Four Quartets by TS Eliot, 39 pages
Four Quartets
is unquestionably one of the poetic masterpieces of the twentieth
century. It is comprised, as the name suggests, of four poems: "Burnt
Norton", "East Coker", "The Dry Salvages", and "Little Gidding". The
poems stretch from the Mississippi river
Keeping its seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder
Keeping its seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder
Of what men choose to forget. Unhonoured, unpropitiated
By worshippers of the machine, but waiting, watching and waiting.
to an English village, where
Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
to an English village, where
Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place
Is an open field, or a factory, or a by-pass.
Old stone to new building, old timber to new fires,
Old fires to ashes, and ashes to the earth
Which is already flesh, fur and faeces,
Bone of man and beast, cornstalk and leaf.
Eliot contemplates time
Time past and time future
Eliot contemplates time
Time past and time future
What might have been and what has been
and eternity
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
and eternity
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
In less than forty pages, the reader is taken on an expedition of discovery
And the end of all our exploring
In less than forty pages, the reader is taken on an expedition of discovery
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Four Quartets is unquestionably one of the poetic masterpieces of the twentieth century.
You say I am repeating
Four Quartets is unquestionably one of the poetic masterpieces of the twentieth century.
You say I am repeating
Um, you forgot to mention that this is also quoted in the floor in Center for the Reader. "Burnt Norton" is, to be exact. :)
ReplyDeleteYou may enjoy the book The Archivist, by Martha Cooley. She uses Eliot's verse in a really refreshing way, namely some passages from Four Quartets. This book helped me to appreciate Eliot far more than I ever had before. There are some heavy parts, and it is unbearably sad at points, but she writes beautifully.
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