by T. S. Eliot
Frank Morley said that he was handed a copy of this poem by TSE, presumably in ms or ts (see Commentary). Not present among Morley’s papers at Haverford College.
A Butterfly Book printing for Frederic Prokosch, purportedly of five copies, “Salzburg 1936”, was actually printed in 1968. It is not collated here. In a note in copy delta, Prokosch wrote: “in the typescript which Eliot sent me there was no comma in line 4” (Barker 224–35). No such typescript has been traced.
Title] not ms1
1 patient] humble ms1 alt
2 soft] high ms1 1st reading
3 soft] low ms1 1st reading
4 Substance crumbles, in the thin air] And the thin air ms1 with Substance crumbles. alt added. See also note to “Butterfly Book” above
5] overhanging step after hot. with The indented beneath moon ms1
6 war,] war US 1936
7 Languor] Langour US 1963 (error, from “Clangour”?) broken] the broken ms1 1st reading steel,] steel. ms1
8 confused] old ms1 1st reading
9 strong] long ms1 1st reading
10 Beyond] In ms1
11 long] grim ms1 1st reading
[Poems I 146–47 · Commentary I 852–53]
V. Cape Ann
ts1 (Texas): single leaf of Colne Valley Parchment, sent by TSE to Frederic Prokosch in summer 1935. With Prokosch’s instruction to printer “Set in Centaur 252/10” added at head.
ts2 (Magdalene): sent (with Usk) to I. A. Richards, 9 June 1935.
Title] ranged right tss
1 hear] here ms Congress song-sparrow,] song sparrow, Valerie’s Own Book
2 Swamp-sparrow, fox-sparrow,] Swamp sparrow, fox sparrow, Valerie’s Own Book vesper-sparrow] vesper-sparrow, ts2 ‖ vesper sparrow Valerie’s Own Book
4 to] the ts2 1st reading (mistyping)
6 bob-white] bobwhite ts2
7 bay-bush] baybush ts1, Two Poems, ts2, New Democracy ‖ bay bush Valerie’s Own Book
8 water-thrush] water thrush Valerie’s Own Book
10 Sweet] Some are archaic. Sweet ts2
12 true] last ts1 1st reading sea-gull] seagull Valerie’s Own Book
12 ^ 13 line space] added by TSE Washington copy 1954, printed 1963+ (not US 1963 or later US printings) ‖ not ts1, Two Poems, ts2, ms Congress, Valerie’s Own Book, printings prior to 1963
Lines for an Old Man
Published NEW 28 Nov 1935, then 1936+.
ts1 (Houghton): nine typed lines, beneath which is pencilled drafting of four additional lines, with a loop to indicate that these are to precede the penultimate typed line.
ts2 (Houghton): 13 typed lines with last two deleted and three more added in pencil, apparently after NEW publication.
A Butterfly Book printing for Frederic Prokosch, entitled Old Man’s Song and purportedly of five copies, is falsely dated “Salzburg 1936” but was printed later. In copy alpha, Prokosch wrote: “In the typescript which Eliot sent me this poem was titled (in pencil) Old Man’s Song.” No such typescript has been traced, and this title has no other authority. The Butterfly Book is not collated here.
Title] not ts1, ts2 1st reading ‖ WORDS FOR AN OLD MAN. ts2, NEW ‖ Lines for an old man Later Poems Contents.
[Poems I 148–49 · Commentary I 854–56]
Dedication] to Stéphane Mallarmé. (first accent missing) ts2 ringed and del
8–11] not ts1 1st reading, but added in pencil:
My hate is more than hate of hate,
More bitter than the the love of youth
The hissing of over the flattened tongue
Is inaccessible to the young.
[2] More bitter] 1st and 3rd reading ‖ And bitterer 2nd reading ‖ More selfish final reading the love of] 1st and final reading ‖ love in 2nd reading
[3] The hissing] 1st and final reading ‖ My hissing 2nd reading
ts2 1st reading:
The hissing over the flattened tongue
Is more affectionate than hate,
More bitter than the love of youth,
And inaccessible to the young.
[1] flattened] archèd 2nd reading
[4] to] by 2nd reading
following 11] ts1, ts2 1st reading:
Garlic [Thunder ts1 1st reading] and sapphires in the mud
Clot the bedded axle-tree.
(the last typed lines, ending the poem until pencil addition in ts2 of 12–14), ringed and del ts2. These lines became Burnt Norton II 1–2.
