T. S. Eliot's Influences

By looking through a critical lens at T Stearns Eliot’s poetry in light of his 20th century, modernist context, much is revealed about his personal and the rapidly evolving societal beliefs of that era. Through his repeating motif of time and fragmentation throughout his poems, Eliot reveals the prevalent feelings of isolation while in society along with the need to hide one’s feelings and emotions in this degrading society. His exploration of the use of ambiguity and stream of consciousness by Eliot, which is a characteristic of modernist artists, allows his work to resound over decades while being interpreted and differently understood by every audience that encounters them.

TS Elliot represents the views of many artists of the modernist movement who encapsulate the psychological and emotional distress of WW1 and the early events of the 20th Century in his poems. Modernists believe that every individual in an industrialised city is part of a superficial society that reduces the depth and value of human relationships. The alienation and loneliness as a consequence of this superficial society are strong themes that are part of many modernist works. This meaning is hidden behind layers of complicated and elitist imagery and symbolism which force the reader to search for meaning in the poem as the poets search for meaning in their modern lives. The

Through the work of his mother and grandfather TS Eliot became aware of poverty and the boring reality of peoples' lives.

Edgar Allan Poe has to be one of the most influential writers of his time. He influenced great writers

Louis, Missouri, Eliot was the son of Henry Ware Eliot, a prosperous entrepreneur, president and treasurer of the Hydraulic-Press Brick Company. His mother, Charlotte Champe Stearns, was a poet and a social worker. Of their six surviving children, Eliot was the youngest. Eliot started primary school in 1898 at Smith Academy where he learned four different languages: latin, greek, french, and german, until he left school in 1905. After graduating he attended Harvard University for three years where he earned his Master's Degree and settled in Paris studying at the sorbonne, a public research university in Paris, France. . Eliot decided to return to school in 1911 as a doctoral student in philosophy, and after completing his course there he went on a full scholarship to Oxford University. Oxford is where he meet his soon to be wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood, who was working as a governess in Cambridge. Eliot dropped College in the middle and married Vivienne on 26 June 1915 in a secret ceremony. He settled in London with his wife and supported himself with his small teaching

T.S Eliot was the most famous English poet of his time, and he was one of the most influential poet. His distinctive style of writing took the attention of not only other poets, but many people all over the world. “Thomas Stearns Eliot is best known as a poet and literary critic (he received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948), but his work in social and cultural theory has also been widely influential”(Edwards). T.S. Eliot's style of writing was mostly a pessimistic view on life. One of the best examples of his pessimistic view on life comes from his work The Hollow Men. The Hollow Men is a short part of the title The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. The Hollow

Edgar Allan Poe once said, “Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most influential people in literary history and his words had the great power to impress the mind. More than 150 years after the death of Edgar Allan Poe, his writings are still influencing and inspiring writers today. Edgar Allan Poe was one of the a greatest literary influences of the 19th century and of today because of the way he changed the literary style of his time, he created a new genre of literature of both the horror and detective story, and he became the founder of the modern short story.

It was during this time that she began to suffer from the kidney problems that eventually killed her. She was also plagued by chronic head and tooth aches during this time (Karl, 545). Despite her physical ailments Eliot meticulously researched the book. She took Hebrew lessons with Emanuel Deutsch and the character of Mordecai Cohen is said to be based on him. She also read extensively about Jewish culture and tradition. In a letter Eliot’s would be spouse, George Henry Lewes, writes that of the two buying Judaic books and visiting a synagogue in Frankfurt in the summer of 1873 (Karl, 527).

In the poems “The Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock,” written in 1910, published in 1915, and “Rhapsody on a Windy Night,” written in 1917, both of which were written by poet and literary-critic T. S. Eliot, the symbolism and imagery of the women represented in mythological means, the locations and landscapes that both protagonists wander through or plan on going to, and the nature that is used in both poems are very similar, yet uniquely different. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is about a man with low self-confidence worrying about going to a party in the evening where he is sure that the women there with reject and ridicule him; “Rhapsody on a Windy Night” is about a man wandering his way back in the early hours of the morning

            I think this style of writing is also a reflection of Eliot's feelings about the time.  Eliot was more of a Modernist than Victorian poet and as such held to beliefs like: there is no higher power in the universe, man is alone on this planet to govern his own affairs, everyone is truly alone, there is no unity, no support, for we live in a godless heartless world (Stacey Donohue).  The floating, confusing, jumbled mix of emotions and directions in this poem mirrors the modernist image of society.

On countless inspirational posters, calendars, and even boxes of tea can be found the timeless aphorisms of America’s most famous philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson is hailed by literary critics by being the father of individualism and the transcendentalist movement in America. Emerson’s most famous poems are known for their positivity and faith in human nature. However, this positivity is contrasted with his tragic personal life, full of challenges and heartache. Through explicating Emerson’s notable poems The Rhodora, it is evident how Emerson’s life and experiences have impacted his creative works.

T.S. Eliot was know for many different types of poetry, he also wrote many different critic essays, plays, and drawing-room plays. Eliot judged and wrote on many plays and poems including his own, for instance, he noticed and said this about his play “The Family Reunion”, “...that its hero was a prig but its poetry the best in any of his plays”(Cuddy).

   Thomas Stearns Eliot was not a revolutionary, yet he revolutionized the way the Western world writes and reads poetry. Some of his works were as imagist and incomprehensible as could be most of it in free verse, yet his concentration was always on the meaning of his language, and the lessons he wished to teach with them. Eliot consorted with modernist literary iconoclast Ezra Pound but was obsessed with the traditional works of Shakespeare and Dante. He was a man of his time yet was obsessed with the past. He was born in the United States, but later became a royal subject in England. In short, Eliot is as complete and total a

Q5 "Much of what Eliot writes about is harsh and bleak, but he writes about it in a way that is often beautiful". Comment fully on both parts of this assertion.

Mr. Eliot believed that poetry does not move the poet, but instead, the poetry moved the reader. His approach was that of Modernist, always alluding to something, with the reader left wondering. He wanted his poetry to be one that was always linguistically perfect, resulting in Eliot not publishing many poems in his lifetime. Eliot met Ezra Pound who was a literary critic who was influential in helping Eliot’s poem, A Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock become published. This was probably one of Eliot’s best piece’s of poetry.