4 ms·
"And the Jew squats on the window sill, the owner, Spawned in some estaminet of Antwerp, Blistered in Brussels, patched and peeled in London." https://www.po
by dntbnmpls 6y ago
"And the Jew squats on the window sill, the owner,
Spawned in some estaminet of Antwerp,
Blistered in Brussels, patched and peeled in London."
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47254/gerontion https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47254/gerontion
There is no disputing Eliot's antisemtism. Eliot was born in the late 1800s. Back then pretty much everyone, especially the educated, were antisemites and racist. Even the "lovable" Albert Einstein was racist. It was a different world/time. And the racism of Eliot or Einstein doesn't detract from the work. You have to separate the art/science from the artist/scientist.
- starkd 6y ago"Back then pretty everyone were antisemites and racist". That's a pretty bold statement, but I will add that the modern state of Israel could not have come about without some key luminaries who stood up for the Jewish people. One being Benjamin Disraeli, UK prime minister. Among many others. In fact, it could be argued that the uk in the 1800s was one of the friendliest places for Jews to live and work.
- starkd 6y agoAlso, much of 19th century English literature has a history of jewish friendly works. Look at such works as George Eliot's "Daniel Deronda", William Blake's Jerusalem, Lord Byron's Hebrew Hymns.