Thomas Sterns Eliot
"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them." (1)
Biography:
Thomas Stearns Eliot (T.S.) (1888-1965) was born in St. Louis Missouri and grew up to study at Harvard when he was older. At the age of twenty-five, Eliot moved to England where he became naturalized as a citizen. Eliot served many jobs during his life such as a school master, a bank clerk, and a publishing house literary editor, which he later became the director of. Eliot's accomplishment of winning the Nobel Peace Prize for literature in 1948 was no small feat. Through his literary career, Eliot was considered one of the most influential poets of his time. (2)
Eliot is considered one of the main writers of the "Modernism" writing movement, which focused mainly on the pessimistic side of a post-war era. While he never served in military, he did grow up to witness the photography that documented the cruelty of the battle field during the first world war. Along with other modern writers like Ezra Pound and Langston Hughes, Eliot's works pointed out the negative feelings and issues society faced during the post-war era (see the quote at the beginning of the pages for a classic modern-style view point). As with many modern writers, he is also famous for his "stream on consciousness" method of writing, which essentially is a way of writing that shows the though process of the writer without much editing. (3)
Eliot's first major work was the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, but perhaps his most famous work is The Waste Land (4), which is also considered one of the most famous of the Modern writing era. While many people associate The Waste Land with the depression and despair of post-war feelings, it is important to note that when Eliot wrote it, he was at a troubling point in his life due to a failing marriage with his mentally degenerating wife (5).
Eliot died on January 4th, 1965 in the United Kingdom -- a country which he called his home and built his career.
Famous Works:
Analysis of The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock
The opening line of the story is written in Italian:
"If I thought that my reply would be to someone who would ever return to earth, this flame would remain without further movement; but as no one has ever returned alive from this gulf, if what I hear is true, I can answer you with no fear of infamy." - Guido da Montefeltro, Inferno
This can relate to Prufrock. The readers could be interpreted as Dante and Prufrock could be Guido. Guido and Prufrock are both ultimately concerned about what people think of them. The long winding path we’re walking could be compared to Hell. This is the same idea presented in Inferno where Prufrock thinks we can’t escape, so he is open to telling us what is on his mind.
Possible themes of the poem:
Love - as a reader, you notice Prufrock is struggling with trying to admit his “love” to the person he is talking to. In the fourth stanza he asks himself “Do I dare?” and then he “turn[s] back and descend[s] the stair.” He is also very fascinated with himself, so it would seem that his love might be more of a crush. Would it be right to call the poem a lovesong?
Time - probably one of the biggest focuses of this poem. Here you see relation to psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud. Longing for his big chance, Prufrock’s mind jumps between past and future, where he tries to play out different outcomes in his head and he can never quite settle in himself in the present. Worrying about the past and future makes him miss out on a chance to confess his love.
Important Quotations from The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock
“Let us go then, you and I,/When the evening is spread out against the sky/Like a patient etherised upon a table” (opening lines). This sounds like a welcome invitation for a walk and talk ordeal. The third line then throws a giant monkey wrench into it but mentioning ether which they used to knock patients out. This might suggest the reader may be dreaming, or the subject is painful. Overall a very dark and sophisticated quote, especially for the time.
“In a minute there is time/For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” (lines 47-48). This quote relates back to coming close to confessing his love and turning back down the stairs. His claim is that one can always wait to make a decision until later on because there is always time. The problem is that there is always time forever, so he is able to use it to keep stalling and never come to a conclusion. Thus, people get themselves stuck in a never ending circle of putting things off and not truly getting to achieve what they want in life.
(1)"T. S. Eliot Quotes." BrainyQuote. BookRags Media Network, n.d. Web. 21 Jun 2013. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/t_s_eliot.html>.
(2)"T.S. Eliot - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 21 Jun 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1948/eliot-bio.html>
(3). N.p.. Web. 21 Jun 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/133295/stream-of-consciousness>.
(4)Eliot, T.S.. "The Waste Land ." Bartleby.com. Bartleby.com, n.d. Web. 21 Jun 2013. <http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html>.
(5)Thorpe, Vanessa. "Secrets of TS Eliot's tragic first marriage and liaisons to be told at last." The Observer. Guardian News and Media Limited, 14 Nov 2012. Web. 21 Jun 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/nov/18/eliot-tragic-first-marriage>.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.