T. S. Eliot: The longer poems : The waste land, Ash Wednesday, Four quartets

by Derek Antona Traversi

The Longer Poems

Genres: Poetry

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[David Withun]

-

[Fr. Ambrose]

Traversi's explanation of Eliot is very helpful, even for readers forty years later. However, I found his strong aversion to religious interpretations of Eliot cast an unfairly atheistic tone upon the poet's work.

[Jay Franklin]

Reading Selection:

This Is The Time of Tension

This is the time of tension between dying and birth
The place of solitude where the dreams cross
Between the blue rocks
But when the voices shaken from the yew tree drift away
Let the other yew be shaken and reply.
Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.

From TS Eliot, Ash Wednesday, 1930

[Chris]

Very helpful critical appraisal and interpretation of T.S. Eliot's longest poems. I also just read parts of Russell Elliott Murphy's Critical Companion to T. S. Eliot: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. I felt his discussions and interpretations had more clarity, plus historical context. I just couldn't carry around this tome with me as I could Traversi's more modest offering.

[Andrew]

Ash Wednesday is a great poem!