Why did the voice of a disillusioned generation suddenly embrace Anglo-Catholicism?
In short: In 1928, T.S. Eliot shocked his contemporaries by declaring himself a classicist, royalist, and Anglo-Catholic. This lecture examines the motivations behind his private baptism and the profound shift in his literary output, drawing on six volumes of his personal correspondence.
Following the publication of The Wasteland, which captured the spirit of a world in disarray, Eliot underwent a quiet transformation. In 1927, he was baptised in a private ceremony at Finstock Church near Oxford. This move drew disapproval from his peers, marking a sharp departure from his previous public persona.
Lord Harries of Pentregarth, former Bishop of Oxford, explores the catalyst for this conversion and its impact on Eliot's later poetry. By analyzing his letters from the period, the lecture investigates the intellectual and spiritual tensions that defined this pivotal moment in the poet's life.
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