Rhyme and Reason

Words Alone: The Poet T. S. Eliot, by Denis Donoghue (Yale, 326 pp., $26.95)

IS T. S. Eliot a great poet, and if so, what is the nature of his greatness? Intelligent people have been debating this question since 1915, when “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” first appeared in Harriet Monroe’s Poetry magazine. Literary critic Denis Donoghue now offers to demonstrate Eliot’s greatness by closely examining his use of language. This is supremely important because Eliot expanded the possibilities of our language, and consequently our possibilities of cognition.

About the Author

Jeffrey Hart

Jeffrey Hart is a contributor to National Review.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Poetry

Literature

Words Alone: The Poet T. S. Eliot, by Denis Donoghue (Yale, 326 pp., $26.95)

IS T. S. Eliot a great poet, and if so, what is the nature of his greatness? Intelligent people have been debating this question since 1915, when “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” first appeared in Harriet Monroe’s Poetry magazine. Literary critic Denis Donoghue now offers to demonstrate Eliot’s greatness by closely examining his use of language. This is supremely important because Eliot expanded the possibilities of our language, and consequently our possibilities of cognition.