T. S. Eliot s Four Quartets: The Employment of The Mystical Elements to Address the Individual State of Uncertainty During World War II

Mysticism is a religious tradition that has long existed in every religion, culture, and literary form, and indicates a direct experience of the Divine. It has been a rich theme for poets who have long used it to add intensity and depth to their poetry. Some poets have employed certain mystical elements to convey certain perspectives and answers concerning international and individual issues. This research aims at illustrating how T. S. Eliot employs the mystical elements of paradox, the Center and Via Negativa in his poem Four Quartets to remind his readers of their divine essence and the way they should follow in order to get salvation, and relief from the individual state of uncertainty, on the spiritual and personal levels, that prevailed in the time of atrocities and chaos of World War II.