Morrison's timely post-Marxist screed comments sagely upon a variety of contemporary critical debates. Those familiar with the polymathic cultural critic's briefer interventions will not despise this, his first sustained engagement with Modernism's embryonic (and full-blown) fascist affinities. Those who fashionably scorn and/or valorize Modernist pieties, or who rest secure in the "knowledge" that the Modernist trajectory has trailed off the cultural radar screen, will find much to raise hackles here. If, like a PoMo Pilate, you find yourself questioning Truth, but not staying for an answer, you'll really relate to the characters in this book, and you'll hate when it ends. There's some unnecessary talk about a guy called "Ideology," and frankly offensive references to a brother named "DeMan," but the true-to-life characterizations of the protagonists and visual descriptions of settings carry the reader through and make this page-turner impossible to put down. I hope Morrison keeps up writing like this, and I will recommend this book to all my co-workers.

Ellman's book is one I return to as I teach Eliot and Pound. Her work is powerfully, and usefully, illuminating, especially in its examination of the interrelation between (aspects of) theory and literature. I especially admire her use of Freud and Bataille in her reading of "The Waste Land" (via the notions of the "uncanny" and the "abject"). Her readings do in fact read the poems instead of enacting the masturbatory fantasies that academics can sometimes fall prey to. This is an unjustly unknown book: Ellman's critical intelligence is staggering.

I borrowed this book from the library. It is fantastic and opened up my eyes to much of the beauty of Eliot's masterpiece - the Four Quartets. I had already appreciated these poems, but they are notoriously difficult. By focusing on the meter, but combining this with general comments on the Four Quartets, Reibetanz really does us a service. She spends one chapter on discussing how Eliot developed his meter in earlier works, then devotes a chapter to each of the Four Quartets, finishing with a conclusion.

The writing throughout is clear and non-technical. Even if you have only a basic understanding of meter and literary criticism, you can read it and enjoy it. And clearly Reibetanz loves the work and knows it well. She goes virtually line by line to elucidate the poem and point out subtle things Eliot is doing. Showing first and foremost how he uses meter to accomplish changes in feel, rhythm, mood, etc., and also drawing parallels to his other work. But she also gives interpretations of the sections, which (even if you don't always agree) are wonderful and will definitely spur you on to have more great thoughts of your own.

Highly recommended! How can this be out of print?

So you think the critics give unqualified adoration to our early moderns? Think again. Stanford, in elegant, tight, perfectly clear prose tells the story of the revolution in poetry at the opening of the 20th century from a different point of view, that of the Wintersian formalists. These are the followers and students of the great poet and critic Yvor Winters, whose radically neo-classical views cause a storm of debate in the first half of the century. (See my reviews of Winters books at my amazon site.) Stanford incisively explores the poetry of five great poets and makes a strong case for the stature of Robinson and Winters -- can you believe that? -- above that of the divinely canonized threesome also studied here. You will never read Stevens (who's the best of the remaining three), Pound, or Eliot the same again after you have studied them carefully with Stanford. This is a masterful work of literary criticism and one much needed in our chaotic times in the field of poetry. Moreover, it is a stirring treatise on the value of poetry to life and thought, a comment that would be the summit of praise coming from Yvor. I hope you'll give this great book a try if you love poetry. It might change your whole approach to the art. It's not that Stanford will induce you to leave Eliot and Pound behind, but open you up to greater vistas in the high arts of human language. Be sure to check out my other recommendations at my amazon.com personal site.

I first ran across this anthology by accident in Evans Library on the Texas A&M University campus. Since then I have been reading the poets included in "Revolution". Rothenberg's anthology is a must read for anyone interested in avant garde poetry from 1914-1945 and beyond. Rothenberg's introduction to "Revolution" not only provides a lucid introduction to the anthology, but also provides a good place from which to begin to approach the rich poetry of the avant garde that he collects in his later 2 volume "Poems for the Millenium". I haven't found a better introduction to the avant garde tradition than "Revolution". I'm excited that I'll finally be able to add it to my personal library.

It is a great injustice that The Sacred Wood, which ranks amongthe greatest works of literary criticism, has fallen out ofprint...

These essays reveal Eliot's mastery of language. While writing on subjects as abstruse as the blank verse of Christopher Marlowe, Eliot maintains supreme eloquence, never stumbling or descending into awkwardness. Moreover, Eliot has managed to keep his subject matter--which at times is quite obscure--very accessible, comprehensible to anyone willing to make the effort to finish any given essay.

