Four Quartets - Critical appreciation of East Coker
5 views 0 purchase
Course
Unit 6 - 20th Century Writing
Institution
CIE
Book
Four Quartets
This essay is graded A at A Level, scoring these marks by insightful comments and an advanced discussion of the underlying themes not first apparent. This essay serves as a perfect example of how to further develop your conceptual points and take your writing skills up a notch. Including a range of...
Write a critical appreciation of East Coker Part I, noting ways in which it is characteristic of
Eliot’s methods and concerns.
In ‘East Coker’ - the second quartet of TS Eliot’s ‘Four Quartets’ - time is observed as more of
a cyclic reflection of life. Permanent as ever, war still remains one of Eliot’s key concerns, as
does his quest for enlightenment; in Section I of East Coker, Eliot addresses these in concise
yet vague – true to his style– detail.
Eliot imposes patterns of time in ‘East Coker’ by way of reassurance and as a plea for us to
accept time instead of fear it. Linking this to the horrors and still remaining tremors of war,
he describes how “houses rise and fall, crumble… / Are removed, destroyed, restored.” The
syntactical composition of commas in this phrase denotes the cyclic process of life and
death: one inevitably leads to the other. He may choose to describe houses as the object for
their connotations of being not only secure, durable and solid - to show that everyone and
everything eventually will perish – but also for its ability to become someone’s home – Eliot
may imply our emotional preferences also change with time and experience. Given he wrote
this when they were “l’entre deux guerres” – between two wars – Eliot may be aiming to
help people in England get to grips with the destruction war wrought upon them, their loved
ones and their possessions, by enabling them to seek comfort in the knowledge of having
some foresight into the future and a grasp on the repetitive nature of war. Moreover, Eliot
drills this idea of the imminent repetition of history in with the half lines: “old stone to new
building, old timber to new fires”, “old fires to ashes, and ashes to the earth”. These two
verses portray two different ideas; the first, simplistically presents by the oxymoronic use of
“old” and “new” the idea of rebirth, which instills “new” hope and comfort in the reader;
the second provides a less evident form of rebirth through death and perishing. The second
line does not convey a switch of death for life, instead describing the sinking down into
“earth” with “flesh, fur and faeces”. This triumvirate of alliterative words tie in these three
things: “flesh” as human, “fur” as animal and “faeces” as all worldly wastage. Hence, the
earth contains elements of everything that has roamed it, through all ages and thus
representing a source containing past, future and present all in one. Therefore, Eliot has
created this perpetual pattern of life to death to life to show us we must not give in to the
feeling of unrest pervading that era.
Similarly, Eliot attempts to retrieve past customs of simpler times by first enacting the
process himself: he uses techniques previously used in Burnt Norton to exclude time from
this place. Firstly, he lulls us into “a warm haze” and places us “in the electric heat/
Hypnotized.” Echoes of the pool of light flicker: the “light/ Is absorbed, not refracted.” With
this point, following the daze-inducing enjambment and caesura greatening the importance
of “Hypnotized” and syncing our heart beat with the dizzyingly subtle rhythm, the reader
finds themselves very much “Hypnotized”: Eliot has the reader right where he wants us to
be. In this hypnotic state, we are unaware of time and are susceptible to our will being
bended – it is perhaps why Eliot wants us in this vulnerable, ecclesiastic state to reset our
beliefs, like the modern hypnotherapy treatment to install a new thought. In this case it is to
“not come too close”: to remain in this state of acceptance without evidence, of enjoyment
without comprehension or consciousness of what is occurring and of living to simply
“absorb” the “light”, not to “refract” nor deny it.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller firstaid. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.69. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
