Questions and Answers for T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
What does T.S. Eliot mean when he says,"Only those who risk going too far can possibly know how far one can go"
Essentially, this is an advocation to the reader to challenge him or herself. Eliot is saying that we are always capable of more than we think we are. Only those who are willing to keep going to a...
T. S. Eliot
What is the meaning of this statement by T.S. Eliot? "We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all...
This statement is from T.S. Eliot’s poem “Little Gidding”, which is the last set of poems in Four Quartets. “Little Gidding” was first published in 1942 and was Eliot’s argument for humanity’s need...
T. S. Eliot
What are the poetic devices present in the poem "Macavity: The Mystery Cat"? Explain with examples.
In addition to ample doses of repetition, anaphora, and allusions to Sherlock Holmes and Napoleon, this comic poem uses the following poetic devices. Rhyming couplets convey a pleasing, sing-song...
T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot praises Donne's ability to unify the intellectual thought and sensation of feeling. Why? T. S. Eliot's...
I haven't read T.S. Eliot's essay "The Metaphysical Poets" (1921) in quite a long time and had to review it briefly to make sure I wasn't completely off base, but I recall Eliot's argument to be...
T. S. Eliot
What are some main points in T.S. Eliot's essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent"?
T.S Eliot's essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent" is very metaphysical in its concepts; definitions of his main points are only understood within the context of the quantum metaphysical...
T. S. Eliot
How we can say that T.S. Eliot is a modern poet?
Eliot's early poetry could certainly be described as modern in that he was actively responding to changes in Western society that took place after the First World War. Many of the old certainties...
T. S. Eliot
What are the literary devices found in "Journey of the Magi" by T. S. Eliot?
One literary device that you might want to talk about in T. S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi” is allegory. Allegory is when a poem might have a second, alternate meaning. It’s almost as if the poem...
T. S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot states that "poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the...
For T.S. Eliot and certainly other poets, writing poetry can indeed be an escape from emotion and personality. For others, poetry is actually a way to process their emotions and demonstrate who...
T. S. Eliot
Why is T.S. Eliot regarded as an important poet/writer?
T.S. Eliot is regarded as such an important writer because he captured the feelings and attitudes of the early twentieth century in such a unique and, yet, authentic way. His poem, "The Love Song...
T. S. Eliot
How does Eliot distinguish between the intellectual poet and the reflective poet in his essay "The Metaphysical Poets"?
The primary distinction between the intellectual poet and the reflective poet in "The Metaphysical Poets" by T. S. Eliot is the capacity to think versus the capacity to feel. He gives the example...
T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot has long been acclaimed as a modernist poet. However, he claimed that he was "classic in literature." Why...
Whatever else one may say of modernism, it was not a simple phenomenon, and many of its leading practitioners, including T. S. Eliot, held conservative attitudes. One aspect of modernism was a...
T. S. Eliot
Discuss the meaning of the following quote: "Genuine poetry can communicate before it's understood."
T.S. Eliot's quote strikes at a couple of points that he embodied in his work. The first is that there is not really an objective set of criteria that facilitates the communication of poetry....
T. S. Eliot
What is Eliot's impersonal theory of poetry?
As a poet, T. S. Eliot is known for his monumental, if few, works of sprawling and satirical verse. However, lesser known in the mainstream world is Eliot as the literary critic. The theory in your...
T. S. Eliot
Analysis of "The Metaphysical Poets" by T.S. Eliot.
T.S. Eliot's "The Metaphysical Poets" was first published as a review of J.C. Grierson's Metaphysical Lyrics and Poems of the 17th Century. T.S. Eliot did far more than just review Grierson's book,...
T. S. Eliot
What are the themes that T.S. Elliot used in the poem "Macavity: The Mystery Cat"?
Not all works of literature have a theme; some authors write merely to express a sentiment or to create an image. However, if we had to analyze T.S. Eliot’s “Macavity: The Mystery Cat” for theme,...
T. S. Eliot
What themes are T.S Eliot trying to convey with his poem "Landscape?"
In T.S. Eliot's "Landscape" are the many images of nature, especially birds. There are about seventeen kinds of birds here. There is also the images are of children playing, a deer hunt, and...
T. S. Eliot
Write a note of 150 words on "dissociation of sensibility."
During the 17th century, according to Eliot's hypothesis, a gap opened up in Western culture between thought and feeling. This was largely a by-product of the dawning of the Age of Reason, the...
T. S. Eliot
Why does T. S Eliot matter in the twenty-first century?
