The Canterbury Tales is an unfinished work. The story has a beginning and an end, but chunks of the middle are missing, much like the image of an unfinished cathedral that takes generations to complete. Chaucer did this deliberately. Chaucer set for himself an enormous task to tell the tales of all 29 pilgrims in the story. They were to tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back then vote on the best tale. But the pilgrimage is a one-way pilgrimage. There is no return trip. To understand these tales, think of the pilgrimage to the cathedral of St. Thomas a Becket as an image of the final destination of all pilgrims; our pilgrimage to eternity. Chaucer included all walks of life among his pilgrims, from the lowest to the highest, including himself. The poet is also a pilgrim. There are two types of pilgrims on this trip: the true pilgrim who wishes to make the spiritual journey to the great shrine, and the palmer who rides along simply for the adventure. The first two tales tell of these two ways: The Knight’s Tale tells of God’ order, The Miller’s Tale tells the worldly way.
In the first of the Broadstairs 2015 series, Dr. White covers the early life of T. S. Eliot, addressing who he was, why he is an important figure in modern literature, explaining his family roots in England and the United States. He chronicles his journey from the shallowness of Unitarianism and notes his taking refuge in literature during his childhood. Taught by his Irish nanny that God is the first cause of all things, blessed with a mother who loved and wrote poetry and parents who didn’t make the mistake of forcing him into a vocation that didn’t suit, Eliot grew up in a world where rhythm predominated, even before he could speak. Indeed, Dr. White notes, Scott Joplin was just a few miles away from his house, and popular “rhythm” was everywhere around him, an equal influence to the classic works of literature. Eliot’s first poem as a young boy, as well as his early and later education are also explored. Browsing stacks at Harvard, he was acquainted with French symbolism, and learned that a poet could write from his own experience, beyond conventional limitations. For this reason Eliot shows a tendency of sticking with an image that he burns into his hearer’s minds throughout a poem; indeed, the doctor observes, Eliot used choice images throughout his career.
Dr. White also takes his auditors through an analysis of The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock. Supporting this analysis, the doctor defines poetry, with its union of sound and sense, and explores relevant bits of its history. One learns poetry by recitation, memorization, repetition. Rather than having the meaning of a poem “explained,” one must hear in it the music that communicates a message when intertwined with the structure and sound that becomes apparent in the hearing. Also examined is Eliot’s approach to the role of the poetic persona – he strongly believed that poet should not intrude into poem. In reading his work, we think about the modern world which Eliot’s poetic personae are relating & portraying, and about not the poet himself.
