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| − | '''Thomas Stearns Eliot''' (1888-1965) was an American-born British poet, playwright, and literary critic. He was a dominant force in the English and American literary scene during the middle third of the twentieth century, and presented a powerful conservative voice. Some of his works include ''The Waste Land''<ref>http://www.artofeurope.com/eliot/eli3.htm</ref> in 1922, and "The Journey of the Magi" in 1927. He studied at Oxford, Paris, and Harvard. He won the Nobel Prize for literature. | + | '''Thomas Stearns Eliot''' (1888-1965) was an American-born British poet, playwright, and literary critic. He was a dominant force in the English and American literary scene during the middle third of the twentieth century, and presented a powerful conservative voice. His poems include "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), "The Waste Land" (1922, and "The Journey of the Magi" in 1927; his plays include "Murder in the Cathedral" (1935). His light verse book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" (1939), later made intt the hit musical "Cats" (1981). He studied at Oxford, Paris, and Harvard. He won the Nobel Prize for literature. |
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| − | T. S. Eliot was born and grew up in St. Louis, [[Missouri]], from a prominent intellectual family of Yankee origins. But in adulthood he moved to England. In 1927 he renounced his American citizenship, became a British subject, and converted to Anglicanism. He described himself as "classicist in literature, royalist in politics, and Anglo-Catholic in religion." Eliot's religious views are most notably contained in the poem ''Ash Wednesday'', which he wrote in 1927 after his conversion, and particularly in the ''Four Quartets''. These were four related poems published separately between 1935 and 1942, and republished in one volume in 1943. Their titles are ''Burnt Norton'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/norton.html</ref> ''East Coker'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/coker.html</ref> ''The Dry Salvages'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/salvages.html</ref> and ''Little Gidding''.<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/gidding.html</ref> | + | T. S. Eliot was born and grew up in St. Louis, [[Missouri]], from a prominent intellectual family of Yankee origins. But in 1914 he moved to England and in 1927 he renounced his American citizenship, became a British subject, and converted to Anglicanism. He described himself as "classicist in literature, royalist in politics, and Anglo-Catholic in religion." Eliot's religious views are most notably contained in the poem ''Ash Wednesday'', which he wrote in 1927 after his conversion, and particularly in the ''Four Quartets''. These were four related poems published separately between 1935 and 1942, and republished in one volume in 1943. Their titles are ''Burnt Norton'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/norton.html</ref> ''East Coker'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/coker.html</ref> ''The Dry Salvages'',<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/salvages.html</ref> and ''Little Gidding''.<ref>http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/gidding.html</ref> |
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| | Eliot considered ''Four Quartets'' to be his masterpiece. It draws upon his study, over three decades, of mysticism and philosophy. Christian imagery and symbolism in the poems is abundant. | | Eliot considered ''Four Quartets'' to be his masterpiece. It draws upon his study, over three decades, of mysticism and philosophy. Christian imagery and symbolism in the poems is abundant. |
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| | ::(from ''East Coker'', ''Four Quartets'')<ref>http://www.ubriaco.com/fq.html</ref> | | ::(from ''East Coker'', ''Four Quartets'')<ref>http://www.ubriaco.com/fq.html</ref> |
| | ==Bibliography== | | ==Bibliography== |
| − | * Clinton A. Brand. "The Voice of This Calling: The Enduring Legacy of T. S. Eliot," ''Modern Age'' Volume 45, Number 4; Fall 2003 [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/45_04/brand.pdf online edition], conservative perspective | + | * Ackroyd, Peter. ''T.S. Eliot'' (1984), excellent scholarly biography |
| | + | * Brand, Clinton A. "The Voice of This Calling: The Enduring Legacy of T. S. Eliot," ''Modern Age'' Volume 45, Number 4; Fall 2003 [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/45_04/brand.pdf online edition], conservative perspective |
| | + | * Bush, Ronald. "Eliot, Thomas Stearns (1888–1965)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' Sept 2004; online edn, May 2007; very good summary |
| | + | * Calder, Angus. ''T.S. Eliot'' (1987), 184pp; short interpretive biography [http://www.questia.com/read/85871115?title=T.S.%20Eliot online edition] |
| | + | * Gordon, Lyndall. ''T.S. Eliot: An Imperfect Life'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/T-S-Eliot-Imperfect-Lyndall-Gordon/dp/0393320936/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228759309&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search] |
| | + | * Kenner, Hugh. ''The Invisible Poet'' (1960). by conservative critic |
| | + | * Kimball, Roger. "A Craving for Reality: T.S. Eliot Today," ''New Criterion,'' Vol. 18, October 1999 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001820050?title=A%20Craving%20for%20Reality%3a%20T.S.%20Eliot%20Today online edition], by conservative critic |
| | + | * Moody, A. David, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Eliot-Companions-Literature/dp/0521421276/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228759309&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search] |
| | + | * Tate, Allen, ed. ''T. S. Eliot: the man and his work'' (1967), by conservative critic |
| | + | * Williamson, George. ''A Reader's Guide to T.S. Eliot: A Poem-By-Poem Analysis'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Readers-Guide-Eliot-Poem-Poem/dp/0815605005/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search] |
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| | + | ===Primary sources=== |
| | + | * Eliot, T.S. ''Collected Poems, 1909-1962'' (The Centenary Edition) (1991) [http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Poems-1909-1962-Centenary-Eliot/dp/0151189781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228759309&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search] |
| | + | * Eliot, T.S. ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Illustrated Edition'' (1982) [http://www.amazon.com/Possums-Book-Practical-Cats-Illustrated/dp/0151686564/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] |
| | + | * Eliot, T.S. '' Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot'' ed. by Frank Kermode (1975) [http://www.amazon.com/Selected-Prose-T-S-Eliot-T/dp/0156806541/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search] |
| | + | * Eliot, T.S. '' The Waste Land'' (Norton Critical Editions) ed. by Michael North (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Waste-Land-Norton-Critical-Editions/dp/0393974995/ref=pd_bbs_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208101920&sr=8-6 excerpt and text search] |
| | + | * Eliot, T.S. '' Selected essays'' (1932); enlarged (1960) |
| | + | * Eliot, T.S. ''The letters of T. S. Eliot,'' ed. Valerie Eliot, vol 1 (1988) |
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |