice in the piece while also taking away from the two following superior questions.

Thank you for your piece and I look forward to enjoying The Waste Land more now after this reading.

Emily

Link to reviewed blog: https://georgiahoulihan.wordpress.com/2020/08/28/20th-century-literature-blog-post-3-is-t-s-eliots-the-waste-land-powerful-or-just-pretentious-critical/comment-page-1/?unapproved=50&moderation-hash=aef235b31ac0be2d158c1bc49099e279#comment-50