WiSe 13/14: S-Lit. Stud.: Periods-Genres-Concepts: T.S. Eliot
Kai Martin Wiegandt
Comments
T.S. Eliot (1988-1965) was a poet, playwright, literary critic, editor, and leader of the modernist movement in poetry in such works as The Waste Land (1922) and Four Quartets (1943). He was highly influential in Anglo-American culture from the 1920s until late in the century. His experiments in diction, style, and versification revitalized English poetry, and in a series of critical essays he shattered old orthodoxies and erected new ones. We will study Eliot's poetry in depth and complement our readings with some of Eliot's plays and selected prose. We will also consider some of the poetry of Eliot's contemporaries in order to identify Eliot's specific contribution to literary tradition.
Participants will have to read critical essays in addition to Eliot's poetry (the criticism will be made available on Blackboard). Knowledge of the Bible will be very helpful. Regular attendance (no more than two missed classes), the writing of weekly response papers and a presentation are obligatory. Credits can be acquired by submitting a paper on a specialised topic. English is spoken in class. Your language skills should be at the C1 level or higher according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Students are required to buy the following books:
Eliot, T.S. The Complete Poetry and Plays of T.S. Eliot. London: Faber, 2004. Eliot, T.S. Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot. Ed. Frank Kermode. London: Harcourt, 1975 close16 Class schedule
Regular appointments