T.S. Eliot is perhaps the leading poet of this century. He was actually an American who lived much of his life in England, and he is classified in anthologies and libraries as both an American poet and a British poet. He was also an important literary critic, editing a literary magazine and writing extensively on poetry, notably with essays on the metaphysical poets, whose work resembles his in some respects--Eliot wrote of this type of poetry that "[n]ot only is it extremely difficult to define metaphysical poetry, but difficult to decide what poets practice it and in which of their verses" (Eliot 23).
Like most poets, Eliot assumed a mask as narrator, a mask through which he concealed much about himself while expressing certain philosophical and aesthetic ideas. Eliot's more intellectually stringent poetry places a great distance between the poet and the reader, expressing ideas more readily than emotions and structuring connections between images that are more intellectual than emotional. To understand Eliot, it is essential that the reader look to a good deal of external material. Many of the references are obscure--"The Waste Land" begins with a quotation partially in Latin and partially in Greek and contains Biblical references, mythological references, a German quotation, and other material that needs to be explained to understand what the poet has in mind; "The Hollow Men" begins with a quotation from Joseph Conrad and a second reference to a British tradition, followed by complex imagery that must be elucidated and then connected to central ideas. Yet, all of this can be accomplished without any direct reference to Eliot's life. Eliot is not an autobiographical poet. It is true that when he makes reference to the central banking district in London and to other London sites in "The Waste Land," these are places with which he has personal knowledge. Knowing that Eliot was an American living in London might convey...