It has come to my attention that I recently uploaded this with the wrong audio attached. Cool! It's about T.S. Eliot now, I promise.
This episode we are discussing my man T.S. Eliot, who wrote era defining poetry but also penned probably the most famous one-star review of the Hamlet that exists. What was his problem with Hamlet (the play) and Hamlet (the character), exactly?
We’ll be looking at that notorious essay and the argument that Eliot crafts in it. Then we will also consider some other factors that play into this Hamlet opinion, including why Eliot’s real ire might lie with an entirely different group of poets, and his Shakespeare opinions in other critical essays that he wrote throughout his life.
Did I end up reading more critical essays than I expected to when putting this episode together? Yes. Did I feel like I gained new insight into the squabbles that happen in the land of literary criticism? You bet. And we love literary-based petty squabbles.
Listen to find out why T.S. Eliot called Hamlet an “artistic failure,” what play he hated more than Hamlet, and how relatable Eliot is for finding his younger self cringe.
Further Reading
“Hamlet” by T.S. Eliot (Also known as “Hamlet and His Problems.” The essay that started it all.)
“T. S. Eliot's Impudence: "Hamlet", Objective Correlative, and Formulation" by Bradley Greenburg (This is the article that talks about Eliot’s real target of his Hamlet essay.)
“T. S. Eliot and Shakespeare” by Phillip L. Marcus (This article walks through multiple references to Shakespeare throughout Eliot’s works.)
“Soiled in the Working: Hamlet and Eliot” by Theodore Weiss (A rebuttal of Eliot’s essay.)
“Seneca in Elizabethan Translation” by T.S. Eliot (Read Eliot diss Titus Andronicus for yourself.)
“Ben Jonson” by T.S. Eliot (A defense of Ben Jonson, but he also has some nice things to say about Shakespeare.)
Further ListeningEpisode 16: One-Star Shakespeare, Hamlet Edition with Guest Ben Roman
Credit where credit is due
Podcast art by Halie Branson
Music recording by josdvg