A Brief Summary of “ Tradition and the Individual Talent”
In T.S. Eliot’s essay, “Tradition and the Individual Talent”, he shares his perspective on the function of poetry in the literary canon. He is able to sum up his thesis in this short sentence: “The emotion of art is impersonal”. Like Wimsatt and Beardsley, Eliot does not believe in the use of poetry as an interpretation of the poet’s thought and feelings. In addition, he believes that the poet’s role in writing poetry is not to express his own emotions through the medium of his poems, but to create literature that reflects in some way what came before it and can seamlessly attach itself to history.
He begins the first section of his essay by stating that the word “tradition” is almost never used in criticism of literature as a positive term. It is always used as an adjective rather than a noun, and it is a bad thing if a writer’s work is “too traditional”. Eliot laments at the lack of the existence of “a tradition, and seeks to establish one. He states that critics often search for something in a poet’s work that sets him apart from others, asserts his individuality, and makes him unique. However, the best part of a writer’s work in Eliot’s eyes is the part that pays tribute to those who came before him, immortalizing their literary footprints. He says that “the parts in which the dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously”, are the parts of the poet’s work which are the most individual.
The Essay on Modernist Poet Eliot Poetry Century
... defined his preference for poetry that does ... Tradition and the Individual Talent," have become classics, smartly and affectionately dissecting other poets while subliminally informing us about Eliot's own work. Eliot ... The six-part poem "Ash Wednesday" (1930) and other religious works in the early part of the ...
While supporting the emphasizing of tradition and history in writing, Eliot is not advocating a robot-like repetition of writers that have been established as “good”. He acknowledges that something original is better than something that has already been done. Thus, literary tradition means something more than just passing something on, or doing something the same exact way for generation after generation. In fact, unlike most traditions it does not come easily or feel inherent. It must be worked towards, and one must cultivate “a historical sense”. That is, learning about the works of the past so that they become a part of one’s present until he can experience both simultaneously. Once a poet does this, then he can write so that his literature holds something of the past as well as something of itself.
Eliot states that no poet has a value in and of himself, but can only be valued as a part of the whole that is himself and those who have come before him. His new work, if heavily affected by all old works as it should be, will then affect those works in return and form an entirely new tradition to be absorbed and adapted by those who come after him. This altering of each existing order of tradition will be a never-ending process, constantly adding new writers and new works into its mixture, and changing to make room for new ideas and original perspectives that will shed light on those that have already been established. Once a new piece is added into the mix, all of the previous pieces will have to be reread and reinterpreted by the light of the new piece. Sometimes nothing will change at all, sometimes there will only be a slight revelation, and sometimes everything will be turned around completely.
It is for this reason that poets must separate themselves from their poetry. Poetry that is to become part of the canon cannot be so personal that it excludes others, because then there is no definite reference point for future poets, and no room for comparison to past ones. Eliot believes that the best poet, the one truly worthy of becoming a part of the tradition, is he that can feature intense emotion in his writing while keeping his own emotions from influencing it at all. The best poet can employ his poems as vehicles of emotional complexity, working both emotions he has felt and has never felt into them in a way that gives the reader access to feelings with which they can sympathize and recognize without having to have actually experienced them.
The Essay on Work Art Frame Past
do you know what is the difference between abstraction and cubism? ? subjective frame: what do i see in the art work? opinions based on the knowledge of the work and a comparison with a similar work. past amd present context: make a judgement about how the artist created the work and possibly why it was created? you could discuss a feeling or reaction people get from the work. example: compare: ...
In the last part of his essay, Eliot says: “To divert interest from the poet to the poetry is a laudable aim…” He feels that this is the only way to truly judge whether a poem itself is good or bad. He then sincerely expresses his wish that more people were able to recognize emotion that derives its meaning from the poem and the poem only, and is completely alienated from the history of the poet. This he calls, “significant” emotion. He concludes by stating that the only way for an artist to master the skill of using significant emotion in his work is to live not only in the present, or only in the past, but to live in the past and present combined and to create a living past.
