T.s. Eliot

T.S. Eliot 1888 - 1953

Bibliography – Early Years 

On September 26, 1888, Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in Missouri to Henry Ware Eliot and Charlotte Champe Stearns.

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In June of 1915, Eliot married Vivienne HaighWood, but separated in 1933. Remarried to Esmé Valerie Fletcher, in 1953.

Bibliography – Later Years 

He attended Harvard University and left with a masters and undergraduate degrees. Later, he returned to receive a doctorate degree in philosophy.

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In 1965, Eliot died in London, England at the age of 77 of emphysema.

Literary Career 

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Eliot’s professions included a poet, critic, and editor. The Waste Land, is said to be “the single most influential poetic work of the twentieth century.”

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After 1930, Eliot became to be viewed to many people as “the most dominant figure in poetry and literary criticism in the English-speaking world.”

Literary Influences 

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While attending Harvard, Eliot discovered Arthur Symons’s The Symbolist Movement in Literature. In this, he found the poetic works of Jules Laforgue. After reading his works, Eliot became inspired. In London he met contemporary Ezra Pound, who recognized his poetic genius at once and became a major influence on Eliot.

Main Works 

Poetry: 

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The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915) The Waste Land (1922) The Hollow Men (1925) Ash Wednesday (1927) Four Quartets

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Plays  Murder in the cathedral  The Elder Statesman Essays  Tradition and the Individual Talent  After Strange

Awards and Recognitions 

Eliot received the:    

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Hanseatic Gothe Prize in 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948 Order of Merit in January 1948 Dante Gold Medal in 1959

Eliot was recognized as an Officier de la Legion d’Honneur

Literary Criticism 

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Eliot's poetry was first criticized as not being poetry at all. Widespread use of quotations from other authors into Eliot’s own work. Originality of writing/Plagiarism.

Works Cited 

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Wikipedia. "T. S. Eliot." 16 Oct. 2001. Wikipedia. MediaWiki. 24 Mar. 2009 . "T. S. Eliot." 1997. Academy of American Poets. 24 Mar. 2009 .