Kate,

On the contrary Eliot's prosody set new standards for the artistry of poetry. 
 Equally, I doubt if you have come to the grail in your "modern" sensibility 
but for the setting of Prufrock and Portrait, followed by TWL--even if you 
dutifully read the unabridged Frazer on your own.  Finally, the progress (or 
process) of Eliot through FQ is unmatched by Stevens or WCW:  do you really 
suggest that either of these poets (or any other American) consistently 
accomplished so much in so many years.

You sound like an advocate of Lyndall Gordon's narrow view of Eliot:  too 
much emphasis on the man and the perceived life, without adequate credit for 
the banner of Art he championed.  Perhaps, a blind spot for a minor favorite 
poet blinds one to the expanse of another; too much emphasis upon a 
blemish--like Pound's fascist tendencies--to perceive the larger expanse.

Best,
Eugene Schlanger