T.S. Eliot: A Biography
By Paul Brody
()
About this ebook
Born in what was then still considered the American West, educated in the Ivy Halls of the Northeast, and repatriated as an English subject in 1927, Thomas Stearns Eliot today stands as one of the most important figures in the whole history of English literature. His signature works include poetry (The Waste Land, Four Quartets, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”), drama (Murder in the Cathedral, The Cocktail Party) and criticism (The Sacred Wood). Eliot received the Nobel Prize in 1948 in recognition for his nearly four decades of achievement.
This biography walks you through the life and times of one of the greatest poets of the modern age.
Read more from Paul Brody
DFW: A Biography of David Foster Wallace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Paris Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wind and Willows (With Grahame Biography) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShakespeare & Company: The Story of Lord Chamberlain’s Men Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsModernist Mentor: A Biography of Gertrude Stein Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to T.S. Eliot
Related ebooks
A Study Guide for T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for T. S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReligion Around Emily Dickinson Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Poetry of D. H. Lawrence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Study Guide for John Milton's Paradise Lost Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiscovering Dylan Thomas: A Companion to the Collected Poems and Notebook Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuiet Fire: Emily Dickinson's Life and Poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life Of William Shakespeare: The Classic Unabridged Shakespeare Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry of Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Vol I: "Love is the last relay and ultimate outpost of eternity" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Divine Comedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ezra Pounds Aesthetics and the Origins of Modernism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou have a Lot to Lose: A Memoir, 1956–1986 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOdysseus: A Verse Tragedy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Read Four Quartets? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Waste Land Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Essay on Criticism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daphnis and Chloe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Divine Comedy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Auden To Yeats: Critical Analysis of 30 Selected Poems Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Poems by John Keats Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAutobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1, Reader’s Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Song of Myself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUndine: With an Introduction by S. C. Cronwright-Schreiner Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmily Dickinson Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dante's Inferno, The Indiana Critical Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Study Guide for Gerard Manley Hopkins's "Pied Beauty" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Literary Biographies For You
The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Moveable Feast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing into the Wound: Understanding trauma, truth, and language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dad on Pills: Fatherhood and Mental Illness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confessions of a Bookseller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lincoln Lawyer: A Mysterious Profile Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Writer's Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5These Precious Days: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writers and Their Notebooks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1931–1934 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Real Lolita: A Lost Girl, an Unthinkable Crime, and a Scandalous Masterpiece Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Very Best of Maya Angelou: The Voice of Inspiration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5James Baldwin: A Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Letters from Max: A Poet, a Teacher, a Friendship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shakespeare: The World as Stage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Incest: From "A Journal of Love": The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1932–1934 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Murder Your Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for T.S. Eliot
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
T.S. Eliot - Paul Brody
LifeCaps Presents:
T.S. Eliot:
A Biography
By Paul Brody
© 2011 by Golgotha Press, Inc./LifeCaps
Published at SmashWords
www.bookcaps.com
About LifeCaps
LifeCaps is an imprint of BookCaps™ Study Guides. With each book, a lesser known or sometimes forgotten life is recapped. We publish a wide array of topics (from baseball and music to literature and philosophy), so check our growing catalogue regularly (www.bookcaps.com) to see our newest books.
Introduction
Born in what was then still considered the American West, educated in the Ivy Halls of the Northeast, and repatriated as an English subject in 1927, Thomas Stearns Eliot today stands as one of the most important figures in the whole history of English literature. His signature works include poetry (The Waste Land, Four Quartets, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
), drama (Murder in the Cathedral, The Cocktail Party) and criticism (The Sacred Wood). Eliot received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948 in recognition for his nearly four decades of achievement.
Chapter 1: Early Life
The first Eliot to set foot on the shores of America was Andrew Eliot, who came to Massachusetts from East Coker, Somerset, in 1670. Once settled in the colonies, he became the head of a well-respected Boston family. In 1834, the Reverend William Greenleaf Eliot, having just graduated from Harvard Divinity School, pulled up stakes and moved to St. Louis. Following in the footsteps of his forebears, the Reverend Eliot established himself as a powerful figure in the St. Louis community and influenced the city’s intellectual climate for generations to come. In practical terms, the Reverend founded the Gateway City’s first Unitarian Church, along with Washington University, still a highly regarded institution of higher learning. Outside of civic and church duties, he occupied himself with lengthy expository writings on philosophical and ethical topics.
In the mid-19th century, St. Louis was at the height of its power, and one of the most prosperous and progressive cities in the young nation. The city hosted the World’s Fair in 1904; by the time of Thomas Stearns Eliot’s birth, though, the city was in decline. Chicago surpassed St. Louis in population in 1880, taking with it more influence in the region. Meanwhile, City Hall’s rampant corruption was revealed in the early 1900s, ruining the public trust and adding an embarrassing mark against the city’s reputation.
The Reverend Eliot’s second son, Henry Ware, graduated from his father’s university in 1863. He went into business for himself and quickly put down roots, marrying Charlotte Stearns, herself descended from a respectable New England family. On September 26, 1888, Charlotte gave birth to the couple’s seventh and youngest child, Thomas Stearns. Not surprisingly, Thomas grew up in a sophisticated, cultured home with parents who valued curiosity and demanded mental exertion from each of their children. Although he had died before Thomas was born, the Reverend nevertheless cast a long shadow over the development of his grandchildren. His philosophies and values imparted certain responsibilities on his offspring, perhaps the chief among those the requirement to serve the public good in some way.
Adjacent to the Eliot household was Mary Institute, a girl’s school founded by the Reverend Eliot. A tall fence divided the school’s playground from the home’s backyard, through which young Thomas often heard the sound of children playing – but he could not himself join in. As an adult, unseen children playing and their sounds of joy and laughter would become a recurring image in his poetry.
In 1897, Thomas’s father constructed a summer home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Summer vacations were spent there for the rest of his boyhood, and from these pleasant New England coastal summers, he also tapped a deep well of inspiration. Later, Thomas became an expert sailor. Sea imagery, like the imagery of children and play, would forever be a part of his verse, whether juvenile or fully mature.
Chapter 2: Education
Thomas Stearns Eliot no doubt began his education, informally at least, in the home. His mother was an accomplished schoolteacher, and his father held a university degree and came from a family of brilliant thinkers. His official education, however, commenced at St. Louis’s Smith Academy. There, Eliot received the expected grounding in the essentials of the day: Latin, Greek, history, mathematics, French and German languages, and rhetoric. His early tastes in poetry favored big, bold, often historic subject matter rather than the subtle and psychological work of Shakespeare or Milton. By accident, Eliot discovered Edward