Abstract
T.S. Eliot -- St. Louis-born and Harvard educated -- wrote not only the lyrics for "Cats" but also the most famous English poem of the 20th century: "The Waste Land." And, thanks to his brilliant albeit contentious essays, he established himself as the absolute arbiter of taste in the Anglo-American literary world. When he attacked Milton, Milton's reputation plummeted. When he praised John Donne, the metaphysical poets, and the Jacobean playwrights, their reputations soared. Mr. Eliot's personal values shaped the literary judgments of his age.