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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. "Water and fire deride" that which "we denied," in Part II of "Little Gidding"?

2. What do the passengers watch widen behind them on the "deck of the drumming liner" in Part III of "The Dry Salvages"?

3. What does the speaker state is the "land's edge also" in Part I of "The Dry Salvages"?

4. With whom, according to the last part of "Little Gidding," are "we" born?

5. The speaker says in Part III of "The Dry Salvages" that the mind of a man may be intent, at the time of death, on whatever sphere of what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is meant by the phrase, in Part V of "Little Gidding," "Every poem [is] an epitaph"?

2. With whom does the speaker of Part II of "Little Gidding" converse, and what is their relationship to one another, on the literal level?

3. What is the "real destination" of the sailors, as described at the end of Part III of "The Dry Salvages"?

4. What is the purpose of the lines in Part V of "The Dry Salvages" from "To communicate with Mars, converse with spirits," to "Whether on the shores of Asia, or in the Edgware Road"?

5. Why would anyone passing "this way" "have to put off / Sense and notion" in Part I of "Little Gidding"?

6. Explain what is meant by the paradoxical statement in Part V of "The Dry Salvages," "music heard so deeply / That it is not heard at all."

7. What does the speaker mean by saying in Part I of "Little Gidding" that "prayer is more / Than an order of words, the conscious occupation / Of the praying mind, or the sound of the voice praying"?

8. What does the speaker mean in Part III of "The Dry Salvages" when he states that, "the future is a faded song, a Royal Rose or a lavender spray / Of wistful regret for those who are not yet here to regret"?

9. What is signified by the statement, in the final part of "Little Gidding," that "the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time"?

10. What does the speaker mean in Part I of "Little Gidding" when he states that "This is the spring time / But not in time's covenant"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the most complicated metaphysical threads running through The Four Quartets is Eliot's conception of Time as a whole. It is constantly surrounded by paradoxes and non sequitur. In a thorough and thoughtful analytical essay, unpack the complications surrounding Eliot's conception of Time. How does his thinking contrast with that of convention? How are the past, present, and future distinct and yet comparable? In what do they each consist? How are they unified? How is time an imperfection? How is man outside of time? How is man nonetheless constrained to temporal existence?

Essay Topic 2

Though explicitly mentioned only once, in Part V of "Burnt Norton," the Word, a conventional Christian signifier for Christ, is a vitally important concept to understanding the whole of The Four Quartets. Through careful exegesis, discuss the way in which the Word is central to the four poems. What is the Word? Why is Christ called the Word? What other significations does the Greek word "logos" have that are associated with Christ as the Word? In what way is this Word unlike all others? What is expressed by the Word? What is the relation of the Word to perfection? How is this Word, as perfection, within the world? What is significant about Its presence in the world? How can this be seen throughout the poem?

Essay Topic 3

Set off of the coast of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, "The Dry Salvages" uses many seafaring and nautical images. Throughout the poem, water plays a prevalent role. Examine the role of water throughout the poem in a critical essay. Why is water important for man? How does water benefit man? How can water harm man? In what way is man dependent on what? How has man been dependent on water in past times? How has he overcome this dependence, and what are the consequences of his overcoming it? What is the significance of water in a religious context? How is this shown in the poem? How is this religious significance important to interpretation of the work as a whole?

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