CHAPTER12T.S.Eliot Stevens Williams万 千 2009105238 曾冉冉 2009105237Background informationPoetic scene: dismal, uninspired, moralistic, imitative prevailed in1900-1910Imagist movement The Symbolist Movement in Literature(1899) by Arthur Symons, an English critic poetic revolution All kinds of innovations between 1912-1914 WhitmanFragmented and dislocated modern lifeNew verseModernismModernismModernism is a cultural movement that generally includes the progressive art and architecture, design, literature, music, dance,painting and other visual arts which emerged in the beginning of the 20th century, particularly in the years following World War I. It was a movement of artists and designers who rebelled against late19th century academic and historical tradition, and embraced the neweconomic, social and political aspects of the emerging modern world. Modernism rose out of skepticism and disillusion of capitalism. Especially the Second World War marked the last stage of the disintegration of the British Empire. Britain suffered heavy losses in the war: thousands of people were killed; the economy was ruined; and almost all its former colonies were lost. People were in economic, cultural, and belief crisises.Characteristics of Modernism in Literature1. One characteristic of EnglishModernism is “the dehumanization of art“; 2. The modernist writers are mainly concerned with the inner being of an individual; 3. Modernism is, in many aspects, areaction against realismT. S. Eliot（1888-1965 ） A poet, dramatist, literary critic, and modernist. A poet, dramatist, literary critic, and modernist.Life(p172)Birth and family background: born in a wealthy family of America, parents were well culturedEducation: received a good education when he was young, especially classical literature; studied in Harvard in 1906; studied in Paris and Oxford after getting his M.A. degree Marriage: suffered intensely, unhappy( working as a teacher and a bank clerk while composing poetry)Literary CareerFirst period 1911 The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock J.阿尔弗雷德普鲁弗洛克的情歌 the first masterpiece of Modernism in English 1917 Prufrock and Other Observations 普鲁弗洛克及其他 First volume of poetrySecond period1922 The Waste Land荒原: Eliots epochal masterpiece, a representative work of the High Modernism of the 1920s 1925 The Hollow Man透明人: the spiritual and emotional aridity of modern men，exhibiting a pessimismThird period1930 Ash Wednesday圣灰星期三 1943 Four Quartets四个四重奏 Noble Prize for literature in 1948 Literary criticism: Selected Essays 1932, The Uses of Poetry 1933, On Poetry and Poets 1957, etc 1935-1958 verse plays: Murder in the Cathedral 大教堂中的谋杀Writing style Eliots poetry was becoming noted for its fresh visual imagery, its flexible tone, and highly expressive rhythm.(p172) 2. Eliots poetry is difficult to read.(p175)a. For one thing the images and symbols seem very much disconnectedb. An obvious source of difficult lies in his learned quotations and allusions.3. Eliot piles up a heap of images, visual, auditory, olfactory, and more for the readers to figure out what is being said. (Take an example of The winter Evening Settles Down) 4. Dramatic monologue( The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock )The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (p176)This poem marked the start of Eliots career as one of the 20th centurys most influential poets. “Prufrock“ is about a lonely, timid middle- aged man who, lacking self-confidence, wants to propose marriage to a lady but is afraid to do so, and ultimately does not. Presentation method(p177)Surreal vividness Elliptical structures Strange juxtapositions(并列) An absence of bridges Stream consciousness(p178)Morning at the Window早晨的窗 They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchensAnd along the trampled edges of the streetI am aware of the damp souls of housemaidSprouting despondently at area gates.The brown waves of fog toss up to meTwisted faces from the bottom of the street,And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirtsAn aimless smile that hovers in the airAnd vanishes along the level of the roofs. l在地下室厨房他们早餐的盘子l咔嗒咔嗒地响l顺着街道被践踏的边沿 l 我注意到家佣沮丧的神情l消沉地出现在大门区域l褐色的雾涨起来涌向我l晃动的脸在街道尽头l一个路人扯破洞的泥污裙子l一个漫无目的的微笑在空中徘徊 l 转眼消失在平坦的屋顶The Waste Land(p180)433 lines, mainly free verse Many quoted lines in German, French, Italian and references and allusions to English writers as Spencer, Shakespeare, Middleton, Milton and Goldsmith with many explanatory notes A picture of the spiritual ruins in Europe shortly after the end of WWI and expressed the disillusionment of a generation of intellectuals A landmark in English poetry, ending the Romantic period and signifying the emergence of Modernism . Writing FeaturesFocus: fragmentary nature of life Major themes: despair for the 1920s and 1930s(p181) Presentation method : impersonaleloquent social criticize(p181)Discontinuous with its fragmentsfull