12–14] not ts1, ts2 1st reading, NEW
13 ^ 14] line space added by TSE Washington copy 1954, printed 1963+ (not US 1963 or later US printings) ‖ no line space ts2, printings prior to 1963
14 glad!] glad? ts2 (uncertain reading)
[Poem I 149 · Commentary I 856]
Choruses from “The Rock”
Sesame prints only Choruses I and X (numbering the latter II). Penguin omits IV, V, VI and VIII.
ms1, ts1 (Bodleian): manuscript and heavily annotated combination of typescript and carbon, bound together in page sequence numbered by TSE. The bound volume also includes correspondence from those involved in creating the pageant, with “A Provisional Scheme for Spectacle of London Church Building” by E. Martin Browne and his “scenario” with light annotation by TSE, and a typed page of extracts from discourses by Robert Browne, “father of Congregationalism” (fl. 1550–1633) on a sheet of TSE’s notepaper from Eliot House, Harvard. Since the sequence of the volume is erratic, folio numbers are given before each chorus below. In typescript, “GOD” appears as “GOD”, and “LORD” as “LORD”. (TSE to Geoffrey Curtis, 16 June 1943: “for a book not of a purely devotional character it is better to print God in the usual way instead of GOD all capitals.”) The style “GOD” and “LORD” in The Rock (1934) became inconsistent in later printings, including 1963, with “GOD” and “LORD” being more common. The style of The Rock has been preferred throughout the Choruses in the present edition.
ts2 (Bodleian): a later mixture of typescript and carbon, bound together in page sequence numbered by TSE. He has also written line numbers (every ten lines, in a single sequence) against the Choruses and some other passages in verse (totalling 743 lines). The bound volume also includes correspondence and papers by others concerning The Rock. (Sometimes the distinction between draft and fair copy typescripts is uncertain.)
ms Yale (Beinecke): first complete draft of the final chorus, on four leaves, and, on a fifth, the pageant’s closing speech by “The Rock, now St. Peter”, signed and dated March 1934. Sent by TSE to Toynbee Hall (presumably to be sold). To Mrs. L. M. Case, 27 Apr 1934: “The attached pencil manuscript of five pages is the first draft of a final chorus for The Rock, a pageant play written for performance at Sadler’s Wells for the benefit of the Forty-five Churches Fund.” To Gallup, 12 Feb 1948: “I cannot think where the five pages of manuscript of The Rock came from. I thought that all of the preparatory script for The Rock was included in what I gave to the Bodleian.” Lacks terminal punctuation in the following lines: 12, 13, 14, 20, 26, 37, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45.
ts Chamb (Lord Chamberlain’s Papers, BL): carbon of a typescript made by Marshall’s Typing and Translations (4 Apr 1934), entitled “The Rock: A Pageant Play by T. S. Eliot” and sent for licensing. TSE to I. A. Richards, 20 Apr 1934: “The Lord Chamberlain and the Bishop of London have both passed my text, rather to my surprise, so I feel more cheerful.”
proof: bound proof of The Rock (U. Virginia).
ts letter to Theodore Spencer, 7 Nov 1933 (Houghton): two lines from VI, and one from V. See headnote to Choruses from “The Rock”.
[Poem I 151–76 · Commentary I 857–80]
Sesame was presumably set from 1936. Penguin was set from 1936 (as the error at IX 17 shows). Sel Poems was set from an emended copy of Penguin (the arrangement of IX 42–44 remaining the same), and in the collation below, Sel Poems is as Penguin except where noted.
In The Rock all verse is inset, as are the names of speakers, so that in these Choruses only stage dir
ections begin at the left margin. The verse is also inset in 1936, but stage directions and speakers’ names both begin at the margin. Penguin and Sel Poems 1954 inset paragraphs after the first stage direction in I, inset the entire text of III and inset the text of VII before the first stage direction, thereafter indenting the first line of some speeches.
Section-title page Choruses from “The Rock”] 1936+
Title] on section-title page, with numeral alone above first line 1936+ (matched only by Ash-Wednesday)
Section numbers] roman type US 1936, US 1952, Sesame, Penguin, 1969
Stage directions] square brackets not round, with stops not colons Rock, US Rock
I
The Rock (1934) 7–11.
ts1: fol. 89, draft of 1–45 (carbon). Mention is made below of fol. 88, a preliminary outline ms.
ts2: fols. 17–21, double-spaced later version of entire Chorus (carbon).
ts Chamb 1–4.
