La concezione del tempo nei Four Quartets di T.S. Eliot

Modern literature regularly focuses on the concept of time - the sadness about the past and the agony related to a confused future - to examine the ephemeral nature of human life. Similarly, the aforementioned concept, takes on a destabilizing and unstoppable energy in Thomas Stearns Eliot's literary works. The aim of this study is a historical, mythical, and literary analysis of Four Quartets, which, published in 1943, investigates the divergence between modern man, and the ultimate motives of his existence. The purpose of this dissertation is to rediscover the true meaning of the present through the study of the Four Quartets, with a particular emphasis on the author's observations about time, as a subjective and illusory perception and, more importantly, as a revelation of the dimension of eternity, in a rediscovered opening of the soul to a relationship with God. In particular, as mentioned above, Four Quartets has been chosen for the peculiar relevance of the dimension of time in this text. Literary criticism has devoted, as it will be highlighted in the following pages, ample space to the examination of the poetics of Thomas Stearns Eliot and the interpretation of time that the poet has envisaged within his production. In fact, numerous scholars have emphasized how the author has embraced a philosophical and theological perspective that considers time as an illusory and subjective dimension that is subject to the observer’s subjectivity. Furthermore, several scholars have underlined how Einstein’s theory of relativity significantly influenced Eliot’s poetics, leading the poet to consider time as a fluid and mutable dimension, rather than as a continuous and unstoppable line. Such conception of time is reflected in numerous of Eliot’s works, including the Four Quartets, in which the relationship between past, present, and future is explored. Furtherly, it is necessary to underline that other scholars have pointed out how Eliot’s poetics has evolved over the years, moving from a particular interpretation of time as a linear and irreversible dimension, to a complicated perspective that includes the idea of cyclicality and repetition. However, several studies have shown how the topic of time has been one of the most important in Eliot’s poetry and has helped in shaping the author's style and philosophy. The study opens with a section that relates Thomas Stearns Eliot's artistic and literary career, taking into consideration the cultural and intellectual background in which he is set, namely the age of Modernism. Eliot’s works also contributed to the discovery of metaphysical poetry, he started with the difficulties of its definition, since the term “metaphysical poetry” has long been used as a derogatory word. It is important to underline how Grierson and Eliot’s contributions to the study of metaphysical poetry were crucial during the 17th century. Through the study of Eliot’s poetic compositions, this dissertation attempts to rediscover the meaning of being in the present, focusing on the different reflections that the author has outlined regarding time, which has been described as a completely subjective and, therefore, illusory perception, as well as a revelation of the dimension of eternity. In addition, this study will attempt to show how, in Eliot’s conception, a newfound openness of the soul and a new relationship with God, can help modern man to find the long-awaited awareness of the present moment and the satisfaction resulting from it. After that, the analysis continues with the examination of the structure and symbolic dimension of the Four Quartets. In particular, the analysis is based on the most relevant critical interpretations of the current work.