T.S. Eliot

Reputation Widely respected by critics and academics and other poets Not widely read by a general audience Possibly the most important and influential poet of the 20 th century

Background An American from Missouri, but later gave up his citizenship here to become a British citizen A Modernist writer both in themes and in experimental techniques Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948

Background Was a banker and later a book publisher and literary critic Was very conservative in his values and conclusions concerning the dilemma of modern life. Was a conservative in politics Joined the Anglican Church Had a difficult marriage to his first wife

Key Themes Loneliness and Alienation Emptiness and Spiritual Hollowness Loss of Tradition Loss of Religion Loss of Certainty

Key Works 1922 – “The Wasteland” a turning point, watershed in Modernist poetry “The Preludes” “The Hollow Men” “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” Play – Murder in the Cathedral

Poetry Style Intentionally complex Lots of complicated allusions Disjointed Use of juxtaposition Symbolic Suggestive of themes, but must be inferred by the reader Ironic tone