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Four Quartets

The Four Quartets is a set of four poems written by T. S. Eliot that were published over a six-year period. The first poem, Burnt Norton, was published with a collection of his early works (1936's Collected Poems 1909–1935). After a few years, Eliot composed the other three poems, East Coker, The Dry Salvages and Little Gidding, which were written during World War II and the air-raids on Great Britain. They were first published as a series by Faber and Faber in Great Britain between 1940 and 1942 towards the end of Eliot's poetic career (East Coker in September 1940, Burnt Norton in February 1941, The Dry Salvages in September 1941 and Little Gidding in 1942). The poems were not collected until Eliot's New York publisher printed them together in 1943. Four Quartets are four interlinked meditations with the common theme being man's relationship with time, the universe, and the divine. In describing his understanding of the divine within the poems, Eliot blends his Anglo-Catholicism with mystical, philosophical and poetic works from both Eastern and Western religious and cultural traditions, with references to the Bhagavad-Gita and the Pre-Socratics as well as the Christian mystics, John of the Cross and Julian of Norwich. Although many critics find the Four Quartets to be Eliot's last great work, some of his contemporary critics were dissatisfied with his overt religiosity.…

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Article summary

The Four Quartets is a set of four poems written by T. S. Eliot that were published over a six-year period. The first poem, Burnt Norton, was published with a collection of his early works (1936's Collected Poems 1909–1935). After a few years, Eliot composed the other three poems, East Coker, The Dry Salvages and Little Gidding, which were written during World War II and the air-raids on Great Britain. They were first published as a series by Faber and Faber in Great Britain between 1940 and 1942 towards the end of Eliot's poetic career (East Coker in September 1940, Burnt Norton in February 1941, The Dry Salvages in September 1941 and Little Gidding in 1942). The poems were not collected until Eliot's New York publisher printed them together in 1943. Four Quartets are four interlinked meditations with the common theme being man's relationship with time, the universe, and the divine. In describing his understanding of the divine within the poems, Eliot blends his Anglo-Catholicism with mystical, philosophical and poetic works from both Eastern and Western religious and cultural traditions, with references to the Bhagavad-Gita and the Pre-Socratics as well as the Christian mystics, John of the Cross and Julian of Norwich. Although many critics find the Four Quartets to be Eliot's last great work, some of his contemporary critics were dissatisfied with his overt religiosity.…

Key claims

  1. publication date: 1936 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. publication date: 1940 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. publication date: 1936 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  4. publication date: 1940 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  5. publication date: 1941 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  6. publication date: 1943 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "1936". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the publication date is "1940". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the publication date is "1936". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. The record states that the publication date is "1940". What evidence would count against this claim?
  6. The record states that the publication date is "1941". What evidence would count against this claim?
  7. The record states that the publication date is "1943". What evidence would count against this claim?
  8. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  9. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1363713144

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.