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Click here for more information."><img alt="This is a good article. Click here for more information." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/19px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png" decoding="async" width="19" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/29px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/39px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></a></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">1940 poem by T. S. Eliot</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Coker_Court_and_St_Michael%27s_Church_East_Coker_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1299318.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Coker_Court_and_St_Michael%27s_Church_East_Coker_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1299318.jpg/220px-Coker_Court_and_St_Michael%27s_Church_East_Coker_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1299318.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Coker_Court_and_St_Michael%27s_Church_East_Coker_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1299318.jpg/330px-Coker_Court_and_St_Michael%27s_Church_East_Coker_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1299318.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Coker_Court_and_St_Michael%27s_Church_East_Coker_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1299318.jpg/440px-Coker_Court_and_St_Michael%27s_Church_East_Coker_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1299318.jpg 2x" data-file-width="640" data-file-height="480" /></a><figcaption>Coker Court and the parish church in <a href="/wiki/East_Coker" title="East Coker">East Coker</a>, Somerset</figcaption></figure> <p><i><b>East Coker</b></i> is the second poem of <a href="/wiki/T._S._Eliot" title="T. S. Eliot">T. S. Eliot</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Four_Quartets" title="Four Quartets">Four Quartets</a></i>. It was started as a way for Eliot to get back into writing poetry and was modelled after <i><a href="/wiki/Burnt_Norton" title="Burnt Norton">Burnt Norton</a></i>. It was finished during early 1940 and printed in the UK in the Easter edition of the 1940 <i><a href="/wiki/New_English_Weekly" class="mw-redirect" title="New English Weekly">New English Weekly</a></i>, and in the US in the May 1940 issue of <i><a href="/wiki/Partisan_Review" title="Partisan Review">Partisan Review</a></i>. The title refers to a <a href="/wiki/East_Coker" title="East Coker">village in Somerset</a> that was connected to his <a href="/wiki/Eliot_family_(United_States)" title="Eliot family (United States)">Eliot family</a> ancestry and where Eliot's ashes were placed in <a href="/wiki/St_Michael_and_All_Angels%27_Church,_East_Coker" title="St Michael and All Angels' Church, East Coker">St Michael and All Angels' Church, East Coker</a>. </p><p>The poem discusses time and disorder within nature that is the result of humanity following only science and not the divine. Leaders are described as materialistic and unable to understand reality. The only way for mankind to find salvation is through pursuing the divine by looking inwards and realising that humanity is interconnected. Only then can people understand the universe. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Plaque,_The_Church_of_St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742651.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Plaque%2C_The_Church_of_St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742651.jpg/220px-Plaque%2C_The_Church_of_St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742651.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Plaque%2C_The_Church_of_St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742651.jpg/330px-Plaque%2C_The_Church_of_St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742651.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Plaque%2C_The_Church_of_St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742651.jpg/440px-Plaque%2C_The_Church_of_St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742651.jpg 2x" data-file-width="640" data-file-height="480" /></a><figcaption> Memorial plaque in <a href="/wiki/St_Michael_and_All_Angels%27_Church,_East_Coker" title="St Michael and All Angels' Church, East Coker">St Michael and All Angels' Church, East Coker</a></figcaption></figure> <p>In 1939 T. S. Eliot thought that he would be unable to continue writing poetry. In an attempt to see if he could still, he started copying aspects of <i>Burnt Norton</i> and substituted another place: <a href="/wiki/East_Coker" title="East Coker">East Coker</a>, a place that Eliot visited in 1937 with the parish church, where his ashes were later kept.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The place held a particular importance to Eliot and family because their ancestor, Andrew Eliot, left the village to travel to America in 1669.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A plaque in the church invites prayers for the soul of "Thomas Stearns Eliot, poet".<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>He managed to complete two sections by February 1940, but finished the rest during that month. <a href="/wiki/John_Davy_Hayward" title="John Davy Hayward">John Davy Hayward</a>, <a href="/wiki/Herbert_Read" title="Herbert Read">Herbert Read</a> and others helped review and edit it. <i>East Coker</i> was published in the March 1940 <i>New English Weekly</i> for its Easter edition. It was later reprinted May and June,<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and it was published on its own by <a href="/wiki/Faber_and_Faber" class="mw-redirect" title="Faber and Faber">Faber and Faber</a> in September.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> With the completion of the poem, Eliot began creating the <i>Four Quartets</i> as a series of four poems based on the same theme with <i>Burnt Norton</i> as the first in the series and <i>East Coker</i> as the second.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Poem">Poem</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Poem"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><i>East Coker</i> is described as a poem of late summer, earth, and faith.