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T.S.Eliot（1888-1965）ThomasStearnsEliotApoet,dramatist,literarycritic,andmodernist.•I.Life•II.HisAestheticView•III.LiteraryCareer&MajorWorks•IV.HisTechniques•V.Position•HewasborninMissourionSeptember26,1888.HelivedinSt.LouisduringthefirsteighteenyearsofhislifeandattendedHarvardUniversity.•In1910,helefttheUnitedStatesfortheSorbonne,havingearnedbothundergraduateandmastersdegreesandhavingcontributedseveralpoemstotheHarvardAdvocate.•AfterayearinParis,hereturnedtoHarvardtopursueadoctorateinphilosophy,butreturnedtoEuropeandsettledinEnglandin1914.I.HisLife•Thefollowingyear,hemarriedVivienneHaigh-WoodandbeganworkinginLondon,firstasateacher,andlaterforLloyd'sBank.•ItwasinLondonthatEliotcameundertheinfluenceofhiscontemporaryEzraPound,whorecognizedhispoeticgeniusatonce,andassistedinthepublicationofhisworkinanumberofmagazines.•In1927hebecameaBritishcitizen.•Afteranotoriouslyunhappyfirstmarriage,Eliotseparatedfromhisfirstwifein1933,andwasremarried,toValerieFletcher,in1956.•In1948hereceivedtheNobelPrizeforLiterature.•In1965hediedinLondon.II.HisAestheticViews•1.Apoemshouldbeanorganicthinginitself,amadeobject.Onceitisfinished,thepoetwillnolongerhavecontrolofit.Itshouldbejudged,analyzedbyitselfwithouttheinterferenceofthepoet’spersonalinfluenceandintentionalelementsandotherelements.•2.Modernlifeischaotic,futile,fragmentary,sopoetryshouldreflectthisfragmentarynatureoflifeandthiskindnatureoflifeshouldbeprojected,notanalyzed.3.objectivecorrelative:Asetofobjects,asituation,achainofevents,formulainwhichthepoetexpresseshisemotionandinwhichthefusionofintellect,feeling,andexperienceshouldbeachieved.•4.Thepoetshoulddrawupontradition:usethepasttoservethepresentandfuture(thepast,present,futureinterrelate),borrowfromauthorsremoteintime,alieninlanguage,diverseininterest,usethepasttounderscorewhatismissingfromthepresent.Firstperiod:•1911TheLoveSongofJ.AlfredPrufrock—thefirstmasterpieceofmodernisminEnglish;•1917PrufrockandOtherObservations:Firstvolumeofpoetry.III.LiteraryCareer&MajorWorksSecondperiod:•1922TheWasteLand:Eliot’seruditemasterpieceonthethemeofsterilityandchaosofthecontemporaryworld,anexpressionofthedespairofthepost-warera.•1925TheHollowMan:thespiritualandemotionalaridityofmodernmen.•1920TheSacredWood:avolumeonliterarycriticism,amanifestoofmodernistpoetry.Thirdperiod:•1930AshWednesday•1935-1943FourQuartets•Literarycriticism:SelectedEssays1932,TheUsesofPoetry1933,OnPoetryandPoets1957,etc.•1935-1958:verseplays:MurderintheCathedral•1.Useofdisconnectedimages/symbols•2.Useofliteraryallusions/references•3.Useofhighlyexpressivemeterandrhythmoffreeverses•4.Useofmetaphysicalwhimsicalimages/whims•5.UseofflexibletoneIV.HisTechniques•Heisverydifficulttoreadwithlearnedquotationsfromandallusionstoclassicalliterature,heavysymbolism,highlyfreshimagery,andstream-of-consciousnesstechnique.V.HisPosition•Eliotwasoneofthemostdistinguishedpoets,andliterarycriticsofthe20thcentury.•Hestandsintheleadofthemodernistpoetry.Thetitlesof“TheWasteland,”“HollowMan”havebecomethetermsthatdefinethenatureofmodernistsocietyandmodernman.•Eliot’spoetrysaidmoreaboutthemodernchaosinfiftyor60linesthanallthesocialcriticsandtheirvolumesputtogether.—ArchibaldMacleish“aclassicistinart,aroyalistinpolitics,andanAnglo-Catholicinreligion.”•Asapoet,heisaleaderofthemodernistmovementinEnglishpoetryandagreatinnovatorofversetechnique•Hedominatedcriticismintheperiodbetweentwoworldwarsandshapedthetastesandthecriticalvocabularyofageneration.Heinsistedthatpoetryshouldbeimpersonalandthatnotonlythepoet’sprivatelifebuteventheworldinwhichhelivedwasirrelevanttoatrueunderstandingofhiswork.