Heading I] OPENING CHORUS. with stage directions Semi-Chorus of the Church before 1 and Semi-Chorus of Prophets: before 19 ts1, also ts2 where both stage directions are del
I 8 Brings] Bring ts1, ts2, proof
I 13 no] not ts1 1st reading
I 23 Church] church ts1
I 33 the pleasant countryside] agricul ts1 1st reading
I 34 now] not ts1 only fit] not ts1 1st reading
I 35 And] Only ts1 1st reading
I 40 perhaps] answer ts1 1st reading, typed over
I 46] The lot of man is ceaseless labour, he must not expect the harvest for himself. ms1 fol. 88
I 56] But one thing does not change. Guild (compositor’s eye-skip from 61)
I 63–64] But the struggle merely changes its form. ms1 fol. 88
I 65, 69] Two points: neglect of shrines churches. neglect of the desert ms1 fol. 88
I 66 men] things ts2 2nd reading
[Poem I 151–55 · Commentary I 868–70]
I 72 ^ 73] Squeezed like tooth-paste in the tube-train next to you, ts2, ts Chamb (without terminal comma), Rock. TSE deleted the line in most presentation copies of the 1st imp. It was removed from the 2nd imp., US Rock and later printings
I 75] I will show you some of the things that are being done, remind you of some that have been done. ms1 fol. 88
I 79–124] roman ts2, ts Chamb
I 91 Church] church ts Chamb, proof
I 93 ^ 94 stage direction] CHANT OF UNEMPLOYED ts2 1st reading Now a] A ts2 farther away,] further away ts2
I 101 plough] plow ts2 1st reading
I 108 ^ 109 stage direction] CHANT OF WORKMEN AGAIN ts2
I 109 turn] 1963+ ‖ turn, ts2, ts Chamb, printings prior to 1963
II
The Rock (1934) 19–22.
ts1: fols. 119–20, draft with annotation (ribbon).
ts2: fols. 32–34, double-spaced later version (carbon).
ts Chamb 11–13.
Heading II] CHORUS AA. ts1 ‖ CHORUS. ts2
II 1 your] our ts1 were made] became ts1, ts2 1st reading
II 4 But you] But you ts2 2nd reading, with “(to the audience strictly)” you · · · you · · · you] we · · · we · · · we ts1 well] ill ts1, ts2 helpless] idle ts2 1st reading ‖ not ts Chamb
II 4–6] Have we built ill, that we are thus helpless, when many are born to idleness, to live and die in squalour, and those who would build and save know not what to do. with “Perhaps begin with this theme referring to what was done in old days.” ms1 fol. 81.
II 5 squalid deaths] deaths of squalor ts1 1st reading in] and ts1 1st reading
II 6 for alms to be] where alms are ts1 1st reading urn to be] urn is 1st reading ts1
II 7 Your] Our ts1 building] buildings ts1, ts2 1st reading ‖ body 2nd reading framed] joined ts2 2nd reading you sit] we sit ts1, ts2 1st reading you may] we may ts1 which moved] that moved ts1
II 8 For love] when we have only ts1 1st reading ‖ for love ts1 as desire] so desire ts1 our labour to give] to give our labour ts1 1st reading required.] required ts1
II 9, 10] 10, 9 ts1 1st reading, with loop to transpose
II 9 We wait] Waiting ts1 nobody] no one ts1 sung;] sung.” ts1 ‖ sung: Guild
II 10 Waiting] And we wait ts1 1st reading ‖ We wait ts1
II 10 ^ 11] line space Rock, Penguin, Sel Poems 1954, US 1952+ ‖ line space very tight 1936, 1963 ‖ no line space US 1936, Guild, 1969, 1974+ (see McCue 2012 Proposal 2)
II 11 You · · · you · · · you] We · · · we · · · we ts1 well] ill ts1, ts2
[Poem I 155–58 · Commentary I 870–71]
II 13 that] this ts1 1st reading for your] of our ts1
II 14 your] our ts1 fathers] father 1974 (later corrected)
II 19] Exporting cotton, coal and c ts1 1st reading
II 22] ts1 1st reading:
Everything except the Word of GOD;
Keeping the latter for ourselves exclusively
Even
The second of these lines may have been typed after the first was del.
