A classic. A little bit of Eliot goes a long way. Reading Elliot is like trying to read Derrida, trying to understand all the multiple contexts, references, and allusions. ( )

I'm not much for poetry, but I found this while weeding my personal library. I enjoyed Eliot's "Four Quartets," so I'm guessing that's why I picked up this book. "Choruses from 'The Rock'" is probably the only selection that really spoke to me out of all the poems in this collection. ( )

I imagine practically everyone literate knows or knows of T.S. Eliot and his erudite poems.

He has a distinctive style, and there is a distinctive rhythm to his poems, so one always recognizes his authorship.

I like his quotes in various languages, which I mostly understand, except the ones in Greek.

I can’t say I understand what the poems mean, however; in fact, I would have appreciated the inclusion of an explanation/interpretation of them – absolutely.

I remember studying Murder in the Cathedral years ago, at school, or university. That was comprehensible, as I recall, if I recall correctly,

I don’t know Eliot’s work well enough to suggest the inclusion of other of his poems or extracts thereof.

Here is an extract from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:

“Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, ---
Let us go and make our visit. ---

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo. ---

I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.”

From The Hollow Men:

“We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass ---

Those who have crossed
---- to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us – if at all – not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men. ---

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.”

Extracts from The Waste Land and choruses from The Rock are also included in this selection.

This was an enjoyable read, though somewhat cryptic.

Now I will look into Eliot’s Four Quartets, The Family Reunion and The Cocktail Party. ( )

My favourite Eliot poem, apart from "Four Quartets" : “Do not suddenly break the branch…” from “Landscapes III: Usk”, is not in here, but I traced it online.

Could be worth 5 stars for Prufrock alone, and what with Waste Land, Hollow Men, etc. it's got the best of Eliot - perhaps the best poet of the period. Pretty light collection. ( )