Word unheard: A guide through Eliot's 'Four quartets'

by Harry Blamires

Eliot’s Four Quartets is arguably the finest long poem in modern English literature. It is also one that presents considerable problems of interpretation. In Word Unheard, first published in 1969, Blamires aims to unravel some of these problems by guiding the reader line by line through the poem, blending paraphrase with commentary. Blamires pays particular attention to the philosophical and theological dimensions of the poem and to its multifarious personal, historical and literary allusions. This title will be of interests to students of literature.

Genres: Poetry

200 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1969

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Thomas]

Blamires approaches the poem from a predictably Catholic/Anglican point of view, but within that horizon he appears to detail all the potential allusions and possible interpretations, sometimes to the breaking point. He skims over the Eastern elements of the poem and dwells too long on tenuous connections to the Aeneid and Hiawatha, which I admit I skimmed over in turn.

At times Word Unheard is more of an interpretation than a "guide," at least by contrast with his less passionate treatment of Ulysses in The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide Through Ulysses, but at the very least it is a thoughtful meditation on Eliot's crowning achievement.

[Steve]

Nice detailed walk through Eliot's Four Quartets. Very worthwhile.

Read again - even better.

[Caomhghain]

Given the author's previous work on Ulysses I was expecting less religious approach. That said it is a pretty reasonable guide to the poems.