Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MA in English
Department
English
First Advisor
Stephen Sicari
Second Advisor
Granville Ganter
Abstract
This thesis examines how T.S. Eliot is inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy throughout his collection of poetry, which in turn creates his own version of the Comedia. Through this thesis, there is an exploration of three stages: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. By following the road map to paradise just as Dante did before him, Eliot creates a journey from the depths of hell provided by the end of the Great war towards the garden of paradise prior to the start of the Second World War, exploring themes of paralysis, terror, experience without meaning, and hope. Using excerpts across his span of poetry as well as critical essays published by himself, this thesis aims to understand how the process of moving from despair to hope is a cyclical one.
Recommended Citation
Russo, Danielle, "THE CYCLICAL PATTERN OF DESPAIR AND HOPE: T.S. ELIOT’S COMEDIA" (2026). Theses and Dissertations. 1075.
https://scholar.stjohns.edu/theses_dissertations/1075