@article{Suri_2025, title={“After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness?” Decay, Violence, and Redemption in T. S. Eliot’s “Gerontion”, “Sweeney Among the Nightingales”, and “Marina”}, volume={5}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijllc.5.5.7}, DOI={10.22161/ijllc.5.5.7}, abstractNote={<jats:p>This article examines T. S. Eliot’s “Gerontion” (1920), “Sweeney Among the Nightingales” (1919), and “Marina” (1930) as a trajectory of Eliot’s poetic and spiritual vision, moving from cultural desiccation and grotesque caricature to intimations of renewal. Drawing upon close textual analysis and critical perspectives, the essay situates “Gerontion” within the ruins of post–World War I Europe, where biblical and Jacobean echoes expose a world of spiritual drought and historical disillusionment. “Sweeney Among the Nightingales” is read as a grotesque parody of modern existence, where sexuality, violence, and parody of classical tragedy collapse the distinction between ancient heroism and modern vulgarity. Finally, “Marina” signals Eliot’s turn toward religious faith and personal renewal, its imagery of sea, pine, and childhood memory affirming the possibility of grace without overt dogma. Engaging with critics such as Stephen Spender, Hugh Kenner, Elizabeth Schneider, Lyndall Gordon, A. David Moody, and Grover Smith, the essay demonstrates Eliot’s persistent interrogation of history, ritual, and faith. It argues that these three poems, taken together, dramatize Eliot’s modernist poetics of despair and redemption, exposing the fragmented condition of modernity while holding out the possibility of spiritual transformation.</jats:p>}, number={5}, journal={International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture}, publisher={AI Publications}, author={Suri, Dr. Girija}, year={2025}, pages={45–52} }