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As in the other poems of the <i>Four Quartets</i>, each of the five sections holds a theme that is common to each of the poems: time, experience, purgation, prayer, and wholeness.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The time theme is stated in the first section as "In my beginning is my end" which, given proper attention, might prove to lead into the eternal moment. The first section reflects on how things rise, fall, and are reborn, drawing on images of countryside houses built and destroyed, of rural life, seasons, traditional rituals, music and dance, and honoring the dead to evoke the passage of time. The poet emphasizes how life is intertwined with death and human actions are part of an eternal rhythm.<sup id="cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mambrol_2020-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blamires_1969-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The second section discusses disorder within nature, which is opposite to the discussion of order within nature found in the second section of <i>Burnt Norton</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Pinion_1986_p._223_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pinion_1986_p._223-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Also, rational knowledge itself is described as being inadequate for explaining reality. Those who pursue only reason and science are ignorant. Even our progress is not progress as we continue to repeat the same errors as the past.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The poet dismisses "the wisdom of old men", and says he wants to hear of their "folly". "The only wisdom we can hope to acquire", the poet claims, "is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless."<sup id="cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mambrol_2020-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blamires_1969-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The third section discusses the rulers of secular society and their flaws, within a meditation on mortality. All people, regardless of status, encounter death and the unknown, symbolized by the dark. Images of "running streams, and winter lightning. The wild thyme unseen and the wild strawberry" are featured. The tone is somber, and the poet urges the soul to be still and wait in faith. In this stillness lies hope for spiritual insight, but it must come from embracing the darkness and waiting without expectation; transformation and enlightenment come from surrender and acceptance. Here, the poet interrupts the flow of the poem to ask the reader in an informal tone if they want him to repeat his insights.<sup id="cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mambrol_2020-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blamires_1969-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The fourth, which is a formal section, deploys a series of Baroque paradoxes in the context of the <a href="/wiki/Good_Friday" title="Good Friday">Good Friday</a> mass. One such paradox is the "wounded surgeon", a Christ-like figure who heals through painful interventions, within a "hospital" that encompasses "the whole Earth". The fourth section contemplates humanity's need to endure suffering and purification to find oneness, spiritual healing, renewal and salvation, evoking intense imagery of blood.<sup id="cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mambrol_2020-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blamires_1969-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>This past manner of paradoxes is regarded ironically by the poet in the fifth section as he looks back on his period of experimentation in "the years of <a href="/wiki/Interwar_period" title="Interwar period"><i>l'entre deux guerres</i></a>" as "largely wasted". He welcomes approaching old age as a new opportunity to find renewal, although it might only be a rediscovery of "what has been lost and found and lost again". Life complexifies as one grows older, and the world becomes “stranger” and more interconnected; real wisdom comes from recognizing the fleeting nature of individual moments and understanding broader patterns of life and history.<sup id="cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mambrol_2020-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blamires_1969-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Despite the poem's doubt and darkness, a note of hope is struck by the first line of the fifth section, "So here I am in the middle way". This refers to the first line of <a href="/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)" title="Inferno (Dante)">Dante's <i>Inferno</i></a>, "Midway in our life's journey, I went astray".<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Although the descent is predicated on going astray, so is persevering beyond it into the light. The poet encourages spiritual exploration, especially for older people, suggesting that true understanding comes from embracing both stillness and movement. The poet evokes imagery of light, darkness, and the sea to reflect the soul's journey, searching for deeper communion and unity; he ends, "in my end is my beginning."<sup id="cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mambrol_2020-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blamires_1969-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Themes">Themes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Themes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><i>East Coker</i> gives a message of hope that the English communities would survive through World War II.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In a letter dated 9 February 1940, Eliot stated, "We can have very little hope of contributing to any immediate social change; and we are more disposed to see our hope in modest and local beginnings, than in transforming the whole world at once... We must keep alive aspirations which can remain valid throughout the longest and darkest period of universal calamity and degradation."<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The poem also relied on the war as a way to connect to Eliot's idea that there was a united humanity. In particular, <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Spender" title="Stephen Spender">Stephen Spender</a> claimed that "the war modified [Eliot's] attitude by convincing him that there was a Western cause to be positively defended. And after the war there was a Germany to be brought back within the Western tradition".