II 24] ts1 has stop changed to semi-colon with added line:
And had abroad done better, had things been better done at home
II 25 Of] For ts2 1st reading you] we ts1
II 26 being] not ts1
II 27 deed] deed done ts2 2nd reading
II 28 neglect] for neglect ts1 1st reading
II 30 we] you ts1
II 35–37] Church perpetually building perpetually subject to decay within and attack from without | In time of prosperity the people neglect the temple, in time of adversity they defame it. | All must pay the penalty for sin — sloth, avarice, gluttony, lust. ms1 fol.81.
II 32 upon] on ts1 you · · · you] we · · · us ts1
II 33 you · · · you · · · your] we · · · we · · · our ts1
II 34 And all] All ts1 1st reading you · · · your] we · · · our ts1
II 36 you] we ts1 while] in ts2 1st reading
II 37 they] that ts1 1st reading decry] defame ts1 1st reading
II 38 you · · · you] we · · · we ts1
II 39 no] not ts1 1st reading
II 40 community] community that is ts1 1st reading
II 41 Even] For even ts1
II 42 whom] him ts1 1st reading
II 44 you] we ts1
II 49 about] not ts1
II 51 away] on ts1 1st reading
II 52 down,] down, and ts1
II 54 let the saw] the chisel ts1 1st reading ‖ let the chisel ts1 2nd reading, ts2, ts Chamb, proof
II 55 Let] and ts1
III
The Rock (1934) 29–31.
ts1: fols. 128–29, draft with annotation (ribbon).
[Poem I 158–61 · Commentary I 871–72]
ts2: fols. 44–47 double-spaced fair copy (carbon).
ts Chamb 20–22.
Heading III] Chorus I ts1 1st reading ‖ Chorus A 2nd reading (see note) ‖ CHORUS. ts2
before III 1 stage direction] Chorus of Prophets. ts1, ts2 (with colon), del
III 5 proceeds] stratagems ts1 1st reading
III 12 speculation] speculations ts1
III 18 me] not ts1 1st reading ‖ Me 2nd reading
III 19 ^ 20 stage direction] 1st Prophet. ts1 ‖ First Prophet: ts2 1st reading ‖ First Male Voice 2nd reading
III 22 forgetful] forgetting ts1 1st reading
III 23 labour] stupour ts2 1st reading and delirious] and forgetful ts1 1st reading ‖ delirious ts1
III 24–25] The broken chimney, the peeled hull, a pile of rusty iron ts1 1st reading with There shall be left added and a slash after chimney, to form two lines
III 27, as also 30 My] ts1, Later Poems proof, all other eds. ‖ my Later Poems (endorsed by TSE in response to a proof query, Faber archive)
III 27 ^ 28 stage direction] 2nd Prophet. ts1 ‖ Second Prophet: ts2 1st reading ‖ Second Male Voice 2nd reading
III 29 City;] city. ts1
III 35 asphalt] asphalte ts1, ts2
III 36 ^ 37 stage direction] Choru
s of the Church. ts1, ts2 1st reading (with colon) ‖ Chorus 2nd reading
III 38 City] city ts1
III 40 you go.] to go. ts1 1st reading
III 41 colony] tribe ts1 1st reading
III 48 while] where ts2 1st reading
III 51 your] you 1936 proof corrected TSE
III 57 prepared] ready ts1
III 58 ^ 59 stage direction] Chorus of Prophets. ts1, ts2 1st reading (with colon), del with chevron for line space line space] not ts Chamb
III 63 and the] and ts2 1st reading
III 70 vacancy] empti ts1 1st reading (typed over)
IV
The Rock (1934) 35.
ts1: fol. 133, double-spaced fair copy of a shorter version (ribbon).
ts2: fol. 51, double-spaced version of the full chorus (carbon).
ts Chamb 25–26.
Heading IV] CHORUS. ts1, ts2 (with “A” added above)
[Poem I 161–64 · Commentary I 872–73]
IV 4] ts1 ‖ not ts2+ (the omission was probably an accident when retyping)
IV 3 ^ 4] When he built the wall and restored the Temple ts1 (the omission in ts2 and later texts was perhaps accidental)
IV 5–14] not ts1
IV 6 king] King ts2, ts Chamb, Rock, US Rock
IV 15 to destroy him,] who encompassed them, ts1
IV 16 And] There were ts1
IV 17] not ts1
IV 18 So] Wherefore ts1 must] must always ts1
V
The Rock (1934) 38–39.
ts1: fol. 135, double-spaced (ribbon).
ts Chamb 29–30.
Heading V] CHORUS B. ts1
V 1 intention] intentions ts1 above] in ts1 1st reading
V 3 me] me also ts1