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Which literary works and traditions does The Waste Land allude to?

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T.S. Eliot stands at a chalkboard, writing a diagram with letters and Greek symbols representing characters for a play, in his office at the Institute for Advanced Study. — T.S. Eliot T.S. Eliot working on his play *The Cocktail Party* in his office at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, 1948. The letters of the alphabet in his diagram represent characters in the play. The Greek letters represent characters yet to be invented.

T.S. Eliot’s 1922 poem The Waste Land is renowned for its complex, allusive style, which contrasts the past with the barrenness of contemporary culture. The work incorporates references to a wide array of literary traditions and sources, including:123

Classical Literature and Mythology: The poem draws upon ancient texts and mythology to frame its narrative.12
Canonical Authors: Eliot includes allusions to the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Dante Alighieri, and William Shakespeare. Notably, the opening lines subvert the prologue of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.12
Religious Texts: The poem references the Bible, the Upanishads, and other Hindu scripture, such as the Sanskrit refrain "Shantih shantih shantih," which also alludes to the Christian New Testament.12
Legendary Traditions: The poem is loosely structured around the Arthurian legend and the search for the Holy Grail.13

These allusions serve to highlight the contrast between moral grandeur and the spiritual emptiness of the modern, secularized city.23