Greeting,
Hello readers, This blog task was assigned by Barad Sir. In this blog, one can find my interpretation of the various questions related to T. S. Eliot's influential essay in the new criticism, "Tradition and the Individual Talent". This essay was originally published in 1922 in Sacred Woods and later included in his 'Selected Essay'.
Here are some questions to ponder:
Q: How would you like to explain Eliot's concept of tradition? Do you agree with it? What do you understand by historical sense?
Ans
T. S. Eliot is one of the foremost critics of the 20th century, along with I. A. Richards, J. C. Ransom, and Allen Tate, who laid the foundation of New Criticism. T. S. Eliot's critical essay 'Tradition and Individual Talent' delves into the concept of tradition and the writer's individual talent. The literal meaning of tradition, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is 'a belief, custom, or way of doing something that has existed for a long time among a particular group of people'. But here, the term tradition seems to have taken on a different connotation, more in the sense of literary tradition that had past before the writer's time during which one is writing. The writer has to take previous literary tradition into consideration while producing the creative work, but that does not mean simply imitating the prior work. Eliot sees the tradition as a distinct entity that is 'not inherent but can be obtained with a great deal of labor and erudition'. Writers merely have to add some of their individual talent as a contribution to the already-existing tradition.
Historical Sense
This quote by Eliot better explains the historical sense. ,
'The historical sense involves a perception not only of the past but of its presence; the historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones but with the feeling of the whole of the literature of Europe from Homer, and within it, the whole of the literature of his own country has a simultaneous existence and composes a simultaneous order'
According to Eliot, 'The writer writes with history in his bones', which clearly means that the writer should be well read and have the necessary historical knowledge to carry out the literary tradition. The writer's connection with history is so deep that it has become an integral part of the writer's creative writing.
'This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal, and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional'.
In these lines, Eliot argues that a writer's work is a bridge between history, which is timeless, and the contemporary time during which one is writing. A writer becomes 'traditional' when they have a deep understanding of both the universality of life and the happenings of their surroundings. Timeless and Temporal both together make the writer most acutely conscious of his place in time and of his own contemporaneity.
Q: What is the relationship between 'tradition' and 'individual talent' according to the poet T. S. Eliot?
Ans
As mentioned in the above answer, tradition is something that is not inherent or something one can get from the parents, but it is an independent thing. which also does not mean that to be a traditional writer is to be a mere imitator. One has to keep in mind the previous poets and writers, but they have to contribute something to the tradition, something of their own personal experience, and this little bit of contribution to the tradition is called individual talent.
For instance, tradition is the eternal great palace, and writers' contribution is a small pillar of the great palace, and by making this so small a pillar, writers can carve their name into the history books.
EXPLAIN: 'Some can absorb knowledge; the more tardy must sweat it. Shakespeare acquired more essential histories from Plutarch than most men from British museums.
As mentioned previously, T. S. Eliot placed emphasis on the wide and deep reading of poets and readers in order to better understand historical sense. And it is obvious that, to understand diverse histories and their references, one must have extensive reading; without it, it cannot be possible to be a traditional writer. But there seems to be a great exception: the literary genius Shakespeare. There are no records of Shakespeare going to any university or knowing any other language than English, yet his works are considered the best in English literature. His power of absorbing the knowledge and day-to-day lives of people was exceptional, while others of his contemporaries, like Christopher Marlowe, were university University Wit and well educated, yet he is not considered as great as Shakespeare. So with the only exception of Shakespeare, all other writers have to delve deep into the reading and make themselves sweat for absorbing wide historical knowledge.
EXPLAIN: "Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry."
This quote basically emphasizes objective criticism of creative works of art, which can be done by following the text, not the author. The quote separates the author from their creative work. One should not judge the creative work of art on personal or biographical grounds, which leads to the intentional fallacy, originated by W. K. Wimsatt and Beardsley. In short, a work of art should derive its meaning solely from the text itself rather than the meaning that the author intended.
Q: How would you like to explain Eliiot's theory of depersonalization? You can explain this with the help of a chemical reaction in the presence of a catalyst agent, platinum.
Ans
T.S. Eliot's theory of depersonalization revolves around the idea that a poet should strive for an impersonal or depersonalized approach to their work. According to Eliot, the poet should detach themselves from their personal emotions and experiences when creating poetry.
Keeping this in mind, Eliot criticized the Romantic writers, particularly Wordsworth's theory and definition of poetry. Eliot argued that romantic writers were self-centered and placed emphasis on individualism. According to Wordsworth, poetry is a 'spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, recollected in tranquility of mind', which certainly involves some sort of personal feeling; for example, his poem "Tintern Abbey". Eliot argues that the poet's mind should act as an "ideal order," where past literary works and traditions play a crucial role. Eliot believes that the poet's work should contribute to the ongoing tradition of literature. By depersonalizing the creative process, the poet becomes a medium through which the larger cultural and literary heritage speaks.
To explain this theory Eliot had used one chemical reaction, in which So3 and H2o would make H2S04 with using Platinum as catalyst. In the chemical reaction catalyst make the process faster but it does not take part in chemical reaction and can not be found at the end of the reaction. Eliot would compare poets mind with the Platinum catalyst that, mind of the poet should not attached to the creation of poetry but only make the creative process swift.
"Poetry is not turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from the personality."
This quotation acutely talks about the theory of detachment, which says that a poet should not let his or her emotions loose in creative work but should restrain their personal feelings and experiences. In this way poets should be always separated from their creative work.
Checkout this insightful video lecture that summarizing essay by using relevant keywords and the essay's title.
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