English llterature.docx

English llterature.docx

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Englishllterature

thefinalpaperofselectedreadings

ThomasStearnsEliot

Thelife&thelovesongofJ.AlfredPrufrock（1917）

外国语学院

2008级英语二班

陈四焕

40804039

T.S.Eliot

Thelife

&

ThelovesongofJ.AlfredPrufrock（1917）

I.Thecurrentsituation

Forsomeyearswehadnofull,formalbiographyofT.S.Eliot,andthisseemed,tomanypeople,attheveryleastadd.For—asthosepeopleviewedit—Eliotwas,afterall,thedominantfigureinEnglishlettersforagoodpartofthetwentiethcentury,andabiography,likebeinginterredinthepoets’cornerofWestminsterabbey,wouldconstitutemerepublicacknowledgmentofsuchstatueintheliteraryworld.

ThereasonwhytherewasnolifeofT.S.Eliotforsconsiderabletimeiswellknowntoliteraryscholarsthough,Ithink,imperfectlyunderstoodbythem,theirexplanationgoinglikethis:

actingonmotivesthatallpotentialbiographersandindeedeverytoneinthescholarlyworlddeemedtofeelfreetoquestion,Eliotdeclaredthathewantednolifewritten,andheinsertedaclausetothiseffectintohiswill;andthoseresponsibleforhisestatesuccessfullypreventedabiographybymakingaccesstothematerialsnecessaryforwritingalifedifficultifnotimpossible.

II.Myresearchpaperaims

Wenowknow,forwhattheyareworth,allthebiographicaldetailsofEliot’slife,atleastallthosethatarerecordable:

hischildhood,hiseducation,hismeetingwithEzraPoundandsuddenmarriagetoVivienhaigh—woodinLondon,hisworkandthepublication

III.Biographicalcontext

A.Eliot’slifeandeducation

ThomasStearnsEliotwasbornonSeptember26,1888,inSt.Louis,Missouri.HewastheseventhandyoungestchildofHenryWareEliotandCharlotteChampeSternsEliot,andagrandsonofWilliamGreenleafEliot.T.S.Eliot’sfirstAmericanancestorwasaprominentcitizeninSalem,Massachusetts,andajurorintheSalemwitchtrials.Eliot’sgrandfathermovedfromBostontoSt.Louis,whereheestablishedthefirstUnitarianchurchandwasoneofthefoundersofpressedbricks.Hismotherwasareligiouswoman,intellectuallycuriousandinterestedinwritingpoetry.Theirhouseholdwasoneofstrictreligiousobservanceandpuritanpropriety.T.S.EliotwaseducatedatsmithacademyinSt.LouisandattendedMiltonacademyinMassachusettsinpreparationforhiscollegeworkatHarvard,wherehereceivedanM.Ain1910.EliotattendedlecturesforayearattheSorbonneinParis.HeworkedonadoctorateinphilosophyatHarvardand,in1914,wasawardedaHarvardtravelingfellowshiptostudyphilosophyatoxfordforayear.EliotneverreturnedtoliveintheUnitedStates.AlthoughhecompletedhisdoctoraldissertationonthephilosopherF.H.Bradley,hedidnotgobacktoHarvardtodefendthedissertationandthereforewasnotawardedhisdoctorate.

B.Eliot’sposition

In1915,EliotmetandmarriedVivienneHaigh-Wood.Inthatsameyear,withthehelpandinsistenceofhisnewfriendEzrapound,whomhehadmetin1914,Eliot’spoemthelovesongofJ.AlfredPrufrockwaspublishedinHarrietMonroe’sjournalpoetry.ThispoemgainedEliotnoticeasarisingstarintheliteraryavant-garde.EliottookajobasateacherintheHighWycombegrammarschool,anexhaustingjobthatpaidhimpoorlyandlethimverylittletimetowrite,bothfactsthatheexpressesbitterlytopoundandotherintimatefriends.Alleviatinghisfinancialdifficultiesonlyslightly,in1916EliotwaspromotedtojuniormasteratHighgatejuniorschool,beganwritingreviewsforperiodicals,andalsobegangivinguniversityextensionlectures,muchasE.M.Forsterhaddoneinhisearlyyearsasawriter.In1917,furtherimprovinghisfinancialsituation,Eliotgaveupthejuniormasterteachingposition,thoughnothisuniversityextensionlecturing,andtookapositionatLloydsBankinLondon.Alsoin1917,EliotsucceededRichardAldingtonasanassistanteditoroftheegoist,aliteraryreviewinLondonwithasmallcirculationbutwithanimportantandliterarilywell-connectedaudience.

C.Eliot’spublication

Inthemidstofallofthesechangesinemployment,Eliotcontinuallytriedtowritepoetry,secretlyconfessingtohisbrotherthathefearedthelovesongofJ.AlfredPrufrockwashis“swan’ssong”（theletterofT.SEliot,150）.Thisfearwaseradicatedbythepublicationofthewastelandin1922,whichestablishedEliotasthequietessentialmodernistpoet.Contrarytowhathehadsaidinhislettertohisbrother,Eliotdidwriteagooddealofpoetrybetween1915and1922:

preludesandrhapsodyonawindynightwerepublishedinWyndhamLewis’sblatinJuly1915;Prufrockandotherobservationwaspublishedin1917;thescaredwood,whichcontainedthepoem”generation”,publishedin1920.In1922,Eliotwonthedialawardforthewasteland.Afterthewasteland,Eliot’sworkbecamemorespiritualandevenspecificallyreligiousintheme,asevidencedinhisdramamurderinthecathedralandhisreligiouspoemsfourquartets.In1927thereligiousfocusinhispoetryincreasedwhenhejoinedtheChurchofEngland,wherehemaintainedactivemembershipuntilhisdeathin1964.

