Four Quartets

work by Eliot

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Four Quartets, series of four poems by T.S. Eliot, published individually from 1936 to 1942 and in book form in 1943; the work is considered to be Eliot’s masterpiece.

Each of the quartets has five “movements,” and each is titled by a place name—“Burnt Norton” (1936), “East Coker” (1940), “The Dry Salvages” (1941), and “Little Gidding” (1942). Eliot’s insights into the cyclical nature of life are revealed through themes and images deftly woven throughout the four poems. The work addresses the connections of the personal and historical present and past, spiritual renewal, and the very nature of experience; it is considered the poet’s clearest exposition of his Christian beliefs.

This article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.