Verse one:
"April is the cruelest month…." (1) - Symbolizes a new beginning and re-growth from the ruins the war's destruction. Seeing what was destroyed recalls memories of how wonderful it once was.

"Winter kept us warm,…" (5) - Bad memories were covered up and forgotten, like snow covers the ground and hides its scars in winter. But when the snow melts in spring, the painful memories reappear.

"Summer surprised us,…" (8) - These are pleasant memories from before the war, in Germany, friends gathering together, celebrating their nationalism and spirit for war.

Verse two:
"What are the roots that clutch,…" (19) - This is a description of the destruction and desolation of the wasteland. There is nowhere to take refuge from danger, because all has been destroyed.

"There is shadow under this red rock,…" (25) - The color of red symbolizes the blood spilled during the war, and the reference to dust refers to a dead man turning to ash and returning to the earth. What can grow from this?

"Frisch weht der wind…" (31) - Describes someone waiting for a lost or missing person to return from the war (refers to a sailor in a Wagner Opera).

Verse 3
"You gave me hyacinths first a year ago;…" (35) The phallic like shape of the hyacinth represents sexual attraction and fertility. It could also refer to Tristan, the knight and lover of Isolde, invoking ideas of lost love that no longer has meaning.

"Yet when we came back,…" (37) - Describes lost innocence and uncertainty after the Great War. Because everything had changed, the author could no longer see the hyacinth girl (love) as something to be desired.

"Oed' und leer das Meer." (42) - Another reference to a Wagner opera in which the wasteland of Europe appears desolate (like a 'barren sea'). Someone who is dying (either spiritually or physically) is waiting for his or her love to return, only to be disappointed.

Verse 4
"Madame Sosostris, famous clarayoyante,…" (43) - represents the search for understanding what the future holds and the purpose of life after the war. Tarot cards introduce historical characters from Arthurian legend (the grail).

"Is this your card?…" (47) - The drowned sailor represents the change within humanity after witnessing all the death and destruction. European civilization, drowned in a sea of destruction and death.

"Here is Belladonna,…" (47) - Those who are oblivious to the reality of the new world, wishing to believe things had not changed. But is also describes something possessing both beauty and danger. Like a hyacinth, this memory of the lover could be good (like a cosmetic or medicine) or bad (a poison or a hallucinogen) in the days of innocence and beauty in Europe before the war.

"Here is the man with three staves,…" (51) - Symbolizes the Fisher King (fertility god) that was wounded in the war, waiting to be healed by someone who asks him the right questions. The wheel of fortune.

"And here is the one-eyed merchant,…" (52) - this character spreads the seeds of fertility through Europe after the war.

"The Hanged Man…" (55) - Arthurian character that searches for the one who can rejuvenate the wasteland, but fears Europe's death by drowning (water) in its destruction.

"I see crowds of people walking in a ring." (57) The people of Europe are lost, wandering in circles not knowing which direction to go. Wandering, looking for a new beginning and an end to the despair.

"One must be so careful these days." (59) - Be aware of new temptations and not be fooled by technology. Although attractive, it can be dangerous as well (as witnessed by the Great war).

Verse 5
"Unreal city." (60) - This is Paris before the war, though slowing moving towards it.

"A crowd flowed over London Bridge,…" (62) He is amazed at the number of British dead after the war, and sees their ghosts wander through desolate the city. They try to find peace by going to the church (Saint Mary's) but instead, pass by the financial district (William Street) that profited greatly from the destruction.

"There I saw …" (69) - Talking to someone who he once knew that had been killed in the war. He was buried, but has risen from the grave this spring. Is he blooming now, is he again full of life.

"Oh keep the Dog far hence,…" (74) - The dog symbolizes the ancient Egyptian Dog Star, Sirius, the symbol of returning fertility to Europe and signals a rebirth of civilization.