This is my poetry coursework I recently completed for English Lit A Level. I had to pick my own poetry anthology/work to analyse, using one of the types of literary criticism specified by the exam board. I chose T.S. Eliot and his Four Quartets, focusing on a Marxist/Eco-Critical reading of the second section - East Coker. It was marked at 25/25.
‘’In East Coker, Eliot’s primary concern is the critique of capitalism’’. To what extent do you agree?
Rolfe Humphries once described T.S. Eliot as a major poet in an “age of break up”, one who is widely celebrated for his profound reflections on the human condition and society.1 These themes are present throughout Eliot’s work, but none so much as the title which earned him a Nobel Prize for literature – his ‘Four Quartets’. Here, Eliot’s verse highlights the fundamental elements of our existence and how they interlink with the “break up” of wider society. Eliot’s main concern then could be the “disturbance of the spring”2 and other forms of environmental degradation which is highlighted across the poem. Or alternatively, perhaps his primary concern is the critique of capitalism and the “empty desolation”3 that it causes. We can pick out recurring motifs of alienation and urban decay throughout, all linked together by a deteriorating landscape that is both absurd and surreal. Perhaps then, Eliot presents capitalism as bringing the world into “that destructive fire”4 which furthers humanity into inequality, while promoting a shift in societal conditions and class hierarchy.
The Four Quartets is an introspective work which, when looked at through a Marxist lens, reveals much about Eliot’s social critique. We might first observe the escapist themes in this work and how they relate to wider ideas about self and the human experience. In response to the “rise and fall” of the urban landscape in the exposition, we read of people running to an “open field” and “dancing around the bonfire”5, perhaps in an attempt to escape society in favour of the natural landscape. Through the verb of “dancing”, Eliot crafts these people as joyful and free from the constraints of urban life. Furthermore, we can observe that, from an economic perspective, society is intrinsically linked with the capitalist idea of utility. In classical capitalist economics, the principle of utility is the notion that everything must be useful through monetary value, produced through labour. Marxism suggests that this utility of work causes ‘alienation’ and the deterioration of the human condition, or as Marx himself says: “the alienation of man thus appeared as the fundamental evil of capitalist society”6. Perhaps Eliot chooses to write about escaping society in order to promote a more natural lifestyle, away from the ‘alienation’ of capitalist urban life.
In addition, we could link the setting of an “open field” to a place for new beginnings, and a clean slate for societal development. The connotations of the noun “field” could include idealism and purity, as the open field in the narrative is one surrounded by the natural landscape. Perhaps Eliot chooses to set the figures as escaping to an “open field” in order to promote a restructuring of society as we know it, towards one which refuses to participate in capitalist fundamentals. Of course, Marx would respond that this does not go far enough, and advocate for a worker's revolution, one which puts the needs of the people at the forefront. It is clear then that Eliot, while clearly criticising capitalism in this portion of the text, fails to advocate for a true “break up” of society through violent resistance.
Despite this, Eliot’s verse does contain revolutionary elements, highlighted through the “dark dark dark”7 force that engulfs existence during the third section of East Coker. “The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters” are among some in the extensive list of societal figures on whom the curtain is closed. Here then, Eliot cleverly uses connected asyndeta to make the list sound endless and forceful, one which drives through the heart of society and creates radical change. Furthermore, the repetition of “dark” creates a rhythmic, chant-like beat at the start of the section, perhaps inviting the reader to consider the force and its importance. As the poem progresses, elements become more surreal in nature, shown through the narrator's monologue and his assertion that “the mind is conscious but conscious of nothing-“. This paradoxical statement features seemingly juxtaposing ideas, which is a clear conversation of the absurdist genre of literature. This lexical choice is important from a Marxist viewpoint as the fragmented nature of the absurdist genre could be seen as response to the inherent divisions present in capitalist society. Is Eliot aware of his own social consciousness, however? Some may argue that Eliot does not deliberately criticise capitalist social structures, but rather writes from the perspective of an exploited worker, one who is unaware of exactly what they are revealing. This argument could be criticised however, when considering the explicitness of Eliot’s inclusions and how they relate to class, for example the “bankers” or “statesmen” mentioned. With this in mind, perhaps Eliot chooses to target the “dark” force in East Coker towards those with high roles in society in an attempt to excoriate current class hierarchy under capitalism, and promote a radical change in structure.
Alternatively, some may argue that Eliot’s primary concern throughout the Four Quartets is not the critique of capitalism but instead the environment, and how human actions cause large damage and degradation to the earth we inhabit. Dr Anupama Verma said of Eliot that “the Four Quartets demonstrate a clear development in Eliot’s environmental consciousness”8. This can perhaps be seen through the “disturbance of the spring” and what follows in East Coker’s second part. The opening to this section is framed as a long rhetorical question and contains elements of natural division and conflict, seen when the “Scorpion fights against the Sun, until the Sun and Moon go down”9. Perhaps Eliot uses violent imagery through “fights” to present the natural world as disintegrating, to the point where natural forces are reversed and destroyed. Here then, we read of cosmic forces such as the moon and sun as becoming obsolete, forever changing the natural world and universe. The almost hyperbolic nature of Eliot’s environmental consciousness is clear here. Perhaps he uses hyperbole in order to shift focus to the environment's crucial nature for our existence, and how we must do everything we can to protect it. From a Marxist perspective, Eliot’s concern for the environment is indeed an admirable cause: environmental philosophies and Marxism are commonly fused due to, as some may argue, their common enemy – the capitalist system. An ecological Marxist would agree that Eliot does demonstrate a level of environmental consciousness throughout the poem, however the root cause of the issue must be the capitalist system that allows environmental abuse to flourish. It is the capitalist system, they would argue, that creates alienation of the worker and refuses to cooperate with the natural world in a safe and harmonic way. With this is mind, Eliot may be concerned with the degradation of the earth we inhabit, however his primary focus must be the force that corrupts the working class and the environment into further “destructive fire” - the capitalist system.
Focusing on the end of East Coker, we can clearly see this capitalist critique through Eliot’s final section. Eliot presents to the reader a conclusion that draws upon the themes and discussions we have seen throughout the poem. One such declaration is that “old men ought to be explorers”10, which examines the nature of work in our society and how it can be improved. Typically, under capitalism, the retired population are bound to a small pension which restricts movement and imagination, increasing alienation and despair. Eliot reverses this social standard by suggesting that they instead should “explore”, which is a much more idealistic and creative vision for the retired worker. Perhaps then, Eliot promotes existence away from capitalist expectations of age and class, to critique the capitalist system as a failure for our population.
Overall, Eliot’s verse throughout the Four Quartets successfully draws focus to the fundamental flaws of capitalism. Eliot’s explorations of time, death, and the human experience can be scrutinised through socioeconomic context, revealing strong critiques of capitalist social structure and class. The Four Quartets, despite being written nearly 80 years ago, remains “eternally present”11 to the struggle of working-class people around the world, and promotes lasting change that would help them unite and break free from the alienating force of capitalist society. Ultimately, only in an ”age of break up” could Eliot convincingly excoriate the capitalist dream, and craft a resounding response for change at the heart of his poetic voice.