Intro to Poetry #6

When was the time period that TS Elliot lived? Where was he born?

1888-1965 (St Louis Missouri)

What was his education like?

Harvard 1909 (BA in 3 years, later PhD studies), studied also in Paris and Oxford.) Got his PHD in philosophy from Harvard.

What was he known for?

1915 the love song of J. Alfred Prufrock and the waste land 1922

What did he win 7 Tony awards for? What other prizes did he win?

His musical Cats. Nobel Prize in Literature (1948)

What is the Love Song of J. Aflred Pufrock about

A man’s inner struggle with insecurity, aging, and fear of rejection.

What is preludes about?

emptiness and dreariness of urban life.

What is the hollow men about?

spiritual emptiness and the waiting place after death

   To whom does the pronoun “you” refer in the opening lines of T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”?

While it is ambiguous, it is suspected to be the reader or him talking to himself

Why do you think the speaker of  that poem by Eliot repeats so often the question “Do I dare”?

t emphasizes the speaker’s uncertainty and self depreciation.

In the following lines from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” Eliot compares the fog to something else. With what is he comparing it?

a cat

What is the mood Ellliot tries to create in the first to sections of preludes?

He shows how urban life is dark and dreary

What was his wife’s name?

Vivienne Haigh-Wood. She was mentally ill due to a hormonal imbalance.

When did he become a British citizen?

1915 when he officially moved to England. He taught there.