Thomas Stearns Eliot is a poet, playwright and literary critic, and he is the leader of poetry modernism movement. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Eliot's grandfather is a priest and the former president of this university. My father is in business, and my mother is a poet and has written religious poems. Eliot studied philosophy and comparative literature at Harvard University, was exposed to Sanskrit and oriental culture, was interested in Hegelian philosophers and was also influenced by French symbolism literature. 19 14 years, Eliot met the American poet pound. After the outbreak of World War I, he came to England and settled in London, where he worked as a teacher and bank clerk. 1922 founded the quarterly literary criticism standard, and served as the editor-in-chief until 1939. Eliot thinks he is a royalist in politics, an English Catholic in religion and a classicist in literature.

1922 The Wasteland won him an international reputation. It is regarded by critics as the most influential poem in the 20th century and a milestone in modern British and American poetry. 1927, Eliot became a British citizen. The Four Quartet published in 1943 won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948, and established his position as the greatest living English poet and writer at that time. In his later years, he devoted himself to poetry and drama creation. Eliot died in London on 1965.

The life of the character

Character source

Eliot 1888 was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 26th. His family is very superior. His father is the president of the company and his mother is a teacher. Later, he became a volunteer and took an active part in social work. Eliot is the youngest child in the family. The excessive care of his mother and five sisters did not make Eliot's childhood a double happiness. On the contrary. Before he was sixteen, Eliot studied at Smith College in St. Louis.

learning experience

1In the autumn of 905, Eliot entered Harvard University, and his freshman life was very pleasant. One of the clubs he joined was literary signature. Influenced by some professors, Eliot began to pay attention to IrvingBabbitt's proverbs of awakening the world and santayana's skepticism. What influenced him the most was Arthur Simon's Symbolism Movement in Literature. Eliot was in a hurry at first because of the scattered courses he chose, but he finally got a bachelor's degree in comparative literature and a master's degree in English literature with his perseverance.

19 10, Eliot left the United States and went to the Sorbonne, where he was surrounded by avant-garde ideas and academic schools in various fields of art. After listening to Bergson's philosophy class at the French Academy, Eliot was immediately fascinated, which made him return to Harvard, which was regarded as the golden age of philosophy at that time, to study for a doctorate in philosophy. 19 14, Eliot went to Europe. At that time, most of his philosophy teachers at Harvard had regarded him as a future colleague. Eliot intends to enter Merton College of Oxford University in the autumn of the same year, accompanied by HaroldJoachim, a colleague and successor of F.H. Bradley. As the war drew near, Eliot advanced his trip to England and arrived in London in August of the same year. Aiken, who is also an American poet, gave Eliot's poems to the famous poet ezra pound. In September, Eliot and Pound met for the first time. Since then, they have been closely linked in the creative activities of neoclassical poetry. With Pound's help, many magazines published Eliot's poems, the most famous of which was J Alfred Pruefer Locke's love song published in 19 15. This poem imitates the style of French symbolist poet Jules Lafarge, with strong irony, and depicts people's complex psychology of love and life in the social background at that time.

Build a family

19 15 At the beginning of this year, Eliot met the dancer Vivian under the introduction of a classmate. He was soon fascinated and got married in June of that year. Eliot's parents were shocked and even more worried when they learned about Vivian's long history of love and mental illness. This marriage brought the whole family to the brink of collapse, but it also undoubtedly created Eliot's English life.

Life after marriage is not always smooth sailing. In order to meet the expenses, Eliot took on a heavy workload. He is a lecturer in a school and an assistant editor of theEgoist, a pioneer magazine. 1965438+In April 2006, Eliot completed his doctoral thesis, but lost his degree because he refused to return to China. 19 17 In the spring, a friend offered Eliot a stable job as an appraiser in Luo Yi's bank. This job gives Eliot time and energy to continue his poetry creation. This year, the publication of his first book, Pruefer Locke and Others, gave him a great impetus. This book is published by Egoist magazine and anonymously funded by the pound. This book established Eliot's status as a poet, and the Waste Land was published in 1922. This work is regarded by critics as the most influential poem in the 20th century, and Eliot's fame is similar to a myth. This work is regarded as a milestone in modern British and American poetry.

