Religious Thought And Poetic Life

Four Quartets was composed in 1940 s by British poet Thomas Stearns Eliot(1888-1965).During that time,the world just suffered a lot in World War II.Soon after the war,people could not get rid of the problem(trauma),which belongs to both spirit and material.In addition,the capitalist societies,such as America,Britain,and other western countries had to press their way to develop capitalist economy.With the development of industry,the western world is chaotic with the destroyed and weak natural environment.Most people,influenced by the wars,are suffering from mental trauma and faith crisis.In such social background,previous studies insisted that the themes in Four Quartets are about time and eternity,salvation and faith.However,T.S.Eliot also put forward his idea of consummate life.Undoubtedly,Eliot showed the world a perspective about consummate life in Four Quartets,especially in setting of capitalist economical situation.This thesis discusses Eliot's perspective of consummate life in Four Quartets according to Weber's religious ethical thought to life.According to Maximilian Karl Emil Weber's(1864-1920)religious ethics in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism(1905)proposed in his main field: Sociology of Religion,this paper aims at analyzing the philosophical idea,the consummate life,embodied in Four Quartets.This thesis consists of six chapters.At the beginning,there is a general introduction to T.S.Eliot's early life and his study experience which had played a very important part in his philosophical thoughts and Four Quartets.Chapter One is a literature review,which contains previous international studies and domestic studies on Eliot's philosophical thoughts and Four Quartets.Chapter Two involves the theoretical approach,mainly explaining the definition of Weber's religious ethics,the function of Weber's religious ethics,the previous study situation,and then there will be a discussion about the feasibility and necessity to reread Four Quartets on the basis of Weber's religious ethics.From Chapter Three to Chapter Six,there are discussions mainly in four sections:the length of life,pursuing internal “righteousness and earnestness” to lengthen life;the width of life,widening life through “self-restraint and self-purification”;the height of life,heightening life by using “philanthropism”;and the consummate life in the sixth chapter.In the conclusion of the paper,the author will illustrate the three crucial parts of consummate life,including righteousness and earnestness,self-restraint and self-purification,and philanthropism.The three parts connect with and support each other,and at the same time,form the philosophical idea and the way to rebirth stressed by the poet.Besides,the writer will summarize the main findings and the academic significance.