Have you read the poem

[mdarkpoet]

The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot which the title of the 3rd book is based on? Also there are many references to T.S. Eliot that I found

If you HAVEN'T read the poem I'll link it to you. How do you think parts of it tie in?

http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html

[pathoftheturtle]

How do you think parts of it tie in?

Just as inspiration, basically, I wot.

"The Waste Land" had a marked influence on English literature. Aside from borrowing some imagery and certain elements of mood directly from the poem, I think that King's work owes much to it in the area of structural issues, including the very nature of various "tying in," stylistic license, and meaning in experimentation.

Getting to specifics, one most significant point is that the general subject and title of the poem are related to the Grail legend, and to the Fisher King in particular. Obviously, that is also reflected in Roland and the Dark Tower.

Then there's the key quote, "I will show you fear in a handful of dust," which SK built into this book in ways even beyond all of the ones that I've listed above.

[stone, rose, unfound door]

How do the Fisher King references relate to Roland and the Dark Tower? I read the poem quite a few times and couldn't make an obvious parallel or find a relation between these two things.

[Myrtok]

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe, 45
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations. 50
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water. 55
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:
One must be so careful these days.

I thought this passage was pretty obviously related to the end of The Gunslinger and the events in Drawing of the Three. The cards drawn are pretty close to the same as the ones Walter draws from the deck, right down to the warning to "Fear Death by Water."