The Poetry of T S Eliot
For a basic introduction to TS ELiot, go to Schmoop [http://www.shmoop.com/ts-eliot/] or the beginning of this lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpq64Aar2As] which outlines where Eliot fits into literary history and defines key features of modernism.
Be careful with your research. Do not get too bogged down in the context - it is the background to the poems, not the meaning of them:
“We must not confuse knowledge–factual information about a poet’s period, the conditions of the society in which he lived, the ideas current in his time implicit in his writings, the state of the languages in his period–with understanding his poetry.” T S ELiot: Function.
Poetry foundation [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/t-s-eliot] has a useful introductory essay with quotes from improtant critics - eg "Citing "Prufrock," Unger compares Eliot's poetry to a series of slides. "Each slide is an isolated, fragmentary image, producing its own effect, including suggestions of some larger action or situation of which it is but an arrested moment."
You can also find essays on T S Eliot in the non-fiction section at 821.9.
Google books has some university-level critical studies which you can read online. These books are searchable; use the search box on the left to find references to particular poems or themes. Because much of this criticism refers to poems that are not part of your course, don't waste time reading the entire books unless you enjoy that sort of thing.
The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot By A. David Moody
Gender, Desire, and Sexuality in T. S. Eliot edited by Cassandra Laity, Nancy K. Gish
Anti-T.S. Eliot Stance in Recent Criticism: An Examination By Nasreen Ayaz
Be careful with your research. Do not get too bogged down in the context - it is the background to the poems, not the meaning of them:
“We must not confuse knowledge–factual information about a poet’s period, the conditions of the society in which he lived, the ideas current in his time implicit in his writings, the state of the languages in his period–with understanding his poetry.” T S ELiot: Function.
Poetry foundation [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/t-s-eliot] has a useful introductory essay with quotes from improtant critics - eg "Citing "Prufrock," Unger compares Eliot's poetry to a series of slides. "Each slide is an isolated, fragmentary image, producing its own effect, including suggestions of some larger action or situation of which it is but an arrested moment."
You can also find essays on T S Eliot in the non-fiction section at 821.9.
Google books has some university-level critical studies which you can read online. These books are searchable; use the search box on the left to find references to particular poems or themes. Because much of this criticism refers to poems that are not part of your course, don't waste time reading the entire books unless you enjoy that sort of thing.
The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot By A. David Moody
Gender, Desire, and Sexuality in T. S. Eliot edited by Cassandra Laity, Nancy K. Gish
Anti-T.S. Eliot Stance in Recent Criticism: An Examination By Nasreen Ayaz
Voices of the Critics
Warning to the Wise! DO NOT begin by looking at critical analyses. Work out your own opinion, come up with a thesis, and work out which poems and points you want to discuss. THEN go looking for critics who support your viewpoint.
Only use short critical comments that support your own argument. Critics have a habit of waffling on in big complicated words about nothing much. These are NOT the quotes to put in your essay/speech; if you can't summarise the point in your own words, there probably isn't much being said, no matter how fancy it sounds!
On the role of tradition/culture, the role of the idividual and the porpose of art/literature:
If you are focusing on the way Eliot's poetry breaks with tradition you might wish to look in more detail at Eliot's own theories about literary analysis. For a close look at T S Eliot's opinion on the role of literature and literary criticism, look at this Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University website [https://sites.google.com/site/nmeictproject/presentations/4-1-introduction-t-s-eliot-as-a-critic].
"The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an “objective correlative”; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked." .
"Hamlet and His Problems" in The Sacred Wood; Essays on Poetry and Criticism. T.S. Eliot. 1921
"To Eliot, the prime mover of culture was the preservation of tradition in a constantly changing world...Yes, the world changed, and culture expressed itself in new ways as time passed, but in order for these expressions to have structure and context, a body of the best past expressions and ways of life had to endure....Tradition was not a symptom of antiquarian stuffiness, but rather the preservation of something from the past for an appropriately timely use in the present. ... This evolutionary development was not just a shift in quantity, but also in quality, as the new information changed the culture's perception of the older matter...
"...This communal background stood as the context for the experience of the individual in the world. Personal identity was very important to Eliot's personal concept and to his philosophy, and most of that identity came from the culture in which one had been raised and had learned to think...
"...Art appreciation served to organize tastes, beliefs, and experiences into a whole, satisfying the human desire for unity and self-realization. It was "a fusion of what was not oneself with oneself," developing and becoming "more [one]self by becoming more not [one]self." Reflexively, the self-awareness granted by the study of art facilitates the understanding of other aspects of art and culture the individual might encounter."
T.S. Eliot: Poet and Critic as Historical Theorist. Scott Weidner [http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1992-3/weidner.htm] (quotes in quotes are Eliot)
You need to be critical of the critics! An example of this can be found here [http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1992-3/weidner.htm]
Only use short critical comments that support your own argument. Critics have a habit of waffling on in big complicated words about nothing much. These are NOT the quotes to put in your essay/speech; if you can't summarise the point in your own words, there probably isn't much being said, no matter how fancy it sounds!
On the role of tradition/culture, the role of the idividual and the porpose of art/literature:
If you are focusing on the way Eliot's poetry breaks with tradition you might wish to look in more detail at Eliot's own theories about literary analysis. For a close look at T S Eliot's opinion on the role of literature and literary criticism, look at this Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University website [https://sites.google.com/site/nmeictproject/presentations/4-1-introduction-t-s-eliot-as-a-critic].
"The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an “objective correlative”; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked." .