<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The poem served as a sort of opposite to the popular idea that <i><a href="/wiki/The_Waste_Land" title="The Waste Land">The Waste Land</a></i> served as an expression of disillusionment after World War I, even though Eliot never accepted this interpretation.<sup id="cite_ref-Ackroyd_1984_p._255_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Ackroyd_1984_p._255-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> World War II itself has a direct mention in only a few of Eliot's writings.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, World War II does affect the poem, especially with the disruption caused by the war being reflected within the poem as a disruption of nature and heaven.<sup id="cite_ref-Pinion_1986_p._223_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pinion_1986_p._223-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The poem describes society in ways similar to <i>The Waste Land</i>, especially with its emphasis on death and dying. The place is connected to where Eliot's family originates, and, as such, is also the place where his family will symbolically end. In the second part of the poem, nature is experiencing disorder, and it is suggested that humans too may burn, and also that reason, knowledge, and science cannot save people. The errors of our past become the reasons for war and conflict and we need to become humble in order to escape the destruction. However, darkness consumes the rulers of the world and society. This is, in part, due to Adam's fall, and the resulting concept of original sin. Christ is our savior and we need to seek redemption to overcome our human failings. Eliot states that he has been involved with fighting for humanity and trying to help mankind learn what is important. Only through Christ is man able to be redeemed.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In a twist from expectation, Eliot's poem suggests that old men should go out and explore. He warns that people should trade wisdom for pointless experience and argues that men should explore human experience itself. This concept is hinted of in <i>The Waste Land</i> and draws from the ideas within <a href="/wiki/Dante" class="mw-redirect" title="Dante">Dante</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Convivio" title="Convivio">Convivio</a></i>. Dante argues that old men are supposed to return to God and describes the process in a way similar to the travels of <a href="/wiki/Odysseus" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a>. Unlike Homer's hero, Dante argues that men should not travel in the material world but in the spiritual world. Both Dante and Eliot put forth a similar view to <a href="/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo" title="Augustine of Hippo">Augustine of Hippo</a> when they focus on internal travels.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Through these travels, mankind is able to have faith in salvation and able to see that there is more to the world than darkness. Eliot explains within the poem that we are all interconnected through time and that we must realise this. Only through this realisation is mankind able to understand the truth of the universe. This, in turn, would allow humanity to break free from the burden of time. As <a href="/wiki/Russell_Kirk" title="Russell Kirk">Russell Kirk</a> explains: "That end, for those who apprehend a reality superior to 'birth, copulation, and death'—a reality transcending the rhythms of physical nature—is to know God and enjoy Him forever."<sup id="cite_ref-Kirk_252-253_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kirk_252-253-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Family and family history also play an important role in the poem. Eliot found information on his family from the book <i>A Sketch of the Eliot Family</i> (1887), which described how Eliot's family lived in East Coker for 200 years. When Andrew Eliot left, he disrupted the family history. Similarly, Eliot broke from his own family when he travelled away from his family, a family that he saw was declining. Within the poem, Eliot emphasises the need for a journey and the need for inward change.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>According to Eliot the poetic aspects of the poem are grounded in the tradition of <a href="/wiki/John_Cleveland" title="John Cleveland">John Cleveland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Edward_Benlowes" title="Edward Benlowes">Edward Benlowes</a>, <a href="/wiki/William_Blake" title="William Blake">William Blake</a>, and <a href="/wiki/W._B._Yeats" title="W. B. Yeats">W. B. Yeats</a>'s early work.<sup id="cite_ref-Ackroyd_1984_p._255_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Ackroyd_1984_p._255-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Additionally, many of the images are connected to the poetry of <a href="/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Mallarm%C3%A9" title="Stéphane Mallarmé">Stéphane Mallarmé</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Pinion_1986_p._223_11-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pinion_1986_p._223-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In terms of theology, Eliot is orthodox in his theory and relies primarily on the writings of St Augustine. There are some additional influences from the works of <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Browne" title="Thomas Browne">Thomas Browne</a> and <a href="/wiki/John_of_the_Cross" title="John of the Cross">John of the Cross</a>. In applying these views upon society, Eliot was heavily influenced by the writings of <a href="/wiki/Christopher_Dawson" title="Christopher Dawson">Christopher Dawson</a> and Dawson's reliance on understanding God as the first step to a better society.<sup id="cite_ref-Kirk_252-253_21-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kirk_252-253-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Besides the many literary sources, Eliot also draws on his personal feelings and experience, especially on the great stress that he felt while composing the poem.