T.S. Eliot and the Church of England

Abstract

After his conversion to the Church of England in 1927, Eliot's sense of obligation towards the Church and its concerns was paramount in his life and work. His association with Anglicanism has been discussed by such commentators as Helen Gardner, Roger Kojecky and John Margolis, but no recent critic has examined Eliot's comprehensive devotion to the Church. New evidence made public within the last twenty years allows us to see more accurately how the influence of the Church of England predominated after 1927 in Eliot's verse, drama, and criticism. This thesis proceeds to look at Eliot's influential position among the Anglican intelligentsia. The fellowship of this circle heightened Eliot's ideals of communion through cultural exchange and ritual. Eliot's relationship with the Church of England provides a crucial context for the examination of his life and writings after 1927.