![]() It is fitting that the final poem in the sequence ends with fire as its thematic element: the fire serves as a Dantean symbol for purgation and renewal. They can also be analysed as roughly corresponding to the four seasons, starting with spring in ‘Burnt Norton’ and running through to winter in ‘Little Gidding’. But also note the formal similarities between the four poems.Įach is linked thematically, in that each of them roughly corresponds to one of the four classical elements: air (‘Burnt Norton’) earth (‘East Coker’) water (‘The Dry Salvages’) and fire (‘Little Gidding’). ‘Little Gidding’ was very clearly written as a poem that would bring together the themes and mood of the previous three poems. And Four Quartets does fit together remarkably effectively as a sequence of poems. He now had two poems he could slot into a sequence, what would become Four Quartets. ![]() ‘East Coker’ convinced Eliot that he could still write poetry, and despite his remark downplaying the poem’s merits owing to its popularity, he was clearly proud of it. ![]()
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