SUMMARY OF Tradition and the Individual Talent by T.S Eliot

Tradition and the Individual Talent: T.S Eliot

Tradition' word is used in English literature in its adjective form "traditional" or "too traditional". The word appears in phrase of censure. It also reassures and refers to archaeology.  

                                                                      1                                                                                                           Every nation, race has its own critical mind, it is ignorant of its limitations and works forward only to its geniuses'. By seeing French works we say they are more critical than Englishmen.

·          Criticism is inevitable. Criticism is articulating what passes our mind or what we feel while reading a book. When we differentiate one poet from another we look those aspects which don’t resemble any other poet and in this process we find poets' individuality and his essence of man.

·         We look to find something that can be isolated from predecessors so we can enjoy it. However a poet who employs dead poets or ancestors work in his work something creates best and most individual parts. Basically he is saying that by using traditional work a poet can create very good work for himself.

·         If by tradition, writers will hand down the work of precious generations then tradition should be opposed. Tradition cannot be inherited; it can only be achieved through great labor. Tradition has - historical sense. If a poet has historical sense then he is compelled to write not just with his generation in mind but he has in mind literature starting from Homer. Historical sense is sense of timeless and temporal togetherness and these two make a poet traditional.

·         A poet's appreciation is related to the appreciation of dead poets. A poet has no meaning alone, he can’t be valued alone. A poet will be compared and contrasted with the dead poets. The present is directed by the past. The poet also knows that he will be judged by the standards of the past, judged in the sense of comparison, both past and present works will be measured by each other. The new is not valuable because it fits; but work fits because it’s valuable.

The past is not a lump and a poet can’t perform himself on basis of works or time periods. To form himself the poet should have three things.

1.       Can’t be admitted

2.       Experiences of youth

3.       Pleasure and highly desirable subject.

                                                      

·         Art never improves, material of art doesn't change but the mind of country changes which affects all writings

·         This change in mind of country affects all writers from Homer to Shakespeare and so on. This is not from anyone's point of view but it's a difference of past and present. Present is conscious of past, it’s aware of past. The dead writers are what we now know; our knowledge is vast because of them.

·         Much learning deadens poetic sensibility. Know ledge should not be confined to a useful shape for examination or socializing. Knowledge can be acquired from anywhere. It is important for poets to process consciousness should be developed throughout his career.

·         Poet can progress through self- sacrifice and extinction of personality. Depersonalization is related to tradition and science.

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·         Criticism and appreciation is on poetry not poet. Poetry should be related to other poems and authors. Impersonal theory is seeing poetry in relation of poem to its author. A mature poet finely perfects medium in which he can express his feelings to be free. Poet and man are different the mind of poet is like platinum, it remains unchanged and neural even after death reactions. If artist is perfect, the man inside is more separated, the mind creates and digests the passions.

·         Emotions and feelings are transforming catalyst the work of art depends on how the person sees it. The experience could be formed out of one emotion or out of several. Great poetry can be made without any emotions as well, by using feelings.

·         Can’to xv inferno- expresses emotions and gives image representing feelings. Poet's mind stores numberless feelings, images and phrases which remain with him until a new compound can be formed with their help.

·         The greatest poetry becomes great because of artistic process or pressure under which all intense emotions and feelings are combined.

·         Ulysses can’to 26 is wholly dependent upon an emotion. Poetry involves a combination or fusion of elements. Ode to Keats contains a number of feelings only for sake of attractiveness.

·         Eliot wants to attack the point related to metaphysical theory of unity of soul. Poet has a medium through which he can combine impressions and experiences in unexpected ways. Impressions and experiences are important for man can be absent from poetry and impressions and experiences which are present in poetry could not be less important for the man.    FOR EG- negative and positive emotions are combined, attraction towards beauty and fascination with ugliness. A balance of contrasted emotions leads to dramatic situation. The dominant tone is of those feelings which have a connection to the emotion present in the poem.

·         The emotions are those which provoked important and particular events in poet's life. His personal emotion may be crude or flat but emotions in his poetry will be complex.

·         Eccentricity in poetry is to seek new emotions which are new for the human to express.

·         Poet's work is not to find new emotions but use old ones to express feelings which are not in those emotions.

·         Bad poet is unconscious when he should be conscious and conscious when he should be unconscious. Both errors make him personal. Poetry is an escape from emotion; it's an escape from personality.

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·         Essay proposes to halt at front of metaphysics and confine itself to practical conclusions applied by responsible person interested in poetry.

·         Interest should be shifted from poet to poetry. Technical excellence is appreciated by less people. Few people know when there is expression of significant emotion (emotion which has life and not history of poet) . Poet has to be impersonal to achieve the art of emotion. Poet should be conscious of the living present and present moments of past. 

 Deepali Yadav

 Student at Kamala Nehru College (DU)

(deepaliyadav2896@gmail.com)