"Unlike many academic critics who have expended huge amounts of energy on uncovering Eliot's sources, pointing to obscure allusions that might unlock hidden meanings in the verse, Mr. Raine zeros in on the emotional core of the poems, using his own familiarity with Eliot's work to give the lay reader a visceral understanding of how the poet came to articulate his ideas and how those ideas evolved over the years. As a poet himself, Mr. Raine has a practitioner's understanding of language and rhythm and sound, and he uses this knowledge to convey the beauty and power of Eliot's verse, and the myriad, subtle ways it works its magic on the reader." - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; PREFACE; INTRODUCTION: ELIOT AND THE BURIED LIFE; CHAPTER 1: THE FAILURE TO LIVE; CHAPTER 2: ELIOT AS CLASSICIST; CHAPTER 3: THE WASTE LAND; CHAPTER 4: FOUR QUARTETS; CHAPTER 5: THE DRAMA; CHAPTER 6: THE CRITICISM; APPENDIX 1: ELIOT AND ANTI-SEMITISM; APPENDIX 2: TWO FREE TRANSLATIONS BY CRAIG RAINE OF 'LUNE DE MIEL' AND 'DANS LE RESTAURANT'; APPENDIX 3: AN ELIOT CHRONOLOGY; NOTES; INDEX