Introduction

T. S. Eliot's work demands contextual commentary. The celebrated obliquities of his poetry are extraordinary. Studded with allusions, echoes and parallels to previous poets, these poems revel in a dislocated syntax which wilfully abstains from logical articulation. Similarly, his prose is habitually densely layered, making continual play with source materials and canvassing, in intricate and nuanced detail, a multitude of contemporary literary, cultural, social, economic, philosophical, theological and political issues that have now, for the most part, receded dimly into the past. In truth, his voluminous outpouring of poems, essays and books from 1905 until his death in 1965 cannot be divorced from the circumstances of their immediate composition and reception. The sheer erudition required to take full measure of Eliot's corpus can erect a formidable barrier between him and new readers. For this reason, a vast secondary criticism has grown up to expound and explicate this difficult, often provoking, work. However, for four decades after Eliot's death, a large amount of important archive material was routinely closed to researchers. We are now at the dawn of a new era in Eliot scholarship. The projected appearance of textually accurate and contextually annotated authorised critical editions of Eliot's prose, poetry, letters and plays will undoubtedly transform the landscape of Eliot studies. This collection, too, takes its place as a timely contribution to an exciting reassessment of Eliot's life and works, offering a valuable resource for scholars, teachers, students and general readers alike. © Cambridge University Press 2011.