Eliot Examined
E were indeed privileged to hear Martin Browne speaking on The Work of T. S. Eliot. Quite apart from his exceptional knowledge of Eliot’s dramas through his close active association with the poet, and his own acting ability, Mr. Browne showed that he has the right words and the right manner for a broadcast. I have seldom heard a subject as complex and as discussable as Eliot’s dramatic development and philosophy presented with such cogency and pith-no woolly preliminaries, no "drama from Gorboduc to Shaw," no "Eliot versus Fry" or the establishment of a defence in depth, but a plunging in medias res, and a crisp summary of Eliot’s purpose, outlook and technique, with the most pertinent of illustrations for each point. Henzie Raeburn’s changes. of voice and manner to suit the various roles was another memorable feature of the broadcast. But that hard-to-find instinct for the right phrase, so suavely delivered-that impressed me most. "The almost inarticulate noises" of naturalistic dramatists, "Eliot’s restoring a
nobility to the human spirit"; "‘ ‘Acceptance’ is the key-note of Eliot’s message, ‘not negative submission, but positive acceptance," and the like, remained to illuminate questions which the broadcast
left unanswered.
J.C.
R.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19520222.2.18.2
Bibliographic details
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 659, 22 February 1952, Page 10
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199Eliot Examined New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 659, 22 February 1952, Page 10
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