As with all great artists, the appeal of T. S. Eliot is timeless. More than any other poet of his day and age, he pushed back the boundaries of what poetry was capable of, showing us a different...
T. S. Eliot
Explain how Eliot uses language and imagery to suggest the kind of neighborhood he is describing in his poem "The...
In "The Winter Evening Settles Down," T.S. Eliot uses careful word choice suggesting a once-busy neighborhood that is now falling asleep: With the line "[...] smells of steaks in passageways,"...
T. S. Eliot
Comment on the woodthrush image in T.S. Eliot's "Marina"
A wood thrush is a bird common in the Northeastern part of the United States; it is known for its "loud clear song." In the poem, Eliot refers to hearing the wood thrush "singing through the fog"....
T. S. Eliot
The tone T.S. Eliot displays in "Macavity: The Mystery Cat" is best described as a. somber.b. excited.c....
"Macavity: The Mystery Cat" by T.S. Elliot was printed in a collection of poems written between 1909 and 1962, and prior to his death in 1965. The poem is particularly humorous. The rhyme scheme...
T. S. Eliot
Summary of the poem "Gus The Theatre Cat" by T.S. Elliot?
Gus, although not one of my favorites from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, is an interesting character nonetheless. After reading this summary, I would suggest watching the excerpt from the...
T. S. Eliot
What is the full analysis of the poem "The Winter Evening Settles Down"?
"The Winter Evening Settles Down" is the first part of T.S. Eliot's "Preludes." It consists of thirteen lines written in free verse, with an irregular rhyme scheme and meter. The lengths of the...
T. S. Eliot
Analyze the rhythm in T.S Eliot's poem "Virginia."
The poem "Virginia," like the river it depicts, moves steadily onwards. It flows consistently from beginning to end. In seeking to capture the unique rhythms of the river's movement, Eliot resorts...
T. S. Eliot
What is the original text for the excerpted quote: "There is no vocabulary / For love within a family..."?
For love within a family, love that's lived inBut not looked at, love within the light of whichAll else is seen, the love within whichAll other love finds speech.This love is silent. T.S. Eliot...
T. S. Eliot
how is fragmentation used in Preludes compared to how it is used in the love song of J.Alfred Prufrock and the hollow...
It's difficult to respond to this question without seeming to express a critique of Eliot's verse that is not entirely positive. However, since Eliot has held an iconic status in the literary and...
T. S. Eliot
I want the Critical Appriciation of the Poem " To the Indian Who Died in Africa " ...by ...T.S.Eliot. Explination in...
This just means that you have to decide whether or not you like the poem, then you have to support your feelings with solid literary reasons. Here are some things to consider: Do you identify with...
T. S. Eliot
Please discuss T. S. Eliot's Objective Theory in reference to his essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent." What...
T. S. Eliot's Objective Theory essentially states that a poem or piece of literature should have a sense of inevitability. The idea is that the feelings and emotions should be clear and directly...
T. S. Eliot
What impact did T. S. Eliot have in the modernist movement?
T.S. Eliot was influential both as a poet and as a literary critic during the first half of the twentieth-century. Much of his work is a seminal force in the modernist movement, and he was highly...
T. S. Eliot
How is the theme of universal brotherhood expressed in T.S. Eliot's poem "To the Indians who died in Africa"?
The theme of universal brotherhood is one which rejects all racial, social, religious, economic or other forms of classification or heirarchy, and instead makes the argument that all men are of one...
T. S. Eliot
In T. S. Eliot's "Preludes," what are some examples of assonance, alliteration, and consonance? What about the...
In section II, there is alliteration of the hard "c" sound that begins the words "comes" and "consciousness" (II.1), the "s" sound that begins "stale smells" (II.2), the "s" sound the begins...
T. S. Eliot
Comment on the achievements of T.S.Eliot as a critic.
T. S. Eliot's most sustained and comprehensive statement of his own theories of literary criticism can be found in The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism (1920). In this work, Eliot...
T. S. Eliot
Discuss each stanza of the poem "Sunday Morning Service" by T.S. Eliot line by line.
The full title of the poem is "Mr. Eliot's Sunday Morning Service." It was first published in 1920. Although at eight stanzas and thirty-six lines it's a relatively brief poem, it is an incredibly...
T. S. Eliot
List and explain the poetic devices Eliot employs in "Whispers of Immortality."
The poem employs several allusions: references to other people, places, texts, events, and so on. The speaker refers to John Webster and John Donne, both writers who pondered death in their works...
