February 28

According to our book, T. S. Eliot came from a wealthy background and was well educated.  He originally was a philosopher, but in 1914 Eliot became a poet, married, and moved to England.  In 1916 Eliot finally met with misfortune in the form of poverty and marital and literary problems.  In 1918 Eliot wrote "Whispers of Immortality".  This poem is separated into two different settings.  The first is about seeing a dead body.  In earlier times, plant bulbs would be buried with a body when it was put to grave.  The characters see death all around the dead.  The second part is fairly confusing.  It starts out talking about a woman's bust and then seems to say that because of her beauty and charm she is well kept while others are in a bad way.  Most of Eliot's poems are very confusing to me, but they were all the rage during his time.  This may be a good research topic.  "What was the world like in the 1900's to invite such a prestige upon Eliot and his poetry?"