Title: The art of T.S. Eliot
First published: 1949
Description: Gardner's now classic book focuses on Eliot's poetic style, a welcome addition to a body of criticism which often neglects the prosodic elements of the poetry in favor of analyzing its images. Tracing Eliot's style in terms of his artistic maturation, Gardner identifies a turning point in his poetry from his earlier work, in which he often imitates the voices of other poets, to a newly developed independent style after "The Waste Land," a style which underscores the musicality inherent in natural rhythms, in part by its use of semi-accentual meter, and allows Eliot equal access to the poetic and the prosaic in his work. A thematic evolution is evident in Eliot's corpus as well, and Gardner does not allow her attention to Eliot's mechanics to overshadow his core ideas.
Subjects: Criticism and interpretation, Poesia Inglesa, Four quartets (Eliot, T.S.), Critique et interprétation
People: T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)