What sets apart Eliot's essays, however, is neither their eloquence nor their accessibility. Rather, it is that Eliot exemplifies the form that good literary criticism should take. Today's literary criticism is largely descriptive, doing little more than dissecting works and analyzing them. Eliot's criticism is critical--he takes a prominent, and extremely complex literary work or trend, and renders a cogent, logical verdict on it. Eliot is not afraid to lambast the staples of the Western literary pantheon. He almost convinces the reader that Hamlet is a bad play. This is criticism as it should be.

Northrop Frye's introduction to T.S. Eliot is a valuable book, both for those who are not familiar with Eliot and for those who are but just devour all the information about him that they can (like me). This is a very slim volume, about 100 pages, and divided into five sections. The first section gives the reader a brief biography of Eliot, just to lay out the landscape. The second section progresses into Eliot's beliefs both spiritual and literary, giving one an idea of the issues he was most concerned with and which therefore influenced his poetry. The last three sections deal with the poems themselves, first giving an overview of Eliot's style and common themes in his work &etc., then getting more in-depth with the individual poems. As always with Frye, there are many outstanding insights, some I've never heard or read anywhere previously, and others I have, but never quite understood till he explained it in that coherent way he explains everything- then it all finally makes sense! This book has added to my pleasure of reading Eliot moreso than any other introduction or collection of essays on Eliot has. Those psychoanalysts and post-structuralists have done Eliot a disservice by their attempts at criticism and biography- the way they write about him makes him sound so prosaic and unappealing! Frye obviously knows his subject well, and he writes about him in a lucid, engaging, unpretentious fashion, helping the reader grasp concepts in Eliot's works which would otherwise prove daunting. Everyone who loves Eliot needs to own this book. Also, if you're a student struggling to understand Eliot, do yourself a favour and find this volume! It is out of print, but you may be able to purchase a copy on the 'net. If not, your local library or used book store may have it.

One final note: this book is not necessarily helpful if you're looking to understand a specific poem of Eliot's and that's it. This is more of an overview of Eliot's poetry and a study of its evolution, or as one reviewer put it: "Frye's study takes a more holistic view of Eliot's career; and it's especially successful in relating Eliot's literary theory to his practice and various works (written in different periods) to each other."

Most of us are afraid of poems because as we read it, we can't seem to make head or tails as to what we have read. Therefore, for those of us who have "poem-phobia," I recommend this delightful little work.

In this work, Eliot ask the question of what is poetry and the use of criticism in poetry as well as the relationship between the former and the latter.

Eliot proposes to start the enquiry by reviewing the history of criticism starting from Elizabethan era untill that of his time. Through the course of the exploration, I was enthralled by Eliot's insightful opinion of critics and their opinion as to what is poetry and its uses.

I was particularly drawn to the final chapter of his work which does not offer any final word to the questions which he posed but rather giving us advice as to how to read poems (in particular the modern poets, i.e., 20th century). I was very glad to have read this work because it sure beats reading a heavy college text on how to read poetry.

I do not have much to say to recommend such classic poems. A person may choose to find out which works are considered "indispensable" and may or may not avail themselves of the pleasure of reading them. What I like most about Eliot is the symbiotic relationship he had with Pound as his editor on "The Wasteland." A long time ago Horizon magazine printed the first draft of that poem with Pound's notes and sometimes "brutal" excisions. I must say that the final product IMO is much better than the unedited version. If only more Modern and Postmodern writers had editors like that! Or even ANY editors, in some cases! The art of editing is like diamond-cutting. This judgment does not negate the adamantine brilliance of the author.

Professor Gish's book provides a clear, section-by-section analysis and explanation of the symbols, sources, techniques, and themes of "The Waste Land". In contrast to many Waste Land books that seem intent on expounding incomprehensible literary theory, this book brings the poem to life as Eliot's great work of "memory and desire".

Ms. Gish does a superb job of challenging unsupportable (but often repeated) notions of the use of myth in the poem. She explores how the final version of the poem was composed out of a series of poetic fragments, written over a long period of time. By showing that the Grail and Fisher King myths apply to only a small part of the poem (mostly in the final section), the reader is forced to re-think the themes and structure that bind the sections together. While never forcing a particular interpretation on the reader, with the help of Ms. Gish's insights, specific examples, and well-written commentary, a "mystifying" poem gradually begins to reveal itself.

For students trying to come to grips with the meaning of "The Waste Land", I can think of no better place to start than this book. For people who have already struggled with Eliot's masterpiece and have been frustrated with the cryptic essays written by many so-called literature experts, this book will be a wonderfully refreshing, extremely helpful, and thoroughly elucidating work, a "Rosetta Stone" that will unlock many of The Waste Land's mysteries.

As someone who has personally struggled with "The Waste Land" for many years, let me express my heartfelt thanks to Professor Gish for producing her 'must-read' book, "The Waste Land: A Poem of Memory and Desire".