Thomas Stearns Eliot (more commonly known as T. S. Eliot) was born into a middle class family from New England on September 26th, 1888 in St. Louis Missouri. Eliot’s parents, Henry Ware Eliot, president of Hydraulic-Press Brick Company and mother Charlotte Champe Stearns, a former teacher and amateur poet, were both 44 at his birth. Eliot had five older siblings; four sisters between ages eleven and nineteen years older than him and one brother who was eight years older. As a young boy, Eliot had the health limitation of a congenital double hernia and because of that, he couldn’t be a part of any clubs or teams that partook in much physical activity. He was often quite secluded from his peers, therefore spending most of his time alone. These limitations weren’t a disability to him because it allowed him to start picking up books, reading them, and falling in love with the idea of literature, which is where his fame all began.
For Eliot’s elementary years, 1898 to 1905, Eliot attended Smith Academy. This is where he knew of his love for literature and decided to pursue his passion for it. He studies classes in Latin, Ancient Greek, French, and German allowing for much variety when he decided to actually write poetry later. His first publication was published in his school newspaper, The Smith Academy, as a piece of work from a student’s school assignment. Later, in the same newspaper, he published many short stories and poems based off of his own life experiences. He then graduated from Smith Academy and moved on to high school at Milton Academy Boarding School following suit of his older brother. This was the time when Eliot furthered his education enough for him to move onto Harvard College. Studying to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree, Eliot successfully finished his post-secondary education in a mere three years.
Eliot’s work includes, but is not limited to, poems, plays, and even nonfiction. What Eliot is mainly known for is his poetry and some of his work is often deemed the most well known poems in the English language. This includes The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915), The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday (1930), and Four Quartets (1945).
For Eliot’s elementary years, 1898 to 1905, Eliot attended Smith Academy. This is where he knew of his love for literature and decided to pursue his passion for it. He studies classes in Latin, Ancient Greek, French, and German allowing for much variety when he decided to actually write poetry later. His first publication was published in his school newspaper, The Smith Academy, as a piece of work from a student’s school assignment. Later, in the same newspaper, he published many short stories and poems based off of his own life experiences. He then graduated from Smith Academy and moved on to high school at Milton Academy Boarding School following suit of his older brother. This was the time when Eliot furthered his education enough for him to move onto Harvard College. Studying to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree, Eliot successfully finished his post-secondary education in a mere three years.
Eliot’s work includes, but is not limited to, poems, plays, and even nonfiction. What Eliot is mainly known for is his poetry and some of his work is often deemed the most well known poems in the English language. This includes The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915), The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday (1930), and Four Quartets (1945).