Spiritual Decay in the Waste Land In The Waste Land, TS Eliot develops his theme of sterility and decay in post-war man by focusing on the aspect of "religious deficiency or superficiality reflected in de-spinualized love" (Pinion). For Eliot, man's inability to find true love or move beyond superficial sexual gratification is congruent with the spiritual decay of his soul. The backdrop of “stone rubbish” and “broken images” illustrates his view of love as something that has lost its ability to blossom in the infertility of modern society (20.22). he leaves his lover Isolde behind when he sails for home. As she lies dying, she awaits the arrival of her ship, but the sea that will carry her remains empty and desolate. This shows how human Fr.'s desire for love is. ..... middle of the sheet ...... expressing his hope for the regeneration or rebirth of the human spirit (424-425). Works Cited and Consulted Pinion, FB, A TS Eliot Companion: Life and Works, The Macmillan Press (1986)Southam, BC, A Guide to the Selected Poems of TS Eliot, Harcourt Brace & CompanyShashane, VA "Reflections on the Waste Land", Studies on IS Eliot Ed. AN Dwivedi; US Bahri Publishers (1989) Raphael, Burton IS Eliot Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., Inc. (1982)