• The Waste Land & Four Quartets

  • By: T. S. Eliot
  • Narrated by: Paul Scofield
  • Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (352 ratings)

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The Waste Land & Four Quartets  By  cover art

The Waste Land & Four Quartets

By: T. S. Eliot
Narrated by: Paul Scofield
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Publisher's summary

These are masterly readings, by renowned thespian Paul Schofield, of two substantial works of poetry by T.S. Eliot.

"The Wasteland", first published in 1922, is one of Eliot's most influential works and has long been on the syllabus for A-Level English Literature.

"Four Quartets" consists of four long poems, first published between 1935 and 1942. They are linked by common themes, and are individually "Burnt Norton", "East Coker", "The Dry Salvages", and "Little Gidding".

©2007 BBC Audiobooks LTD (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks LTD

Critic reviews

"Complex, erudite, cryptic, satiric, spiritually earnest, and occasionally lyrical, ['The Waste Land'] became one of the most recognizable landmarks of modernism....['the "Four Quartets'] were the first of Eliot's poems to reach a wide public and they succeeded in communicating in modern idiom the fundamentals of Christian faith and experiences." (The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature)

What listeners say about The Waste Land & Four Quartets

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Help -- I can't stop listening to this

Especially Four Quartets. Is there some kind of Four Quarterts recovery group for addicts?

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Exquisite!

Paul Schofield's reading of these two poems is nothing short of masterful. Even after years of reading and loving "The Four Quartets", I found my appreciation of the rhythm, language and structure growing. There is nothing better than listening to poetry read aloud by a master. I highly recommend this selection.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A breath of understanding

Would you listen to The Waste Land & Four Quartets again? Why?

I have studied the work for many years; Scofield's reading has given new meaning to this amazing and at times puzzling poem I have heard things that it would seem I have never read and reached a new understanding of the work.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb interpretation.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Enthusiastically. It brings meaning to a difficult text.

What did you like best about this story?

The meaningfulness of the reading.

Which character – as performed by Paul Scofield – was your favorite?

Not relevant.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me understand.

Any additional comments?

The best download on Audible.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

None Sharper!

T.S. Eliot delivered by an excellent reader/interpreter. Highest praise for two aspects. Clear vision of our continuing decline - hard to imagine this was once dismissed as well as a quantum perspective also upheld by the repeal of "localism". One of the few works of Art that resonates in the consciousness.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • GK
  • 11-18-13

Beautiful and Moving!

Any additional comments?

This audio performance by Paul Scofield delights and brings a tear to my eye every time I listen. It never, never, never becomes old and stale. T.S. Eliot is a mini holiday! So lovely.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Read/Listen to it. Over and over again. And again.

Would you listen to The Waste Land & Four Quartets again? Why?

Absolutely. As the man says himself ".... what has been lost and found and lost again and again....".Also, this is beautiful writing read extremely well. Scofield reads the classic "...I shall show you fear, in a handful of dust..." line as well as you can. Not a disappointing accent, good pace.

Which scene was your favorite?

East Coker is by far my favorite piece of this work. You can't say anything bad about the rest, this is a masterwork, but East Coker really stands out for me.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Oh yeah. It can make you cry like a baby. It can make you feel things language doesn't have words for. Which is kinda what Eliot was getting at here.

Any additional comments?

It never loses meaning for me, no matter what is going on in my life, when I read or listen this work is always impactful in a fundamental way. Everything about "The Waste Land and Four Quartets" is what art and particularly poetry is supposed to be. TS Eliot himself says "True art never improves", this is art, whatever that means, and you can't improve this.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

I've listened to this a couple of times already, and I must say Scofield has a brilliant sense of rendering these great poems by T.S. Eliot, teasing out their meanings with such ease. He uses pauses in interesting ways, and times them well. The reader is savoring these poems just as much as the listener. This is a a keeper.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

outstanding recording

I am already a fan of T.S. Eliot. I thoroughly enjoyed this recording of The Waste Land and Four Quartets.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wise reading

Paul Scofield reads the Four Quartets as if he understands every word, and he helps you feel as though maybe you do to.

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2 people found this helpful