1927, Eliot became a British citizen. In the thirty years after 1930, Eliot became the most outstanding poet and critic in English literature.

Eliot's first marriage was doomed to fail because of the huge personality difference with his wife, and Vivian was admitted to a nursing home for mental reasons. 1933, exhausted Eliot officially separated from his wife. 1956, Eliot married his second wife, ValerieFletcher, and the marriage was very happy.

The death of a character

19651On October 4th, Eliot died at his home in London. After Eliot's death, his family was cremated according to his last words. In the church, his stone tablet reads: Please remember the poet Thomas Stearns Eliot. It also says his date of birth and death, and there are two sentences: "My beginning is my end, and my end is my beginning."

Character works

Pruefer Locke and others.

Pruefer Locke and other observations.

poetry anthology

wasteland

Poetry anthology 1909- 1925

Poetry 1909- 1925

The first day of lent

Classic of an old cat who is good at camouflage

Old opossum practical cat book

Charred Norton

Four quartets

selected poems

poetry anthology

Sacred forest

Sacred forest

Andrew marvell.

Andrew Marvell

Dante

Tradition and Attempt of Modern Literature

Tradition and experiment in contemporary literature

Meditation after Lambeth

Thinking after Lambeth

John Dighton

John Dryden

Classical and modern prose

Ancient and modern prose

Poetry and drama

Poetry and drama

rock

The murder of the cathedral

The murder of the cathedral

family reunion

Family gathering

cocktail party

cocktail party

Old politician

The country for the aged is safe.

Writing characteristics

Eliot was good at hiding himself behind poetry in his early creation, constantly changing his mask and tone. The "I" in poetry is mostly a dramatic figure, rather than the author who directly expresses his feelings. But on the whole, he prefers a depressed, helpless and humorous voice. This feature really makes it difficult for ordinary readers to understand Eliot's early poems. Eliot's poems often have no elaborate ideological context. He jokingly quoted lines from Byron's Don Juan several times to defend himself: "Of course, I can't claim to know what I mean when I want to show my cards." In the article "Metaphysical Poets", he also expressed such a high opinion: the works of contemporary poets are puzzling, but the diversity and complexity of our cultural system will inevitably have an effect on the sensitivity of poets. "Poets must become more and more inclusive, more and more obscure and more indirect, so as to force language to yield and even disrupt the normal order of language expression when necessary."

Eliot thinks that there are "imaginary order" and "imaginary logic" in Eliot's introduction, which are different from the familiar order and logic because the poet omits the link that plays a connecting role; The reader should allow the images in the poem to enter his sensitive memory without examining whether those images are used properly, and will naturally receive good appreciation results in the end. Perhaps the best expression of this "imaginary order" and "imaginary logic" is The Waste Land, which established Eliot's position as a modernist leader.

Eliot's masterpiece is Quartet, which was written between 1935 and 1942. They are the burnt-out Norton, East Cork Village, Gansevigis and Little Charlin. The Quartet is Eliot's brief introduction, which is a philosophical poem about eternity and time. However, poets do not use purely abstract concepts. He leads readers to explore the dialectical relationship between eternity and time in concrete history. The language in the quartet is ordinary, formal and very precise. Eliot, who is extremely sensitive to language, often can't express himself. In East Cork Village, he compared writing poetry to "an unbearable struggle between words and meaning". Eliot never dared to feel at ease about his beliefs and creations. He is worried that language will deteriorate because of improper use, which will inevitably affect the quality of our thoughts and feelings.

The influence of later generations

Eliot's tradition and personal talent were translated into Chinese by the famous poet Bian as early as 1930s. For this far-reaching paper, Borges said, on the contrary, we created ancestors and traditions, not traditions created us. After The Waste Land was published, various interpretations emerged one after another, and people often regarded it as a portrayal of the decline of Western civilization. Some critics have also made a fuss about The Rescue of Wasteland, arguing that Wasteland is essentially different from Ulysses. Eliot described lonely individuals shivering in the face of endless darkness. Solving all kinds of problems in contemporary society is beyond human power, so we can only wait for the rain in the rumble of thunder.

