Approaches to Teaching Eliot's Poetry and Plays

According to a survey of English teachers, most students are introduced to T. S. Eliot's poetry during the first two years of college. Approaches to Teaching Eliot's Poetry and Plays addresses the challenge of teaching these complex works to advanced high school students and undergraduates and presents a cross-section of views and experiences that both new and experienced instructors will find useful. Like other books in the MLA's Approaches to Teaching World Literature series, this volume is divided into two parts. Part 1, "Materials," surveys editions, anthologies, bibliographies, music, films, and other instructional aids. Many of the essays in part 2, "Approaches," focus on specific poems or plays, including "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Hollow Men," Ash-Wednesday, The Waste Land, Four Quartets, Murder in the Cathedral, and The Cocktail Party. Several other essays examine issues in Eliot's larger body of work, including his treatment of women, his debt to the Romantic tradition, and the influence of music on his poetry.