ABSTRACT

Eliot’s Four Quartets is arguably the finest long poem in modern English literature. It is also one that presents considerable problems of interpretation. In Word Unheard, first published in 1969, Blamires aims to unravel some of these problems by guiding the reader line by line through the poem, blending paraphrase with commentary. Blamires pays particular attention to the philosophical and theological dimensions of the poem and to its multifarious personal, historical and literary allusions. This title will be of interests to students of literature.

chapter |6 pages

Introductory Note

chapter |34 pages

Burnt Norton

chapter |38 pages

East Coker

chapter |44 pages

The Dry Salvages

chapter |62 pages

Little Gidding