Thomas Stearns Eliot, commonly known as T. S. Eliot, was a British-American poet, playwright, and literary critic who is considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1888 and spent most of his childhood in New England. He received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1909 and went on to study at the Sorbonne in Paris before returning to the United States to earn his master's degree from Harvard in 1910.
Eliot's early poetry was influenced by the work of the symbolist poets, such as Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire, as well as by the modernist writers of the time, including James Joyce and Ezra Pound. His first major poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," was published in 1915 and is now considered a masterpiece of modernist poetry. In it, Eliot explores the inner turmoil and emotional isolation of the titular character, a failed suitor struggling to connect with the woman he desires.
Eliot's work is characterized by its complexity and its use of various literary and cultural references. He often incorporates allusions to literature, history, philosophy, and mythology into his poetry, and his writing is often dense and difficult to decipher. This is exemplified in his most famous work, "The Waste Land," which was published in 1922 and is considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century. In this long, dense, and fragmented poem, Eliot explores the disillusionment and despair of post-World War I Europe, using a wide range of literary, cultural, and historical references to create a mosaic of interconnected themes and ideas.
In addition to his poetry, Eliot was also a prolific playwright, writing several successful plays, including "Murder in the Cathedral" and "The Cocktail Party." He was also a prominent literary critic, writing influential essays on a wide range of literary and cultural topics.
Eliot received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948, recognizing his contributions to literature and his role as a leading figure in the modernist movement. He continued to write and publish poetry and plays until his death in 1965, leaving behind a rich and enduring legacy as one of the most important and influential poets of the 20th century.