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Similarly, Eliot used the image of <a href="/wiki/Pilgrims_(Plymouth_Colony)" title="Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)">pilgrims</a> coming to America and the stories of them that were common throughout his childhood. In particular, his mother wrote poems about the pilgrims arriving in New England, and Eliot found information related to his family's history in <i>A Sketch of the Eliot Family</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Reception">Reception</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Reception"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><i>East Coker</i> sold almost 12,000 copies during its initial publication. Eliot's response was to claim that its popularity proved that it was a bad poem. Regardless of the truthfulness of the statement, he enjoyed the fact that the poem could inspire people during the war.<sup id="cite_ref-Ackroyd_1984_p._255_17-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Ackroyd_1984_p._255-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Upon receiving an essay from a schoolboy analysing <i>East Coker</i>, Eliot wrote a complimentary reply, praising the boy's review despite his interpretation of the poem differing from Eliot's.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Eliot's friend, <a href="/wiki/Emily_Hale" title="Emily Hale">Emily Hale</a>, liked the poem so much that she read the poem to her Smith College students "as if it were a love-letter from God".<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Early reviews focused on discussing the poem in terms of its content and not its style. In the <i>Southern Review</i>, James Johnson Sweeney, Spring 1941, and Curist Bradford, Winter 1944, discussed paraphrases of the poems<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words"><span title="The material near this tag possibly uses too vague attribution or weasel words. (March 2016)">which?</span></a></i>]</sup> and the sources of various passages.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, Andrews Wanning, Spring 1941, stated that <i>Burnt Norton</i> was a better poem than <i>East Coker</i> and that "'Burnt Norton' is a poem of suggestion, 'East Coker' a poem of argument and explanation".<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Another American critic, Delmore Schwartz, did not appreciate the tone within <i>East Coker</i>, especially that expressed in the fifth section.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ackroyd 1984 p. 254</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Pinion 1986 p. 6</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kirk 2008 p. 250</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ackroyd 1984 pp. 254–255</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bergonzi 1972 p. 150</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Pinion 1986 p. 219</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kirk 2008 p. 248</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bergonzi 1972 pp. 164–166</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Mambrol_2020-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mambrol_2020_9-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMambrol2020" class="citation web cs1">Mambrol, Nasrullah (July 4, 2020). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://literariness.org/2020/07/04/analysis-of-t-s-eliots-four-quartets/">"Analysis of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets"</a>. <i>Literary Theory and Criticism</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">November 10,</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Literary+Theory+and+Criticism&rft.atitle=Analysis+of+T.+S.+Eliot%E2%80%99s+Four+Quartets&rft.date=2020-07-04&rft.aulast=Mambrol&rft.aufirst=Nasrullah&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fliterariness.org%2F2020%2F07%2F04%2Fanalysis-of-t-s-eliots-four-quartets%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEast+Coker+%28poem%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Blamires_1969-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Blamires_1969_10-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBlamires1969" class="citation book cs1">Blamires, Harry (1969). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003074830/word-unheard-harry-blamires"><i>Word Unheard</i></a>. London: Methuen & Company Ltd. p. 41–78. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781003074830" title="Special:BookSources/9781003074830"><bdi>9781003074830</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Word+Unheard&rft.place=London&rft.pages=41-78&rft.pub=Methuen+%26+Company+Ltd&rft.date=1969&rft.isbn=9781003074830&rft.aulast=Blamires&rft.aufirst=Harry&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.taylorfrancis.com%2Fbooks%2Fmono%2F10.4324%2F9781003074830%2Fword-unheard-harry-blamires&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEast+Coker+%28poem%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Pinion_1986_p._223-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Pinion_1986_p._223_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pinion_1986_p._223_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pinion_1986_p._223_11-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Pinion 1986 p. 223</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kirk 2008 pp. 250–251</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">John Ciardi's translation, New York, 1954, p.28</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Gordon 2000 p. 353</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Gordon 2000 qtd. p. 353</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bergonzi 1972 qtd p. 150</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Ackroyd_1984_p._255-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Ackroyd_1984_p._255_17-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ackroyd_1984_p._255_17-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ackroyd_1984_p._255_17-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Ackroyd 1984 p. 255</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bergonzi 1972 p. 151</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kirk 2008 pp. 250–252</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Manganiello 1989 pp. 