A closer look

Because writing depressing poetry wasn't sufficiently edgy, T.S. Eliot took his angst to a cosmetic level. During his days at Harvard and early years in Europe, the legendary poet supposedly dusted his face with a pale greenish powder. He wanted to look sickly, interesting, and haunted by the modern condition. Essentially, one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century was employing the exact same tactics as a modern gothic teenager.