D.Eliot’scriticalessays

Inadditiontopoetry,Eliotwaswritingagreatmanycriticalessaysaboutliteratureandliterarymethodduringtheseyears.Hehadmanyessayspublishedinthetimesliterarysupplement,VanityFair,andtheathenaeum.Perhapsthemostimportantofhiscriticalandphilosophicalwritingofthistimecameinessayshatdefendedorattemptedtodefinehisownpoeticpracticeandthatofhiscolleagues.Thisessaysinclude”traditionandindividualtalent”publishedintheegoistin1919;‘theperfectcritic’,publishedin1920;‘thefunctionofcriticism’,publishedin1923;and‘Ulysses,order,andmyth’,publishedinthedialin1923.

E.Eliot’smarriage

Eliot’smarriagetoVivienHaigh-woodwasprovingdisastrous.HemarriedheralmostonanimpulseinJune1915whenhewastryingtodecidewhethertoreturntotheUnitedStatesandbecomeanacademicor,asEzrapoundwasurging,stayinEnglandandtrytomakehislifeasapoet.ApparentlypoundwasinstrumentalinbringingVivienandEliottogether,convincingViviento‘saveEliotforpoetry’（Gordon117）.YetEliot’sinsightintothefailureofhismarriagewasnotlongincoming;hisbiographertellsusthatinhisprivatepapersEliotclaimedthatoutofhis‘marriagetoViviencamethestateofmindthat‘ledtothewasteland’’（Gordon119）.Forbothpartnersthemarriageappearstohavebeenatorment.InEliot’spresence,twoweeksaftertheirmarriage,Vivientoldtheirmutualfriend,BertrandRussell,thatshehadmarriedEliotto‘stimulate’himandconfessedthatitwasalreadyclearthatshehadfailed.Indeed,allevidencepointstothesourceofVivien’smiseryinthemarriagebeingconnectedtoEliot’srepressedsexualityandhisembarrassmentwithher.

WhenEliotmarriedher,Vivienwasa‘chicandliteratewoman’（Gordon134）.Yetitbecamequicklyapparentthatshesufferedfrommentalandphysicalillnesses.Withinayearoftheirmarriage,Vivienwasincreasinglysick,taxingEliot’snervesandfinances.Shehadonlyasmallincomeofherownandwasunabletowork,thoughapparentlyshehadtried……

IV.ThelovesongofJ.AlfredPrufrock

A.Summary

Eliot’spuritanupbringingandpersonalreticenceledhimtocomposearchandironicpoemsthatworktomaskemotion.Hisearlyverseissatiricandsardonic;hedoesnotthinkmuchofhumansocietyandheholdsoutlittlehopeforit.Eliot’sfirstpoemand,manyargue,thefirstpoeminthemodernmovement,wasthelovesongofJ.AlfredPrufrock.Inthispoem,thecriticHelenVendlerargues,Eliotfoundhisvoiceasapoet.Shecallsthisan‘idiolect’thatistheamalgamationofmanydiscourses（102）.ThisidiolectallowedEliottoexpresshimselfhonestly,albeitguardedly.Thoughhisamalgamationofvoices,Eliotcouldarticulatethedeepconflictswithwhichhestruggled:

hispuritanicalaversiontosexandhisromanticlonging,hislovedramaandhisneedforanalyticdistance,hislongingforreligionandhisimpatiencewiththehollowrhetoricoforganizedchurches,andhissenseofproprietyinconflictwithhis‘witheringirony’.WhenEliothadpreviouslytriedtofindthisbalanceinhispoetry,hehadfallenintothepureirony,satire,orsardonicwitticismthatannihilatedthepossibilityofdirectemotionalhonesty.Yet,thoughthelovesongofJ.AlfredPrufrockdoesreflectthismorematurestyleandconsciousness,itremainsthepoemofyoungwriter.

Asthetitlesuggests,thispoemfocusesonthepersonofJ.AlfredPrufrock.Thepoemisnotsomuchalovesongasadramaticmonologue,employingmanytonesandmoodstoconveytheemotionalstateandexistentialcrisisofthespeaker.InthedramaticmonologueaformusedheavilybyVictorianpoets,thespeakeraddressesanotherperson,oftenthereader.Dramaticmonologueistraditionallyironic,asthespeakerisclearlynotalwaysawareofhowself-revealinghismonologueis.Occasionallyarchandsatiric,oftenharshlycritical,self-deprecatory,andplayful,thepoembeginswithaquery,‘shallwegothen,youandI?

’addressinganunidentified‘you’,Prufrock’squestionsetsinmotionthe‘action’ofthepoem.Thedestinationappearstobeasocialaffairwithpeoplewhoaretrivialandhollow,moreconcernedwithappearancesandproprietiestanessentialexperiencesandfeelings.Butitisalsoatripintothepoemitself,andalsointothepoet’spsyche.Thejourneytakesthespeakerthroughthe‘half-desertedstreets’ofacitythatisclearlydecadentanddevoidofjoy—acitywheretheyellowfoglingersovercheapbarsandhotelroomsandwhereindividualsmeetforemptysexualen