Yan Feng, an associate professor in the Chinese Department of Fudan University, recalled that in the 1980s, domestic college students said it was futile to talk about Eliot and read all his poems, which showed that Eliot had a great influence on China's cultural circles. Nowadays, poetry is marginalized, and the publication of Eliot's collected works makes people feel "20 years late". Zhang Xinying, a well-known literary critic and professor of Chinese Department of Fudan University, also said that many famous poets have expressed their profound influence on Eliot in the history of modern and contemporary poetry in China. For example, Xu Zhimo once wrote West Window in Eliot's poetic style. Bian, Ji Xia 'an, Mu Dan and others were also deeply influenced by it. "From Xu Zhimo and Sun Dayu in those days to today's literary youth, generations have read Eliot's long poem The Waste Land and Pruefer Locke's love songs, which constitute an unforgettable memory of China literature."

Eliot was also one of the most important British critics in the 20th century, and his ideal of "* * * pursuing correct judgment" once became an attractive slogan. Eliot's first anthology, The Sacred Forest, makes readers feel the authoritative voice of opening a new era. His anthology 19 17- 1932 is a rare classic in the history of British criticism.

Personality assessment

On September 6th, 2004, Thomas Stearns Eliot was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The acceptance speech said: "He is a poet and critic who combines wisdom and imagination, tradition and innovation. In an era of change, he has brought new possibilities to the world. "

Harold Brom, an American literary critic, said, "You may have struggled with Eliot's comments for a long time, but you still have a lifelong fascination with his best poems. The Waste Land and Love Songs of Alfred Profrock, The Weeping Girl, The Hollow Man, The Journey of Three Saints, etc. It is one of Eliot's most immortal poems. Maybe little old man and little chalcophora japonica gory removing can join this list. But the five poems just listed are the most important achievements of his poetry creation. "

Roger kimball said, "Eliot deserves attention, not because we don't agree with his attitude towards women, Jews, education or religion today, but because his poems have aroused people's curiosity." Eliot can inspire everything he touches with rare beliefs. He used his poems and comments to discuss important issues. Reading Eliot's works can cultivate a serious attitude, but it does not mean that Eliot is always gloomy. He also wrote some nifty works, such as The Cat Hero of the Old Possum. Reading Eliot's works will make people feel a strong sense of vitality and drift, because Eliot keeps discovering and because he is eager to grasp the reality.

Since 1950s, Eliot's position has been seriously challenged. In Britain, philip larkin and other young poets regarded modernist poetry as an unpleasant interlude and tried to re-establish Thomas Hardy's tradition in the field of poetry. In the United States, poets and critics obsessed with Emerson's "inner voice" all feel that Eliot has deviated from the American spirit. But Eliot's influence on contemporary English poetry creation is indelible. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) once organized an online poll in 2009, asking viewers and listeners to recommend "national favorite poets" (excluding Shakespeare), and Thomas Stearns Eliot, a master of modernism, won this title. The data of online survey can't determine a poet's position in the history of literature, but this result shows that Eliot has been completely accepted by ordinary poetry lovers.

Character thinking

T·S· Eliot once summarized himself as "a classicist in literature, a royalist in politics and an Anglican in religion". These three labels are easy to understand and need no detailed explanation, because they all point to conservatism. In fact, his conservatism is rooted in his strict "determinism" in his mind and his self-consciousness of being too honest in personality. He won't easily accept chaotic, hazy and unknowable things. In this respect, conservatism represents his distance from the modern value system that advocates freedom, a kind of supercilious distance.

His criticism is wrapped in an irrefutable conclusion under a humble appearance, which is very meaningful, coherent and effective. Any reader can learn to understand a poem or prose through his criticism-even if he doesn't like it. His criticism is rarely mixed with personal feelings, and poets are classified by "big and small" instead of likes and dislikes. His contribution to criticism lies in establishing a very objective and reliable standard, which has put modern criticism on the track of quantifying everything.