"Hamlet and His Problems" in The Sacred Wood; Essays on Poetry and Criticism. T.S. Eliot. 1921
"To Eliot, the prime mover of culture was the preservation of tradition in a constantly changing world...Yes, the world changed, and culture expressed itself in new ways as time passed, but in order for these expressions to have structure and context, a body of the best past expressions and ways of life had to endure....Tradition was not a symptom of antiquarian stuffiness, but rather the preservation of something from the past for an appropriately timely use in the present. ... This evolutionary development was not just a shift in quantity, but also in quality, as the new information changed the culture's perception of the older matter...
"...This communal background stood as the context for the experience of the individual in the world. Personal identity was very important to Eliot's personal concept and to his philosophy, and most of that identity came from the culture in which one had been raised and had learned to think...
"...Art appreciation served to organize tastes, beliefs, and experiences into a whole, satisfying the human desire for unity and self-realization. It was "a fusion of what was not oneself with oneself," developing and becoming "more [one]self by becoming more not [one]self." Reflexively, the self-awareness granted by the study of art facilitates the understanding of other aspects of art and culture the individual might encounter."
T.S. Eliot: Poet and Critic as Historical Theorist. Scott Weidner [http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1992-3/weidner.htm] (quotes in quotes are Eliot)
You need to be critical of the critics! An example of this can be found here [http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1992-3/weidner.htm]
On Journey of the Magi
The simplest introduction to this poem is at Schmoop [http://www.shmoop.com/journey-of-the-magi/summary.html]
This lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpq64Aar2As] begins with an overview of T S Eliot's impact on the modernist literary scene, then compares Journey of the Magi and Preludes.
Grover Smith has a good critical introduction to this poem at the Univeristy of Illinois website [http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/magi.htm].
Bachelor and Master [http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/journey-of-the-magi.html] has a very literal interpretation of the poem. This essay is interesting to read so long as you realise it does not grapple with the abstract elements of the poem and would get a band 4 HSC mark! It does, however, identity the key Christian allusions in the poem. A slightly better (but still very basic) analysis can be found at ISC Exam Notes [http://iscexamnotes-content.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/journey-of-magi-ts-eliot-critical.html].
The simplest introduction to this poem is at Schmoop [http://www.shmoop.com/journey-of-the-magi/summary.html]
This lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpq64Aar2As] begins with an overview of T S Eliot's impact on the modernist literary scene, then compares Journey of the Magi and Preludes.
Grover Smith has a good critical introduction to this poem at the Univeristy of Illinois website [http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/magi.htm].
Bachelor and Master [http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/journey-of-the-magi.html] has a very literal interpretation of the poem. This essay is interesting to read so long as you realise it does not grapple with the abstract elements of the poem and would get a band 4 HSC mark! It does, however, identity the key Christian allusions in the poem. A slightly better (but still very basic) analysis can be found at ISC Exam Notes [http://iscexamnotes-content.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/journey-of-magi-ts-eliot-critical.html].
On Prufrock
The University of Saskatchewan [http://www.usask.ca/english/prufrock/index.html] has a wonderful hypertext version of the poem, with links to all the allusions present in Prufrock. A simpler introduction can be found at Schmoop [http://www.shmoop.com/love-song-alfred-prufrock/]. This lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA4NpKVmV5I] situates The hollowmen within T S Eliot's writing and gives an excellent introduction to the allusions in the poem. Anti-T.S. Eliot Stance in Recent Criticism: An Examination By Nasreen Ayaz pp 12-15. The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot By A. David Moody pp 110-198 (Most pages ommitted. Look in your local library!) ENotes [http://www.enotes.com/topics/ts-eliot/critical-essays/analysis-2] has a useful essay which puts Prufock into the context of Eliot's development as a Modernist poet. The University of Illinois [http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/prufrock.htm] has an excellent collection of quotes from critical analyses of this poem. |
On Preludes
A good basic introduction to the proem can be found at A D's Blog [http://ardhendude.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/critical-appreciation-of-t-s-eliots.html] or ISC English Literature [http://iscenglishguide.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/analysis-of-ts-eliots-preludes.html] (you should also read the critical comment at the bottom of the page)] This lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpq64Aar2As] begins with an overview of T S Eliot's impact on the modernist literary scene, then compares Journey of the Magi and Preludes. The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot By A. David Moody chapter 8 There is an excellent analysis of this poem in the South Atlantic Bulletin. You can access this online through JSTOR [http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3197764?uid=3737536&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21106205259793] using your local Library or State Library log-in, or create a free account. |
On Rhapsody
James Parsons' personal blog has some interesting analyses [http://theenglishindustrialrevolution.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/rhapsody-on-windy-night-critical.html] Bachelor and Master [http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/rhapsody-on-a-windy-night.html] has a very literal interpretation of the poem. This essay is interesting to read so long as you realise it does not grapple with the abstract elements of the poem and would get a low band 4 HSC mark! It does, however, identitfy the key allusions in the poem. This lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpq64Aar2As] begins with an overview of T S Eliot's impact on the modernist literary scene, then compares Journey of the Magi and Preludes. The University of Illinois [http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/prufrock.htm] has an excellent collection of quotes from critical analyses of this poem. |
On Hollow Men
The simplest introduction to this poem is at Schmoop [http://www.shmoop.com/hollow-men/] This lecture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFKOnHfR0jw] situates The hollowmen within T S Eliot's writing and gives an excellent introduction to the allusions in the poem. Anti-T.S. Eliot Stance in Recent Criticism: An Examination By Nasreen Ayaz pp 24-25 The University of Illinois [http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/hollow.htm] has an excellent collection of quotes from critical analyses of this poem. |