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T. S. Eliot’s Early Poetry: Guilt and Ambiguity

T. S. Eliot articulated his consciousness of guilt through ambiguity in his early poetry. His consciousness of guilt was inherited by his ancestor, William Eliott, who served as a juror for Salem Witchcraft Trials in 1692. Although Eliot knew his ancestor was involved in the Witch Trials, he neither spoke out nor was free from the sense of guilt. Instead, Eliot kept guilt in his consciousness and said nothing about it in accordance with his inherited family motto. One letter which Eliot sent to Ezra Pound on 8 December 1933 specified that Eliot confessed his sense of guilt to Pound on his ancestor’s Witch Trial. Because he carried his tormented consciousness of guilt, he tried to sublimate his guilt through the aesthetic expression of poetry and Christian faith. As a result, his early poetry is full of shadowy images, ambiguous expression, and open symbols to include every possible interpretation. His use of ambiguity makes his poetry more autonomous. After all, in his later years he overcame his guilt through poetic confession and religious faith.