T.S. Eliot: A Biography
By Paul Brody
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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.
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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