T. S. Eliot, Anti-Semitism and Literary Form, Second Edition

T. S. Eliot, Anti-Semitism and Literary Form, Second Edition by Julius, Anthony. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780500282809.

Of the many different kinds of anti-Semite, Eliot was the rarest: one who was able to place his anti-Semitism at the service of his art. Anthony Juliuss highly acclaimed study looks both at the detail of Eliots deployment of anti-Semite discourse and at the role it played in his greater literary undertaking. Julius begins with an analysis of Eliots anti-Semitic poems that situates them in their critical context. He then moves to the prose work and an examination of the figure of the "free-thinking Jew." Finally, he considers whether, as has elsewhere been suggested, Eliots postwar work made amends for this aspect of his earlier writings. Juliuss seminal study has provoked a reassessment of Eliots work among poets, scholars, critics, and readers that will continue to invigorate debate for years to come. For this second edition, Julius has provided a new preface and postscript responding to the arguments used by friendly and hostile reviewers alike and demonstrating that Eliots anti-Semitism remains a subject of considerable importance for literary historians and readers of Eliots poetry alike.