This selection, which was made by Eliot himself, is intended as an introduction to the main body of his poetry prior to Four Quartets, which is available separately in Faber Paperbacks. The selection includes the whole of The Waste Land.
Selected Poems of T. S. Eliot (Faber paperbacks)
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Product Description
Book Description
One of six wonderful poetry collections published to celebrate Faber's 80th anniversary.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1888. He came to England in 1914 and published his first book of poems in 1917. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Eliot died in 1965.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 54 people found the following review helpful
By S. Smith
Format:Paperback
I give the book itself 5 stars. I don't have any comments to add to those already made, but did want to point out one thing:
don't be misled by the 'product description', as I was, which you get when viewing the details for this book on Amazon, which states:
Book Description
Key Features-
Study methods
Introduction to the text
Summaries with critical notes
Themes and techniques
Textual analysis of key passages
Author biography
Historical and literary background
Modern and historical critical approaches
Chronology
Glossary of literary terms --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
This description DOES NOT describe the book - none of these are included (there are a few notes on The Wasteland, but that is it).
If you click on the word 'paperback' it takes you to another page showing a book of York Notes - this is what the 'product description' is describing.
don't be misled by the 'product description', as I was, which you get when viewing the details for this book on Amazon, which states:
Book Description
Key Features-
Study methods
Introduction to the text
Summaries with critical notes
Themes and techniques
Textual analysis of key passages
Author biography
Historical and literary background
Modern and historical critical approaches
Chronology
Glossary of literary terms --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
This description DOES NOT describe the book - none of these are included (there are a few notes on The Wasteland, but that is it).
If you click on the word 'paperback' it takes you to another page showing a book of York Notes - this is what the 'product description' is describing.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By Blink
Format:Paperback
This was the first book of poetry I ever bought. This exact edition. Wandering into Waterstones aged 14, my only previous experience with "adult" poetry being (because I was a moody teenage girl, and it's somewhat required of us) Sylvia Plath, I was initially attracted to "The Waste Land" because I thought it sounded dark and grand and apocalyptic. That, and because I was pretty sure Eliot wrote The Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats that I vaguely remembered reading as a child.
I was right on both counts. But it was hard going. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" was difficult, but It took me four tries to get through the first section of "The Waste Land". I felt frustrated. I remember reading the whole poem through and simply saying "...What?" aloud to my room at three in the morning. But still, phrases leapt out at me: "A heap of broken images, where the sun beats...", "...I could not speak, and my eyes failed. I was neither living nor dead, and I knew nothing"... "Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison"... Although I didn't understand it, it was so beautiful that I had to keep reading, and gradually, meaning came. As I grew, so did my understanding of the poem, and my knowledge of the literature that Eliot slips into his work: when I first realised that "But at my back I always hear / the sound of horns and motors" was a reference to Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" I felt like an archaeologist discovering a link between two ancient cultures on opposite sides of the globe. The first time I spotted Hamlet in there it felt like coming home. And now, even though I can recite passages by heart and wrote my A-level coursework on "The Waste Land", I still find something new whenever I read it.
Eliot knows and understands human nature so well, but seems unable to fully commit himself to it. His poetry is full of the self-conscious awkwardness of the outsider, and the exasperation of one who looks polite society in all its sordid pride and feels cheapened. He is a champion of modernist poetry and the writer of an age.
I was right on both counts. But it was hard going. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" was difficult, but It took me four tries to get through the first section of "The Waste Land". I felt frustrated. I remember reading the whole poem through and simply saying "...What?" aloud to my room at three in the morning. But still, phrases leapt out at me: "A heap of broken images, where the sun beats...", "...I could not speak, and my eyes failed. I was neither living nor dead, and I knew nothing"... "Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison"... Although I didn't understand it, it was so beautiful that I had to keep reading, and gradually, meaning came. As I grew, so did my understanding of the poem, and my knowledge of the literature that Eliot slips into his work: when I first realised that "But at my back I always hear / the sound of horns and motors" was a reference to Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" I felt like an archaeologist discovering a link between two ancient cultures on opposite sides of the globe. The first time I spotted Hamlet in there it felt like coming home. And now, even though I can recite passages by heart and wrote my A-level coursework on "The Waste Land", I still find something new whenever I read it.
Eliot knows and understands human nature so well, but seems unable to fully commit himself to it. His poetry is full of the self-conscious awkwardness of the outsider, and the exasperation of one who looks polite society in all its sordid pride and feels cheapened. He is a champion of modernist poetry and the writer of an age.
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By R.J.W89
Format:Paperback
Eliot's poetry is not for the faint hearted. This collection consits of a range of his poetry from 1917 to 1930.The most famous of course, 'The Waste Land' is all in here. Anyone familiar with the Modernist movenment of the 1920s will easily see why 'The Waste Land' is a firm contender for one of the best pieces of Modernist Literature. It depicts a world that is decaying, spine-less, fruit-less and corrupt. 'The Waste Land' is a very personal analysis of Modern post-war life and I think it's easy to feel that his poetry can be slightly insular, in that it's quite difficult to understand what Eliot is trying to convey to the public, if anything.
However, there are some easier poems in here, with 'The Love song of J.Alfred Prufrock' coming in as one of my top pieces of poetry because of Eliot's striking word play.
I'd really recommend you read this because I think although it's rather personal to Eliot himself, I think it's equally personal to the individual reader, and there will be something in here that attracts you personally to his poetry.
However, there are some easier poems in here, with 'The Love song of J.Alfred Prufrock' coming in as one of my top pieces of poetry because of Eliot's striking word play.
I'd really recommend you read this because I think although it's rather personal to Eliot himself, I think it's equally personal to the individual reader, and there will be something in here that attracts you personally to his poetry.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
I was impressed with this book. It was filled with emotional poems of great intensity. Some are a little obscure.
Published 1 month ago by danny ryan
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bought for Uni, not to my tastes.
I'm not a fan of Elliot. I won't be reading any more of this. The physical book itself is fine.
Published 5 months ago by Emily Bell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-opening
A must for all lovers of literature. These poems may seem baffling at first, but after having explored them in detail you will literally begin to see everything around you in a... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Riotgrrl
3.0 out of 5 stars
Moving
This was a lovely book. Sadly it didn't have an introduction or such, but the poems are very much worth it, especially The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
Published 19 months ago by aestheticmuse
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
There is poetry before Eliot and poetry after Eliot. Both can be excellent but they are not the same and there are very few writers of any form that have so influenced so many... Read more
Published 22 months ago by N. Alldridge
5.0 out of 5 stars
T S Eliot - all his poems
All the poems you could ever need. Needed it for uni, not much else to say!
Published on 25 Sep 2010 by R. Williamson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like an orchestra tuning up
The Wasteland is a poem that has been severely edited by the `superior craftsman' Pound. We have a poem in five sections in free verse, freighted with erudition, literary... Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2010 by technoguy
5.0 out of 5 stars
The greatest poems by the greatest poet
The book itself consists of a good-quality hardcover, and whilst the cover illustration isn't that good, the main merit of this edition is that it combines portability with... Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2009 by Bluegreendark
5.0 out of 5 stars
The greatest poet of the 20th Century.
This is a fantastic book from the greatest poet of the 2oth century. I am a 16 year-old and having just started A level courses, ihave found that my readings of Eliot have helped... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2002 by "chez_best"
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Poet who Defined An Age
These poems are personally selected by Eliot. They are impassionate and calculating whilst strangely motivating. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2001
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