T. S. Eliot (Writers and critics)

by Northrop Frye

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399502637
• ISBN13: 9780399502637
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: Capricorn Books
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Eliot never looked so attractive

Northrop Frye's introduction to T.S. Eliot is a valuable book, both for those who are not familiar with Eliot and for those who are but just devour all the information about him that they can (like me). This is a very slim volume, about 100 pages, and divided into five sections. The first section gives the reader a brief biography of Eliot, just to lay out the landscape. The second section progresses into Eliot's beliefs both spiritual and literary, giving one an idea of the issues he was most concerned with and which therefore influenced his poetry. The last three sections deal with the poems themselves, first giving an overview of Eliot's style and common themes in his work & etc., then getting more in-depth with the individual poems. As always with Frye, there are many outstanding insights, some I've never heard or read anywhere previously, and others I have, but never quite understood till he explained it in that coherent way he explains everything- then it all finally makes sense! This book has added to my pleasure of reading Eliot moreso than any other introduction or collection of essays on Eliot has. Those psychoanalysts and post-structuralists have done Eliot a disservice by their attempts at criticism and biography- the way they write about him makes him sound so prosaic and unappealing! Frye obviously knows his subject well, and he writes about him in a lucid, engaging, unpretentious fashion, helping the reader grasp concepts in Eliot's works which would otherwise prove daunting. Everyone who loves Eliot needs to own this book. Also, if you're a student struggling to understand Eliot, do yourself a favour and find this volume! It is out of print, but you may be able to purchase a copy on the 'net. If not, your local library or used book store may have it.One final note: this book is not necessarily helpful if you're looking to understand a specific poem of Eliot's and that's it. This is more of an overview of Eliot's poetry and a study of its evolution, or as one reviewer put it: "Frye's study takes a more holistic view of Eliot's career; and it's especially successful in relating Eliot's literary theory to his practice and various works (written in different periods) to each other."