In 1936, the poem was included in Collected Poems 1909–1935, of which 11,000 copies were published the collection symbolically represented the completion of his former poems and his moving onto later works. To structure the poem, Eliot turned to the organisation of The Waste Land.

Like many of Eliot's works, the poem was compiled from various fragments that were reworked over many years. However, these fragments stayed in my mind, and gradually I saw a poem shaping itself round them: in the end it came out as 'Burnt Norton'. 'Can't get them over on the stage', said the producer, and I humbly bowed to his judgment. There were lines and fragments that were discarded in the course of the production of Murder in the Cathedral.

Martin Brown's advice, removed from the script. The connection between the poem and the play is deep many of the lines for the poem come from lines originally created for the play that were, on E. The concept of Burnt Norton is connected to Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral he worked on the poem while the play was being produced during 1935. However, others complained that the poem does not reflect Eliot's earlier greatness and that the use of Christian themes harmed the poem. Many reviewers of Burnt Norton focused on the uniquity and beauty of the poem. By understanding the nature of time and the order of the universe, mankind is able to recognise God and seek redemption. Eliot emphasises the need of the individual to focus on the present moment and to know that there is a universal order. The central discussion within the poem is on the nature of time and salvation. Structurally, the poem is based on Eliot's The Waste Land, with passages of the poem related to those excised from Murder in the Cathedral. The manor's garden serves as an important image within the poem. The poem's title refers to the manor house Eliot visited with Emily Hale in the Cotswolds. He created it while working on his play Murder in the Cathedral, and it was first published in his Collected Poems 1909–1935 (1936).

Eliot burnt norton