The Waste Land
Eliot's defining modernist long poem and the clearest entry point to his poetic method.
Author guide
T. S. Eliot Books in Order
Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888–1965) was an American-born British poet, critic, essayist, playwright, and editor. His major works include The Waste Land, Four Quartets, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and a sequence of influential books on poetry, criticism, culture, and religion. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 and worked for much of his career at Faber and Faber.
poetryliterary criticismessaysdramareligious literaturecultural criticismchildren's literaturememoir
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism
A foundational collection of Eliot's literary criticism and essays.
Four Quartets
The mature culmination of Eliot's poetry and spiritual meditation.
Murder in the Cathedral
The best starting point for Eliot's poetic drama.
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
An accessible and distinctive introduction to Eliot's lighter verse.
Read in order
Books by series
poetry-sequence · complete
Ariel Poems
A series of illustrated Christmas poems published by Faber and Faber.
- 1 Journey of the MagiAmazon ↗
Book 1 · poetry-pamphlet · 1927
- 2 A Song for SimeonAmazon ↗
Book 2 · poetry-pamphlet · 1928
- 3 AnimulaAmazon ↗
Book 3 · poetry-pamphlet · 1929
- 4 MarinaAmazon ↗
Book 4 · poetry-pamphlet · 1930
- 5 The Cultivation of Christmas TreesAmazon ↗
Book 5 · poetry-pamphlet · 1954
poetry-sequence · complete
Four Quartets
A sequence of four meditative poems composed and published individually before appearing together as Four Quartets.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Nonfiction (25)
- Ezra Pound: His Metric and PoetryAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1918
- Homage to John Dryden: Three Essays on Poetry of the Seventeenth CenturyAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1924
- Shakespeare and the Stoicism of SenecaAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1927
- DanteAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1929
- Charles Whibley: A MemoirAmazon ↗
memoir · 1931
- John Dryden: The Poet, the Dramatist, the CriticAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1932
- The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism: Studies in the Relation of Criticism to Poetry in EnglandAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1933
- After Strange Gods: A Primer of Modern HeresyAmazon ↗
cultural-criticism · 1934
- The Classics and the Man of LettersAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1942
- The Music of PoetryAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1942
- What Is a Classic?Amazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1945
- On PoetryAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1947
- MiltonAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1947
- Notes Towards the Definition of CultureAmazon ↗
cultural-criticism · 1948
- From Poe to ValéryAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1948
- The Aims of Poetic DramaAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1949
- Poetry and DramaAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1951
- American Literature and the American LanguageAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1953
- The Three Voices of PoetryAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1953
- Religious Drama: Mediaeval and ModernAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1954
- The Literature of PoliticsAmazon ↗
cultural-criticism · 1955
- The Frontiers of CriticismAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1956
- Geoffrey Faber 1889–1961Amazon ↗
memoir · 1961
- George HerbertAmazon ↗
literary-criticism · 1962
- Knowledge and Experience in the Philosophy of F. H. BradleyAmazon ↗
philosophy · 1964
Short fiction (1)
- Eeldrop and AppleplexAmazon ↗
short-fiction · 1917
Essays and speeches (12)
- Triumphal MarchAmazon ↗
poetry-pamphlet · 1931
- The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and CriticismAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 1920
- For Lancelot Andrewes: Essays on Style and OrderAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 1928
- Selected Essays, 1917–1932Amazon ↗
essay-collection · 1932
- Elizabethan EssaysAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 1934
- Essays Ancient & ModernAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 1936
- Reunion by DestructionAmazon ↗
essay · 1943
- A SermonAmazon ↗
sermon · 1948
- An Address to Members of the London LibraryAmazon ↗
essay · 1952
- The Value and Use of Cathedrals in England TodayAmazon ↗
essay · 1952
- On Poetry and PoetsAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 1957
- To Criticize the Critic and Other WritingsAmazon ↗
essay-collection · 1965
Poetry (10)
- Prufrock and Other ObservationsAmazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1917
- PoemsAmazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1919
- Ara Vos PrecAmazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1920
- The Waste LandAmazon ↗
long-poem · 1922
- Poems 1909–1925Amazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1925
- Ash-WednesdayAmazon ↗
long-poem · 1930
- Words for MusicAmazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1934
- Old Possum's Book of Practical CatsAmazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1939
- A Practical PossumAmazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1947
- Poems Written in Early YouthAmazon ↗
poetry-collection · 1950
Plays (8)
- Sweeney Agonistes: Fragments of an Aristophanic MelodramaAmazon ↗
play · 1932
- The Rock: A Pageant PlayAmazon ↗
play · 1934
- Murder in the CathedralAmazon ↗
play · 1935
- The Family ReunionAmazon ↗
play · 1939
- The Cocktail PartyAmazon ↗
play · 1950
- The Film of Murder in the CathedralAmazon ↗
screenplay · 1952
- The Confidential ClerkAmazon ↗
play · 1954
- The Elder StatesmanAmazon ↗
play · 1959
Posthumous collections (1)
- Inventions of the March Hare: Poems 1909–1917Amazon ↗
posthumous-poetry-collection · 1996