The Poetry of T.S. Eliot

The new post in my blog, aim at a critical scrutiny of the poetry of T.S.Eliot. it is unambiguous that Eliot is the most prominent figure as far as the English poetry is concerned, yet the fact can’t be denied that the poetry of Eliot suffers a possibility of misinterpretation chiefly due to richness of allusions and references. The forthcoming posts in this blog aim at line by line analysis of the major works of Eliot. It is unfortunate that the poet has always been alleged for the maltreatment of women in his poetry, thus the special attention has been paid on the exploration of the symbolic worth of the women in the poetry of Eliot

Thomas Sterns Eliot was born on 26 September 1888 in St. Louis in Missouri in the family of a Calvinist. He was the youngest of the seven children of his parents – Henry Ware Eliot and Charlotte Champe Sterns. It is important to note that the family of Eliot played a vital role in shaping the ideas and ideals that determine the essentials of his literature. The conservative inclinations of Eliot that play pivotal role in his life and works can be traced back to his grandfather W.G. Eliot who laid great emphasis on the role of law and religion in shaping the society and maintaining its morals and standards. Eliot acknowledges his debt to his grandfather when he says that 'the standard of conduct was that which my grandfather had set'. He further confides that the "moral judgements" and the 'decision between duty and self indulgence were taken as if like Moses', his 'grandfather had brought down the labels of law, any deviation from which would be sinful' (Acroyd 3).

Eliot's childhood was very happy, however, there are shades of dissatisfaction and reservations against the strict rather oppressive land of upbringing. The combined influence of Unitarianism and Calvinism exercised some very complex influences in the mind of the poet. It can be observed easily that the paradoxical influences of Calvinism and Unitarianism operate on his mind all through his poetic career.

Harvard years constitute another major influence in the mind of the poet. In Harvard, Eliot come in contact with Santayana and Babbit who consolidated the foundation of classicism. These years witnessed the flowering of Eliot's intellect. On Babbit's inspiration, Eliot learnt Sanskrit and Pali and studied Indian philosophy, which shaped his intellect. Besides Indian classic writings, Dante is the most conspicuous influence on the mind of the poet. He completed Graduation in 1909 and Post Graduation in 1910. He left for Paris to study French literature and came close to the works of Ezra Pound, which is another significant influence on him. He returned to Harvard and enrolled himself as a student of philosophy.

Eliot reached London 1914. The literary scene in England was chaotic and fragmented due to absence of any governing literary principle. Early modernist dominated the literary scene whole situation was dominated by T.E. Hulme and Ford Maddox Ford. Eliot's first collection of poems Prufrock and Other Observations appeared in 1917. The collection has twelve poems and the title poem of the collection, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is the most important and well–known poem of the collection. It was followed by Poem 1920. It is clear from the title itself that this collection appeared in 1920. This collection has twelve poems. One of them is "Gerontion", a milestone in Eliot's poetic career. The publication of Poems 1920 was followed by the emergence of The Waste Land which proved to be a historic event not only for Eliot but for the whole tradition of English poetry. The poem metamorphosed English poetry by adding new dimensions to it in terms of technical innovativeness and thematic boldness. The poem also illustrates Eliot's ideals of form and function of poetry in the larger perspective. The Waste Land illustrates Eliot's ideals and predilections of poetry to perfection. Eliot's formed a group with the publishing house – Faber and Gawyer that later became Faber and Faber. Another significant event took place in the life of Eliot that in June 1927. He was confirmed in the Church of England and in November in the same year, he was granted citizenship of Great Britain. The poems revealing Eliot's spiritual doubts and conflicts were published during this period. "Journey of the Magi" was published in 1927, it was followed by "A Song of Simeon" (1928), "Annmula" (1929) and "Marina" (1930). Eliot's poetic career came to a planned end with the publication of Four Quartets. The long poem like, The Waste Land, is divided into four parts. "Burnt Norton" is the first part of the poem. It is followed by "East Cooker". "Dry Salvage" and the last part of the poem is "Little Gidding". Four Quartets offer a sharp contrast to The Waste Land from the point of view of thematic evolution. The Waste Land represents the culmination of the theme of spiritual hollowness whereas Four Quartets is the poem about the recovery of spiritual bliss.
Eliot, in his critical writings, has been expressing his deep inclination towards drama. The predominance of dramatic objectivity in poetry has always been a critical parameter of defining significance. The predominance of object makes clear Eliot's inclination towards drama. The first play written by Eliot was The Rocks which was performed at Sadler's Wealth Theatre from 28 May to 9 June 1930. Eliot, thereafter, was commissioned to write Murder in the Cathedral in 1935 for Canterbury festival. Eliot's next play – The Family Reunion was performed in 1939. The Cocktail Party (1949) was a great success. His later plays are The Confidential Clerk (1953) and The Elder Statesman(1958).
During the late forties, Eliot's status as an International intellect grew enormously. He was involved in delivering lectures in England and America. He received a number of awards and fellowships. In 1948, he was awarded the Order of Merit, the highest British decoration, and the Noble Prize. The happiest moment in his life came on 10 January 1956 when he married Valerie Fletcher who had, for long, been a devoted Secretary to him. Eliot admits that without the satisfaction of a happy marriage, no achievement, no honour could give me satisfaction (Acroyd 175–176).
Eliot fell sick during the winter of 1962 and the recovery was slow and difficult. He died on 4 January 1965.

References:
Acroyd, Peter. T. S. Eliot, London : Cardinal, 1984.