T. S. Eliot
Why does the narrator of T. S. Eliot's poem "Marina" say "let me/ Resign my life for this life ..."
T. S. Eliot's poem "Marina" is based on a play by William Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre. In this play, the protagonist Pericles survives a rather improbable series of shipwrecks. In the...
T. S. Eliot
Are there any literary devices in this poem? I need to analize a poem, and it needs to have two literary devices. I...
If you have been assigned to analyze a poem strictly on its literary devices, you will not be analyzing the poetic devices (such as sound elements, rhyme, rhythm, repetition). You should be aware...
T. S. Eliot
In the poem "Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot, what does the word "Shadow" mean in the context?...
I'll try my hand at answering this question, but I hope that others give it a shot as well. I re-read the poem at the site that you gave, came up with my own interpretation of the Shadow, and then...
T. S. Eliot
According to Eliot's essay "The Function of Criticism," what are the tools and function of criticism? What is the...
T. S. Eliot's "The Function of Criticism" puts forth the thesis that effective critics should shun interpretation as a tool of criticism, because interpretation is always from the critic's...
T. S. Eliot
What kind of neighborhood has the poet chosen to describe in Eliot's poem beginning with the line, "The winter...
"The winter evening settles down" is the first line of the poem called "Preludes" by T.S. Eliot. The poem describes a sordid, grimy, lower-class neighborhood in an industrialized city in the early...
T. S. Eliot
In “Macavity: The Mystery Cat” by T. S. Eliot, what is the meter for each line?
Let's look at the first stanza, shown below. I will put each accented syllable in bold and separate one metrical foot from another with a "|" symbol: Ma ca | vi ty's | a Mys | te ry Cat | he's...
T. S. Eliot
What is the significance of the vocative "my daughter" in T.S.Eliot's "Marina"?
The vocative "my daughter" in "Marina" is, in my opinion, the speaker's ship or boat. It is rather difficult to tell, but the poem suggests that the speaker is a sailor in all aspects of the word....
T. S. Eliot
How did T. S. Eliot's religious transition to Anglicanism affect his poetry? Give examples citing "Hollow Men" and...
T.S. Eliot is perhaps best known for his long poem The Waste Land, published in 1922, which focuses on the alienation and aimlessness of the post-World War I generation. "The Hollow Men," a much...
T. S. Eliot
What are some common themes and poetic techniques in the poems "Preludes" and "Rhapsody on a Windy Night"?
T. S. Eliot was a modernist poet who often employed the technique of "stream-of-consciousness" writing in his poetry. To explain, modernist writers tended to be disillusioned and upset with the...
T. S. Eliot
How do the poems "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Wasteland" by T. S. Eliot, and "Dulce et Decorum Est” by...
These poems are not so much an escape from or denial of emotion as they are mode of expressing it that is different from that of most poetry written prior to the year 1900. Eliot, in both...
T. S. Eliot
What is an explanation of the following lines from the third part of "Preludes" by T. S. Eliot?: "You curled the...
Well, the third part of Eliot's Preludes seems to be addressing an unnamed "you" figure who's part of the neighborhood Eliot is decribing throughout the poem. The lines you've identified help us...
T. S. Eliot
What is the link between Eliot’s style and vision of his contemporary age and that of the Modernist poets?
T. S. Eliot was one of the leading voices of Modernism and was close to the center of its complex web of reciprocal influences. At the beginning of his career, Eliot often took advice from the poet...
T. S. Eliot
How does one write a critical analysis of T. S. Eliot's poem "Gus: The Theatre Cat"?
To write a critical analysis of a poem, we first want to make a decision on the overall theme of the poem. We then want to literally criticize the poem, meaning "judge [its] merits and and faults"...
T. S. Eliot
Comment on the language of T S Eliot in terms of language use and creating pattern.
T.S. Eliot was innovative in his use of language and developed unique methods for evoking emotion in the reader. Three examples are negative words that belie a cheery tone; classical and other...
T. S. Eliot
How can we compare Eliot to Joyce, to Orwell, and to Beckett?
Compare Eliot to JoyceEliot and Joyce compare favorably in that each was innovative and experimental, bringing new styles or forms to English literature. They contrast in that Eliot was prolific in...
T. S. Eliot
"Life you may evade, Death you shall not." - T.S. Eliot What exactly does he mean by the first part?
You can be a recluse from life by not really doing much. However, everyone is going to die eventually. To me, this means that you might as well live your life, because you are not going to be...
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