Analysis Of T. S. Eliot Vs. Wallace Stevens

1780 Words4 Pages

Devica Davis-Kilpatrick
Professor Babbitt
Modernist Poetry
May 1, 2015

T. S. Eliot vs. Wallace Stevens

During T. S. Eliot’s time many of his contemporaries including himself were in the custom of alluding to classic works of poetry. They incorporated references to notable texts like Dante. Eliot especially is a main perpetrator of alluding. Eliot has the ability create a picture for the reader and provide historical context to his works. A contemporary of Eliot, Pound, once said you should try to “be influenced by as many great artists as [they] can” (Pound 95). Eliot is following what Pound said by incorporating allusions in his works.
Throughout Eliot’s works, references to Greek epics were used. Eliot was able to interweave the other …show more content…

In order to accomplish this goal Eliot incorporated allusions into his work. These references added historical context and depth to his poetry. On the other hand Wallace Stevens opposed Eliot’s large reliance on allusion, calling it overly intellectual and a hindrance to the sound and rhythm of the poem. While Stevens’s portrayal of the desolate present was similar to Eliot’s imaginings, Stevens chose to focus on an American future rather than a European past.

List of Works Cited
Eliot, T. S., and Michael North. The Waste Land: Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001. Print.
Eliot, T. S. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Prufrock, and Other Observations. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1920. N. pag. Bartleby.com. Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Pound, Ezra. "A Few Don 'ts by an Imagiste." Poetry Magazine 1.6 (1913): 95-97. The Poetry Foundation. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Ramazani, Jahan, Richard Ellmann, and Robert O 'Clair. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Print.
Stevens, Wallace. "The Man with the Blue Guitar." Wallace Stevens - Collected Poetry & Prose. N.p.: Library of America, 1997. 135-51.

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