Dewey Edition21
ReviewsSeries of four poems by T.S. Eliot, published individually from 1936 to 1942, and in book form in 1943; the work is considered to be Eliot's masterpiece. Each of the quartets has five "movements" and each is titled by a place name--BURNT NORTON (1936), EAST COKER (1940), THE DRY SALVAGES (1941), and LITTLE GIDDING (1942). Eliot's insights into the cyclical nature of life are revealed through themes and images deftly woven throughout the four poems. The work addresses the connections of the personal and historical present and past, spiritual renewal, and the very nature of experience; it is considered the poet's clearest exposition of his Christian beliefs., Published in the fiery days of World War II, Four Quartets stands as a testament to the power of poetry amid the chaos of the time. Let the words speak for themselves: "The dove descending breaks the air/With flame of incandescent terror/Of which the tongues declare/The only discharge from sin and error/The only hope, or the despair/Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre--/To be redeemed from fire by fire./Who then devised this torment?/Love/Love is the unfamiliar Name/Behind the hands that wave/The intolerable shirt of flame/Which human power cannot remove./We only live, only suspire/Consumed by either fire or fire."
SynopsisThe last major verse written by Nobel laureate T. S. Eliot, considered by Eliot himself to be his finest work Four Quartets is a rich composition that expands the spiritual vision introduced in "The Waste Land." Here, in four linked poems ("Burnt Norton," "East Coker," "The Dry Salvages," and "Little Gidding"), spiritual, philosophical, and personal themes emerge through symbolic allusions and literary and religious references from both Eastern and Western thought. It is the culminating achievement by a man considered the greatest poet of the twentieth century and one of the seminal figures in the evolution of modernism., The celebrated, last major verse written by Nobel laureate T. S. Eliot.Considered by Eliot himself to be his finest work, Four Quartets is a rich composition that expands the spiritual vision introduced in "The Waste Land." Here, in four linked poems ("Burnt Norton," "East Coker," "The Dry Salvages," and "Little Gidding"), spiritual, philosophical, and personal themes emerge through symbolic allusions and literary and religious references from both Eastern and Western thought. It is the culminating achievement by a man considered the greatest poet of the twentieth century and one of the seminal figures in the evolution of modernism., The celebrated, last major verse written by Nobel laureate T. S. Eliot. Considered by Eliot himself to be his finest work, Four Quartets is a rich composition that expands the spiritual vision introduced in "The Waste Land." Here, in four linked poems ("Burnt Norton," "East Coker," "The Dry Salvages," and "Little Gidding"), spiritual, philosophical, and personal themes emerge through symbolic allusions and literary and religious references from both Eastern and Western thought. It is the culminating achievement by a man considered the greatest poet of the twentieth century and one of the seminal figures in the evolution of modernism.
LC Classification NumberPS3509.L43F6