A bold reimagining of T. S. Eliot’s modernism through the structural logic of jazz.
This book proposes a new way of reading T. S. Eliot, positioning the poet as a “structural improviser” whose techniques mirror the formal principles of jazz. Drawing on Ted Gioia’s jazz theory to explore six musical dimensions—rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture, and form—the study reveals how Eliot internalized jazz’s compositional strategies. From the riff-like refrains of Prufrock to the polyphonic, ensemble-like layering of The Waste Land and the extended improvisations of his later poetry, this book establishes a profound interdisciplinary methodology. It shows how Eliot’s use of syncopation, theme-and-variation, and flexible phrasing redefines modernist free verse as an art that composes in motion.
