The Cambridge Introduction to T. S. Eliot

Cambridge Introductions to Literature

by John Xiros Cooper

T. S. Eliot is not only one of the most important poets of the twentieth century; as literary critic and commentator on culture and society, his writing continues to be profoundly influential. Every student of English must engage with his writing to understand the course of modern literature. This book provides the perfect introduction to key aspects of Eliot's life and work, as well as to the wider contexts of modernism in which he wrote. John Xiros Cooper explains how Eliot was influenced by the intellectual climate of both twentieth-century Britain and America, and how he became a key cultural figure on both sides of the Atlantic. The continuing controversies surrounding his writing and his thought are also addressed. With a useful guide to further reading, this is the most informative and accessible introduction to T. S. Eliot.

Genres: Poetry, Criticism, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Xiros Cooper's THE CAMBRIDGE INTRODUCTION TO T.S. ELIOT gives the basics of the great 20th century poet's life and work for readers who have already read, say, the Selected Poems and developed an appreciation.

THE CAMBRIDGE INTRODUCTION TO T.S. ELIOT begins with a brief biography from the poet's Mississippi upbringing to his elderly arrival into the English elite. It then takes a step back and looks at the wider issues that shaped Eliot's life, such as his ancestry, inspirational parts of the literary canon, 20th century modernism and classicism, and cultural polemics. Cooper then describes several of Eliot's major poems, especially "Portrait of a Lady", "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", "The Hollow Men", "Gerontion", "Burbank with a Baedeker: Bleistein with a Cigar", "The Waste Land", the Ariel poems, "Ash-Wednesday" and "Four Quartets".

The presentation is generally sympathetic. In the biography, Cooper notes some negative traits, but he also makes a case that Eliot had a hard life with his unhappy marriage and need to belong in England. In general, Cooper looks positively on Eliot's turn to Anglo-Catholicism in the late 1920s and exploration of spiritual themes at the individual and societal level. He even calls "Four Quartets Eliot's greatest poetic achievement. It's certainly nice to encounter a book with such a perspective, as so much academic Eliot scholarship speaks as if his talents all went downhill after "The Waste Land". However, it's not entirely rosy. Cooper does discuss the contemporary re-evaluation of Eliot, especially the issues of misogyny and anti-semitism.

THE CAMBRIDGE INTRODUCTION TO T. S. Eliot does have a few problems. The chronological presentation of the poems is mixed up in that it considers "The Hollow Men" (1925) before "Gerontion" (1920) and readers may be mislead that the former inspired the later one. Also, Cooper's text frequently mentions how seminal Eliot's literary criticism was, but that it is nowadays considered superseded, but Cooper does not say what aspects of Eliot's philosophy came to be rejected. Finally, Eliot's plays are not seriously considered here. "Murder in the Cathedral" is only briefly noted for its dramatic innovations, and not its poetry, while the subsequent plays get no coverage at all.

All in all, however, this is an accessible introduction that covers the main points of Eliot's poetry and the academic and societal response to it.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

An academic but accessible if not interesting and introductory survey of T. S. Eliot's life and work and art and faith.