T. S. E LIOT By Jocelyn Giordano and Aaryne Antell “Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.”

E ARLY LIFE T.S. Eliot was born as Thomas Stearns Eliot in St. Louis, Missouri on September 26, 1888 Often spent summers in Gloucester and Cape Anne, Massachusetts Attended private school at Smith Academy, originally named Eliot Academy Brought up in a very religious family Family believed in self denial, rational prudence, and duty over selfish aims

FAMILY His father, Henry Ware Eliot, was president and treasurer of Hydraulic Press Brick Company His mother, Charlotte Champe Stearns, was a poet and social worker His cousin, Charles William Eliot, was the 24 th president of Harvard (Eliot later attended school there) His grandfather, William Greenleaf Eliot, founded the local church, school, and college Eliot was the youngest of six children

I NTERESTING FACTS In October of 1910, Eliot told his parents he was studying abroad in Paris, France but he was really taking time off to focus on artistic sense and philosophical discoveries Was a social recluse during his time studying at Harvard (received his undergraduate degree and his PhD) and also attended Merton College at Oxford First marriage was to Vivienne Haigh- Wood Seperated in 1933 and then she was committed to a mental hospital in 1938 where she stayed until she died in 1947 Second marriage to Esmé Valerie Fletcher, who was 38 years his junior  Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in  Won a Nobel Prize in literature in 1948  Appointed a Member of the Order of Merit in 1948  Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964  Won four Tony Awards

P OETIC STYLE Known as a modernist Uses allusions example: “The girl didn’t like to spend money; she was clearly a Scrooge,” which refers to A Christmas Carol where the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, was a cheap man who always “pinched pennies” Sentences were concise and grammatically correct but hard to understand due to the usage of allusions Used brevity, comparisons, and was often repetitive Wanted to invoked emotions in the readers rather than stating them bluntly

THEMES Damaged Psyche of Humanity:  Expressed passing of Victorian era and the trauma of World War I  Captured the transformed role, which they perceived as fractured, alienated, and denigrated  Thought culture was “crumbling” and “dissolving” Changing of Gender Roles:  Expresses the change in times for men and women  Sexuality was able to be discussed  Women were allowed to get educated  Flappers were able to smoke and drink in public

“H YSTERIA ” As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her teeth were only accidental stars with a talent for squad-drill. I was drawn in by short gasps, inhaled at each momentary recovery, lost finally in the dark caverns of her throat, bruised by the ripple of unseen muscles. An elderly waiter with trembling hands was hurriedly spreading a pink and white checked cloth over the rusty green iron table, saying: "If the lady and gentleman wish to take their tea in the garden, if the lady and gentleman wish to take their tea in the garden..." I decided that if the shaking of her breasts could be stopped, some of the fragments of the afternoon might be collected, and I concentrated my attention with careful subtlety to this end.

“M ORNING AT THE WINDOW ” They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens, And along the trampled edges of the street I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids Sprouting despondently at area gates. The brown waves of fog toss up to me Twisted faces from the bottom of the street, And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts An aimless smile that hovers in the air And vanishes along the level of the roofs. youtube.co m/watch?v= ZNRB1aDE tns utube.com/wat ch?v=3X- UufaL7vg