The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot

by Anthony David Moody (Editor)

An international team of leading T.S. Eliot scholars contribute studies of different facets of the writer's work to build up a carefully coordinated and fully rounded introduction. Five chapters give a complete account of Eliot's poems and plays, while others assess the major aspects of his life and thought. Later chapters place his work in historical perspective. There is a full review of Eliot studies, and a useful chronological outline. Taken as a whole, this Companion comprises an essential handbook for students and readers of T.S. Eliot.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry, Essays, 20th Century, Literary Criticism, Literature, Criticism

280 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 1990

About the author

Anthony David Moody is Professor of English at the University of York.

Reviews

[Cameron Cook]

Read for work

[Liam Guilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of the Cambridge Companions an excellent book of essays. The fact that different writers cover different topics is one of the strengths of the series. Good essay on Eliot's allusive practice, as well as his impact on Anglo-American poety. His various critical activities are discussed in three separate essays.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't take a college course on Modernist poetry, so this + free Yale lectures on Youtube are my only recourse! These are academic essays by specialists first and foremost, so you have to be fairly engaged and interested to get anything out of them. What did I get? A better understanding of Eliot's contemporaries, the culture he came from and the culture he brought into being (also his definition of "Culture"), why he converted and why it was the Anglican Church, the fact that he was distantly related to Melville and the Lowells, and a scant bit about his social prejudices (it was published in the unwoke 90s though so I can't blame it too much, just a bit redolent of hero worship in my humble opinion).

One or two essays a day keeps the mind sufficiently percolated. Add in semi-daily readings of the poems themselves and you are on your way to possibly liking T.S. Eliot a tiny bit! I am on the side of Hart Crane (maybe the only thing we can agree on, the rest I can't even begin to understand much less dispute) and Charles Olson, who recognized Eliot's innovations but felt as though he was using them toward, to be blunt, idiotic ends. I saw Eliot as quite dry and academic before, but reading these essays has changed my opinion a bit. Now I can feel the emotion and anxiety behind the suave delivery and am able to appreciate the allusiveness in a different way.

But really this was all just a stepping stone, something I should have gotten out of the way years ago. Now I can move on to more interesting and diverse poets!

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

a much lower average standard than its replacement, plenty of guff but some worthwhile parts too

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with many of the Cambridge Companion series, this guide offers an excellent introduction to the various trends of Eliot studies, as well as some suggestions of its current interests.