31–33</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Kirk_252-253-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Kirk_252-253_21-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Kirk_252-253_21-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Kirk 2008 pp. 252–253</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Gordon 2000 pp. 348–349</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Manganiello 1989 p. 41</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Gordon 2000 pp. 346–348</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=XMS839">"UoB Calmview5: Search results"</a>. <i>calmview.bham.ac.uk</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2021-06-01</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=calmview.bham.ac.uk&rft.atitle=UoB+Calmview5%3A+Search+results&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fcalmview.bham.ac.uk%2FRecord.aspx%3Fsrc%3DCalmView.Catalog%26id%3DXMS839&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEast+Coker+%28poem%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=XMS839/2&pos=3">"UoB Calmview5: Search results"</a>. <i>calmview.bham.ac.uk</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2021-06-01</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=calmview.bham.ac.uk&rft.atitle=UoB+Calmview5%3A+Search+results&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fcalmview.bham.ac.uk%2FRecord.aspx%3Fsrc%3DCalmView.Catalog%26id%3DXMS839%2F2%26pos%3D3&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEast+Coker+%28poem%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Gordon 2000 qtd p. 344</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Grant 1997 p. 43</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Grant 1997 qtd. p. 43</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-30">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Grant 1997 p. 46</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Ackroyd, Peter. <i>T. S. Eliot: A Life</i>. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984.</li> <li>Bergonzi, Bernard. <i>T. S. Eliot</i>. New York: Macmillan Company, 1972.</li> <li>Gordon, Lyndall. <i>T. S. Eliot: An Imperfect Life</i>. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.</li> <li>Grant, Michael. <i>T. S. Eliot: The Critical Heritage</i>. New York: Routledge, 1997.</li> <li>Kirk, Russell. <i>Eliot and His Age</i>. Wilmington: ISA Books, 2008.</li> <li>Manganiello, Dominic. <i>T. S. Eliot and Dante</i>. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.</li> <li>Pinion, F. B. <i>A T. S. Eliot Companion</i>. 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S. Eliot"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:T._S._Eliot" title="Template talk:T. S. Eliot"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:T._S._Eliot" title="Special:EditPage/Template:T. S. Eliot"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="T._S._Eliot" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/T._S._Eliot" title="T. S. Eliot">T. S. Eliot</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3"><div><a href="/wiki/T._S._Eliot_bibliography" title="T. S. Eliot bibliography">Bibliography</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Early poems</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Love_Song_of_J._Alfred_Prufrock" title="The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock">The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Portrait_of_a_Lady_(poem)" title="Portrait of a Lady (poem)">Portrait of a Lady</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Preludes_(poem)" title="Preludes (poem)">Preludes</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Whispers_of_Immortality" title="Whispers of Immortality">Whispers of Immortality</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Gerontion" title="Gerontion">Gerontion</a>"</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Waste_Land" title="The Waste Land">The Waste Land</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Hollow_Men" title="The Hollow Men">The Hollow Men</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ash_Wednesday_(poem)" title="Ash Wednesday (poem)">Ash Wednesday</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/T._S._Eliot%27s_Ariel_poems" title="T. S. Eliot's Ariel poems">Ariel Poems</a></i></li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Journey_of_the_Magi" title="Journey of the Magi">Journey of the Magi</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/A_Song_for_Simeon" title="A Song for Simeon">A Song for Simeon</a>"</li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="8" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:T_S_Eliot_Simon_Fieldhouse.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/T_S_Eliot_Simon_Fieldhouse.jpg/130px-T_S_Eliot_Simon_Fieldhouse.jpg" decoding="async" width="130" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/T_S_Eliot_Simon_Fieldhouse.jpg/195px-T_S_Eliot_Simon_Fieldhouse.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/T_S_Eliot_Simon_Fieldhouse.jpg/260px-T_S_Eliot_Simon_Fieldhouse.jpg 2x" data-file-width="398" data-file-height="510" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Later poems</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Old_Possum%27s_Book_of_Practical_Cats" title="Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats">Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats</a></i></li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Awefull_Battle_of_the_Pekes_and_the_Pollicles" title="The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles">The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Gus:_The_Theatre_Cat" title="Gus: The Theatre Cat">Gus: The Theatre Cat</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Growltiger%27s_Last_Stand" title="Growltiger's Last Stand">Growltiger's Last Stand</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Naming_of_Cats" title="The Naming of Cats">The Naming of Cats</a>"</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Burnt_Norton" title="Burnt Norton">Burnt Norton</a></i></li> <li><i><a class="mw-selflink selflink">East Coker</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Dry_Salvages" title="The Dry Salvages">The Dry Salvages</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Little_Gidding_(poem)" title="Little Gidding (poem)">Little Gidding</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Four_Quartets" title="Four