Although born in the U.S.A., made his life and literary career in Britain, following the curtailment of a tour of Germany by the outbreak of World War I.
He came to prominence with the publication of a poem, [The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock]? in 1915. His style was fresh and modernist, in stark contrast to the much of the bucolic poetry of the time. In 1922, the publication of [The Waste Land]? became one of the principal examples of the new wave of poetry of the time.
The downside of Eliot is his excessive reliance on allusion, particularly to obscure references to Greek and Latin history and literature to the exclusion of the "average" reader.
His later work is predominantly religious in nature, and includes such works as [Ash Wednesday]? and [The Four Quartets]?. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1948.
His 1939 children's book of poetry, [Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats]?, was the basis of a highly successful Broadway musical by [Andrew Lloyd Webber]?, "Cats".
![[Home]](wikipedia.png)