Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1994

Thesis Director

Mark Christhilf

Abstract

In this paper, the similarities between Samuel Johnson and T.S. Eliot are explored. Both men opposed the optimism with which their contemporary intellectuals had begun to regard humanity and its possibility for fulfillment on earth. While Johnson was from the 18th century, and Eliot from the 20th, the intellectual movements of their day bore a similar tone. The reaction of these two men was also similar.

Johnson and Eliot presented in their writing a similar view of the emptiness of human experience. This is most apparent in Johnson's The History of Rasselas and Eliot's The Waste Land, and the parallel theme of these works shall be explained. The theme they present opposes the optimism which gained intellectual momentum during Johnson's and Eliot's lifetime.

Perhaps responding to the need for hope to juxtapose such a view of life, or to provide solace to the events of unhappy lives, both men embrace the orthodox Christianity of the Church of England. Furthermore, both Johnson and Eliot believed orthodox Christianity to be the best means of organizing society, and bringing order to the chaos these men believed to exist.

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