Ahmad90 (Ahmad90)

2016: Four Typical Characteristics of T. S. Eliot

There are thousands of authors throughout the world. Many of them relate to unsettled life, women, divorce, nightlife etc. Nevertheless, some are not like what has been mentioned. One of those is Thomas Stearns Eliot, who was born on 26th of September 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri, into a well-financed family. T. S. Eliot has four typical traits which will be further explained as follows.

1. Religious
His grandfather, William Greenleaf Eliot, was a protégé of William Ellery Channing, the dean of American Unitarianism, who established the Unitarian Church himself. From such a line of descendant, he inherited a spiritual feature. T. S. Eliot had been, like his grandfather, a Unitarian member before he then converted to Anglo-Catholic. Some of the works such as Ash Wednesday, After Strange Gods, and Murder in Cathedral represented his religious concern. He was also against the Jewish free-thinking since, for him, it was a threat to Christian tenets and dogma.

2. Neat Person
T. S. Eliot is familiar with his neat hair as well as formal dress wear. As for hair, it was combed, lined on the left side, and waxed so as to appear not only tidy but also attractive. He liked to wear a dark suit comprising a formal coat, trouser, and plain tie. In some occasions, he attached a badge to his clothes, making the whole physical appearance more elegant.

3. Good Behavior
It is not a secret that myriads of authors connect with several bad behaviors. However, T. S. Eliot is an exception. He was revered for not only his literary works but also socially acceptable attitude. He was neither a drunkard nor gambler. During his life, he was never reported to have done any crimes. He had no affairs, but a failed marriage. He left his wife by virtue of an affair she did with his friend, Bertrand Russell. Nevertheless, in accordance with his Anglican belief, Vivienne was still considered as a wife.

4. Modern Poem Pioneer
T. S. Eliot was prominently heralded as the pioneer of modern poems by reason of his novel approaches and perspectives on poetry. For example, with regard to the duty of a poet, he argued that "The duty of the poet, as poet, is only indirectly to the people: his direct duty is to his language, first to preserve, and second to extend and improve." Therefore, he neglected what so-called “social function”. Some of the works clearly representing his style are The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915), The Waste Land (1922), and Four Quartets (1943).

All the above categorization and description of T. S. Eliot’s distinctive characteristics is based on my opinion. Others may have more or less information to include.



http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/life.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/t-s-eliot
http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/index.php/T.S._Eliot