Quartets">Four Quartets</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Plays</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Sweeney_Agonistes" title="Sweeney Agonistes">Sweeney Agonistes</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Rock_(play)" title="The Rock (play)">The Rock</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Murder_in_the_Cathedral" title="Murder in the Cathedral">Murder in the Cathedral</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Family_Reunion" title="The Family Reunion">The Family Reunion</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Cocktail_Party" title="The Cocktail Party">The Cocktail Party</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Confidential_Clerk" title="The Confidential Clerk">The Confidential Clerk</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Elder_Statesman_(play)" title="The Elder Statesman (play)">The Elder Statesman</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Prose</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Selected_Essays,_1917%E2%80%931932" title="Selected Essays, 1917–1932">Selected Essays, 1917–1932</a></i></li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Hamlet_and_His_Problems" title="Hamlet and His Problems">Hamlet and His Problems</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/Tradition_and_the_Individual_Talent" title="Tradition and the Individual Talent">Tradition and the Individual Talent</a>"</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Sacred_Wood_(T._S._Eliot)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Sacred Wood (T. S. Eliot)">The Sacred Wood</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/A_Choice_of_Kipling%27s_Verse" title="A Choice of Kipling's Verse">A Choice of Kipling's Verse</a></i> (1941)</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_Frontiers_of_Criticism" title="The Frontiers of Criticism">The Frontiers of Criticism</a>"</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Adaptations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Murder_in_the_Cathedral_(1951_film)" title="Murder in the Cathedral (1951 film)"><i>Murder in the Cathedral</i> (film)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Assassinio_nella_cattedrale" title="Assassinio nella cattedrale">Assassinio nella cattedrale</a></i> (opera)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Murder_in_the_Cathedral_(1962_film)" title="Murder in the Cathedral (1962 film)"><i>Murder in the Cathedral</i> (TV play)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Canticle_IV:_The_Journey_of_the_Magi" title="Canticle IV: The Journey of the Magi">Canticle IV: The Journey of the Magi</a></i></li> <li><i>Cats</i> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cats_(musical)" title="Cats (musical)">1981 musical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cats_(1998_film)" title="Cats (1998 film)">1998 film</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cats_(2019_film)" title="Cats (2019 film)">2019 film</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Publishing</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Criterion" title="The Criterion">The Criterion</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Faber_and_Faber" class="mw-redirect" title="Faber and Faber">Faber and Faber</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T._S._Eliot_Prize" title="T. S. Eliot Prize">T. S. Eliot Prize</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T._S._Eliot_Prize_(Truman_State_University)" title="T. S. Eliot Prize (Truman State University)">T. S. Eliot Prize (Truman State University)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Portrait_of_T._S._Eliot" title="Portrait of T. S. Eliot">Portrait of T. S. Eliot</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tom_%26_Viv_(play)" title="Tom & Viv (play)"><i>Tom & Viv</i> (1984 play,</a> <a href="/wiki/Tom_%26_Viv" title="Tom & Viv">1994 film)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">People</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Eliot_family_(America)" class="mw-redirect" title="Eliot family (America)">Eliot family</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vivienne_Haigh-Wood_Eliot" title="Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot">Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot <small>(first wife)</small></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Valerie_Eliot" title="Valerie Eliot">Valerie Eliot <small>(second wife)</small></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Henry_Ware_Eliot" title="Henry Ware Eliot">Henry Ware Eliot <small>(father)</small></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charlotte_Champe_Stearns" class="mw-redirect" title="Charlotte Champe Stearns">Charlotte Champe Stearns <small>(mother)</small></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/William_Greenleaf_Eliot" title="William Greenleaf Eliot">William Greenleaf Eliot <small>(grandfather)</small></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/E._Martin_Browne" title="E. Martin Browne">E. Martin Browne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Emily_Hale" title="Emily Hale">Emily Hale</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Davy_Hayward" title="John Davy Hayward">John Davy Hayward</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ezra_Pound" title="Ezra Pound">Ezra Pound</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jean_Jules_Verdenal" title="Jean Jules Verdenal">Jean Jules Verdenal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/William_Butler_Yeats" class="mw-redirect" title="William Butler Yeats">William Butler Yeats</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&oldid=1256504676">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_Coker_(poem)&oldid=1256504676</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1940_poems" title="Category:1940 poems">1940 poems</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Christian_poetry" title="Category:Christian poetry">Christian poetry</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Modernist_poems" title="Category:Modernist poems">Modernist poems</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Poetry_by_T._S._Eliot" title="Category:Poetry by T. 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