Complete Poems and Plays,: 1909-1950: Amazon.ca: T. S. Eliot: Books

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Eliot's poetry ranges from the massively magisterial ( The Waste Land), to the playfully pleasant ( Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats). This volume of Eliot's poetry and plays offers the complete text of these and most all of Eliot's poetry, including the full text of Four Quartets. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Eliot exerted a profound influence on his contemporaries in the arts generally and this collection makes his genius clear.

Book Description

This omnibus collection includes all of the authors early poetry as well as the Four Quartets, Old Possums Book of Practical Cats, and the plays Murder in the Cathedral, The Family Reunion, and The Cocktail Party.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

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4.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Prometheus of modern poetry, May 26 2001

By

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Complete Poems and Plays,: 1909-1950 (Hardcover)

I became familiar with Eliot's work chronologically, learning something new at each step. "Prufrock" introduced me to modern poetical structure, "The Waste Land" showed me how literary allusion can enrich verse, "Ash-Wednesday" refreshed the world of religious poetry, and the supernal "Four Quartets" was for me a metaphysical insight of the greatest beauty.

Eliot is without a doubt the finest poet of the 20th century, perhaps the finest poet ever. His contributions to the poets who came after him, and to literature in general, are persistently evident. Eliot doesn't always succeed, and many of his poems seem trite and pretentious, but when he succeeds he hits dead on with poetry perfect in form, balance, and sound. There is the man here, the poet as reflected in his own work, but there is also common human experience through looking at history ("The Waste Land") and meditating on Man's relationship with the Divine and the eternal (Ariel Poems, and most of his output after 1928).

HOWEVER, this edition of his "collected works," COMPLETE POEMS AND PLAYS: 1909-1950 lacks several last poems which can be found in COLLECTED POEMS 1909-1962. I recommend that edition, as tt is worth missing out on Eliot's plays in order to have a truly complete collection of his sublime verse.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, Go On! You NEED this collection!, Jan 22 2001

By

Kelli - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Poems and Plays,: 1909-1950 (Hardcover)

In spite of the drawbacks of the arrangement in this volume (as described by other reviewers infra), this remains a must-have volume for anyone interested in contemporary poetry. T.S. Eliot's *best* works are all collected here, in a readily readable and comprehensible form. I remember reading and re-reading and re-reading my copy as a youngster and it still enjoys both a place of honor on my shelf as well as the even greater honor of frequent use and perusal. Let's face it, you can't come to terms with contemporary poetry without an understanding of T.S. Eliot, and this is probably the best place to start that effort because of the comprehensive (though not exhaustive) nature of this collection. You simply have to have this volume if you are a lover of contemporary poetry.

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5.0 out of 5 stars I own a first edition, Jun 5 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Complete Poems and Plays,: 1909-1950 (Hardcover)

I bought this book back in college (I was premed). Of all the old books on my shelves, this one gets pulled out the most often. Like some of the other reviewers, I smile quietly when I see C. S. Lewis's criticisms of Eliot. They share a shelf in my home.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars 3-star collection of a 10-star poet's work
T. S. Eliot was arguably the greatest poet of the 20th century, but this collection is far from ideal. Read more

Published on Jan 17 2000 by Carl Tait

5.0 out of 5 stars Eliot at his best
A wonderful collection of most of T.S. Eliot's poetry, including The Wasteland, The Hollow Men and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Has extensive notes by the author. Read more

Published on July 30 1998