Wasn't Eliot a fan of Newman's prose style? Or was that Joyce? I'm not  
sure.
I know Joyce studied Newman at his Jesuit School. In any case, Eliot  
surely was aware of Newman's Gerontius -- it must have influenced his  
poem's title if not the whole poem. This is an important line of  
inquiry!

Diana

Sent from my iPod

On Mar 5, 2010, at 7:04 AM, Peter Montgomery <[log in to unmask]>  
wrote:

> Thanks yet once more, Rickard. I agree with your remarks.
>
> I had forgotten about the Gerontius, not that I ever paid it much  
> heed.
>
> There are a few passages that bear some comparison to Eliot's poem.
> The presence of demons is also interesting.
>
> I do believe that the Pope is going to canonise Newman this summer.
>
> Cheers,
> Peter
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rickard A. Parker" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 6:05 AM
> Subject: Re: old man
>
>
> I was hoping to get to the title later but now seems
> to be a good time as long as we are talking "old man."
>
> In a recent job some Latinas nicknamed me Viejito, a
> diminutive of viejo (old man). In another context it
> could be translated, as Gerontion is, "little old man."
> I'm hoping that, regarding me, it was more of an
> affectionate term, much as Abuelito is Grandpa to
> abuelo's grandfather.
>
> I'm not sure how Greek works but most commentaries on
> Gerontion seem to indicate that it is much the same.
> I don't consider Gerontion the man as little and I don't
> see much affection in the name but I do see Eliot using
> the familiar form because he sees something familar in
> the character he created.
>
> All that is disregarding the possibility of an allusion
> to Cardinal Newman's "The Dream of Gerontius'" which
> Southam says was reprinted in 1919.
>
> http://www.newmanreader.org/works/verses/gerontius.html
>
> Regards,
>    Rick Parker
>