 Later critics varied in opinions. Bergonzi emphasised the "beautifully controlled and suasive opening" and claimed that "It contains some of Eliot's finest poetry, a true musicalization of thought". According to Peter Ackroyd, "' Burnt Norton ', in fact, gains its power and its effects from the modification, withdrawal or suspension of meaning and the only' truth ' to be discovered is the formal unity of the poem itself."
