The poem is full of quotations from classic works of world literature. Eliot makes allusions to Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Oliver Goldsmith, Ovid, Charles Baudelaire, Gerard de Nerval and Thomas Kyd. He uses different sources of inspiration, including both Christianity and Buddhism. The story is based on the Christian legend of the search for the Holy Grail. The poem ends with the Sanskrit words Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata. / Shantih shantih shantih.