Of poems and propositions: T.S. Eliot and the linguistic turn

Thesis

This thesis describes how Eliot's concern for language and form finds roots in early twentieth century language philosophy. It also explores the way Eliot's early philosophical themes concerning language and meaning reemerge in his literary criticism and philosophical poetry during the 1920s and 1930s, and in his more explicitly philosophical Four Quartets. More significantly, this thesis historically elucidates Eliot's debt to the philosophies of Edmund Husserl and Bertrand Russell, reframing his philosophy within the two poles of the "Linguistic Turn". By closely examining Eliot's unpublished and only recently published essays and notes, the thesis unearths probable connections between Eliot's own philosophical interests and his later poetics, redefining his legacy as a prototypical modernist poet, and suggesting a new framework of study for scholars and students of literary modernism.

Authors: Pierce, A

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Literature; Poetry; 20th Century Literature; Phenomenology; Modernism; T.S. Eliot
• Subjects: Literature; Russell, Bertrand, 1872-1970; Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965; Phenomenology; Husserl, Edmund, 1859-1938; Modernism