T.S. Eliot was born in 1888 in St. Louis, MO. He attended Harvard University where he received his undergraduate and master's degrees. He began his doctorate in Philosophy, but he moved to England and never defended his dissertation after W.W. I. broke out. His most famous works include The Wasteland, and the Four Quartets.
Eliot and Stevens Points of Intersection:[]
Impersonal Poetry:
"Eliot clearly defined his position on the necessary impersonality of the poet in "Tradition and the Individual Talent," claiming that the poet must be an invisible catalyst for apprehension in the poem" (Brown). Wallace Stevens' poetry has an appearance of impersonality since he chooses to distance himself in the works by using a narrator that is not his voice, yet could be argued that it is Stevens.
First Works:
Eliot published The Wasteland less than a year befor Stevens published Harmonium. Eliot released his poem to great critical success, cementing his place in literature.
Stevens' Harmonium was less well received.
Points of Divergence:[]
Humanism versus Christianity:
Stevens tends to come from a very humanist leaning, "claiming atheism and acknowledging the death of god both personally and as a cultural trend" (Brown).
Eliot "flirted with humanism" but was converted to Christianity in 1927 which shaped and influenced his poetry, politics and cultural views (Brown).
Excerpt from a letter of Stevens:
(1940) "It is possible that a man like T.S. Eliot illustrates the character, except that I regard him as a negative rather than a positive force" (Kermode).
Works Cited[]
- Brown, Will. "T.S. Eliot." Middle Tennessee State University. Peck Hall, Murfreesboro, TN. 19 March 2014.
Presentation.
- Kermode, Frank, and Joan Richardson, eds. Wallace Stevens: Collected Poetry and Prose. New York:
Library of America, 1997. Print.