"Rhapsody on a Windy Night" by T.S. Eliot (poetry reading)

This is a declaration of the Eliot's disaffection from society like Prufrock, and it written at about the same time in his life, published in 1917. He was still a virgin at the time of writing, as with Prufrock.

The narrative is Eliot's familiar "stream-of-consciousness", commonplace in writing now but at that time it was a true novelty.

This is quite remarkable when you consider that both Prufrock and Rhapsody were published before the monumental novels considered innovations of the stream-of-consciousness style, i.e. James Joyce's Ulysses (1918) and Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse" (1927)

La lune ne garde aucune rancune, means "The moon does not hold any resentments".

Here's some notes, you can make up your own mind what value they have:
http://everything2.com/title/rhapsody+on+a+windy+night

Andrew Lloyd Webber, who borrowed so much from T. S. Eliot, borrowed lyrics from this poem for "Memories".

"Every streetlamp
Seems to beat a fatalistic warning
Someone mutters
And the streetlamp gutters
And soon it will be morning"

It can't really be said that Andrew Lloyd Webber changed the public's perception of T S Eliot as a literary artist. I expect that those who appreciate Eliot are not disaffected. Those who appreciate Andrew Lloyd Webber may not know not care that the lyrics are based on Eliot's poetry. Of course, there will be some who are aware and who still appreciate both

The painting is "Parisian Opera House by Night", 1893, by Ludwik de Laveaux

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• Windy
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• by
• T.S.
• Eliot
• Memories
• Andrew
• Lloyd
• Webber

[bettablue1]

This is TS Eliot's voice. Thank you so much for posting this. I wish I could rate it five stars, but ratings are disabled.

[SpokenVerse]

No, this is my voice. I read everything in this channel.

[malutka112]

Incredible...Eliot was a genius. I appreciate you posting this...thank you VERY much.

[frippp66]

This is one of my favorite Eliot poems - I enjoyed your reading. Thank you.

[UncleCrakka]

You need a full stop at the end of the line "Its divisions and precisions." It changes the intonation of the entire stanza.

[bettablue1]

If this is not TS, you are one HELL of an actor!

[solarisqs]

Yes thank you for this reading, and for all the readings, Jude