'The Unheard Music': T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets and John of the Cross

Abstract

The influence of John of the Cross on Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot is acknowledged by many Eliot scholars. It is presumed, however, that this influence does not extend beyond the obvious allusions made by the poet to the Spanish mystic, and in some cases the discussion is even confused or misleading. Since Eliot first discovered John's works while at Harvard, was still interested enough to cite them as a 'devotional monument' in 'Lancelot Andrewes' (1926) and to quote them ironically in an epigraph to Sweeney Agonistes (1926-7), as well as to review an abridged version of John's works in 1934, it is more than probable that he continued reading John in depth and with understanding. Dame Helen Gardner tells us that when Eliot was writing 'East Coker' (1940) he used E. Allison Peers's translation of John's works. Eliot's preoccupation with Christian mysticism is evident throughout the corpus of his religious works. Murder in the Cathedral, for example, presents the inward journey of the protagonist, as he picks his way among ever more subtle and dangerous temptations towards his goal in 'the night of God.' In Four Quartets the influence of several Christian mystics, particularly of John of the Cross, is strikingly evident.