Based closely in spirit upon the most recent development in prosodic studies,
Verbal Transformation, Despair, and Hope in The Waste Land
attempts another round of “philosophical investigation”. The book demonstrates how
The Waste Land
could be read afresh in terms of the hidden verbal transformation that reveals the overlooked performative and collaborative nature of language. This verbal transformation makes
flow naturally as truly “rhythmical creation of [meaningful] beauty” the way Poe defines poetry, especially through what Eliot calls “auditory imagination” or what Herder calls “intermediary sensation” that makes the poetry “the first language” of humanity or “the dictionary of the soul.” The verbal transformation also serendipitously makes sounds of despair the sounds of hope.