M.
K. Bhavnagar University
Smt.
S. B. Gardi Department of English
Name:-Jayti
Rudresh-Kumar Thakar
Sem:
1 (M.A. English Literature).
Roll.
No. 38
Enrolment
No – PG15101038
Contact
No. 9033657069
Critique “T.S.Eliot as a critic”.
“Criticism
is the practice of judgingthe merits and faults of evaluative or corrective
exercise can occur in any area of human life.”
Another
meaning of criticism is the study, evaluation,film and social trends. The goal
of ‘Literary Criticism’ is to understand the possible meaning of cultural
phenomena and the context in which they take shape.
Besides
being a poet, playwright and publisher, T.S.Eliot shows a disinterested
endeavor of critical faculty and intelligence in analyzing a work of art.
Eliot
was acknowledging as one of the greatest literary critics of England from the
point of view of the bulk and quality of his critical writing.
In
honor to Eliot, John Hayward states that,
“I
cannot think of a critic who has been more widely read and discussed in his own
life-time; and not only in English, but in almost every languages, except
Russian”. (Encyclopedia)
For
the sake of a systematic discussion, his critical works may be grouped under
the following heading:
a)
Theoretical criticism dealing with the
principles of literature,
b)
Descriptive and practical criticism
dealing with the works of individual artists/writers and evaluation of their
achievements and,
c)
Theological study.
‘Tradition
and Individual Talent’ has been one of Eliot’s extraordinarily influential
critical works. It was first published in 1922 in ‘sacred wood’, and was
subsequently included in the ‘selected essay’ (1917-1932).
In
this essay, Eliot has primarily dealt with his concepts of,
a)
Historical sense and Tradition.
b)
Interdependence of the past and the
present.
c)
Impersonality in art in general and
poetry in particular.
According
to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, ‘Tradition means a belief,
principle or way of acting which people in a particular society or group have
continued to follow for a long time, or all of their beliefs, etc. in a
particular society or group.
Merriam-Webster
Dictionary describes ‘Tradition’ an ‘inherited, established or customary
pattern of thought, action as behavior(as a religious practice or a social
custom)’.
However,
‘tradition’ according to Eliot means ‘principles’ that are to be followed in
order to hone your skills as a writer. But, those principles are not inherit
age. They are to be studied upon and to be understood in harmony with all the
tradition. Eliot says that, “the literary tradition is the outside authority to
which an artist in the present must owe allegiance”. Eliot considers tradition
as outside authority that provides base to new comer sand there for they should
pay their loyalty to ‘tradition’.
From the point
of view of T.S.Eliot, ‘Individual Talent’ simply means with “Inner voice”.
Middleton Murray first used this word in his essay “Classicism and Romanticism”.
He used this word (inner voice) for romantic poets (According to Murray,
romantics have full faith in their inner-voice).
In
his essay of “Tradition and Individual Talent”, he had pointed out that there
is an intimate relation between the present and the past in the world of literature.
It
involves, in the first place, the historical sense. The entire literature of
Europe from Homer down to the present day forms a single literary tradition
that individual works of art have their significance. This is so because the
past is not dead, but lives on in the present (Original text, para-3).
“No
poets, no artist of any art has his complete meaning alone. His significance,
his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and
artists” (Original text, para-4).
“You
cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and comparison, among
the dead” (Original text, para-4).
In
above statement, Eliot tries to say that in every tradition there is always
remain significance of each individual and their work out of it is the
appreciation of those dead poets and artists, who perhaps considered as ground
(base).
Past
works of literature form an ideal order is disturbed if ever so slightly, when really
new work of art appears. Whoever has approved this idea of order, of the form
of European of English literature will not find it preposterous that “the past
should be altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the
past”(Original text, para-4).
This
statement simply means that, every time new work of art altered the old one as
well as it also directed by that same work.
In a peculiar sense is the (new poet/artist)
will be aware also that he must inevitably be judged by the standards of the
past (Original text, para-5).
“He
must be aware that the mind of Europe- the mind of his own country-a mind which
he learns in time to be much more important than his own private minds…” (Tradition
and individual talent- text, para-6)
In
this phrase Eliot speaks that while one is up to write something must be aware
with the mindset of his own country-men. At that time he should avoid his own
mindset and has to stop doing interrupt in it.
In
second part Eliot gives theory of “Impersonality” he states,
“Honest
criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the
poetry” (Original text, part:2, Para 11).
§ Theory
of ‘Depersonalization’ :-
According
to Eliot bad poet Is usually unconscious where he ought to be conscious and
conscious where he ought to be unconscious. Both errors tend to make him
‘personal’. “Poetry is not a turning loose of emotions, but an escape from
emotion; it is not the expression of a personality, but an escape from
personality” (Original text, Part:2, Para 17). To simplify this statement Eliot
says that a poet should remain completely detach or impersonal from his
emotions and from his personality while creating a poetry.
Additionally,
he says that the man who suffers, and mind who creates, and a person should
obey him or surrender him to that activity of mind. Because, the activity of
mind is more superior to the man. So, man should be aloof in this case.
§ “Inner-
voice” : An Ironic Treatment:-
From
the view point of Eliot, for those who believe in the “Inner-Voice”, criticism
is of no value at all, because the function of criticism is to discover some
common principles for achieving perfection in art, and those who believe in the
“Inner – Voice” do not want any principles, they do not care for perfection in
art.
Thus,
in this essay, he treats tradition not as legacy but as an invention of anyone
who is ready to create his or her literary pantheon, depending on his literary
tastes and positions. This means that the development of the writer will depend
on his or her ability to build such private spaces for continual negotiation
and even struggle with illustrious antecedents (previous), and strong
influences.
Through
this essay Eliot simply tries to convey that,
“One
must refer ‘Tradition’, but not to imitate.”
Harold
Bloom terns the state of struggle as the “Anxiety of Influence.”Bloom
derides Eliot for suggesting a complex, an elusive relationship between the
tradition and the individual, and goes on to develop his own theory of
influence.
Through
an insightful study of romantic poets, Bloom puts forth his central vision of
the relations between tradition and individual artist.
Bloom
simply means that,
“One
is influenced by his formers/predecessors one or the other way.”
According
to Bloom, in his book’s argument,
“Poetic
history is held to be in distinguishable from poetic influence. Since strong
poets make that history by misreading one another, so as to clear imaginative
space for themselves”.(Bloom)
From
above quote Bloom says that poetic history is quite different from poetic
influence as the strong poets who created the history or tradition perhaps from
their misreading and disproof. So, in that case individual talent proves much
better to create an artistic work.
As
a critic Eliot has his faults too. At times he assumes a hanging judge attitude
and his statements savor of a verdict.
Though
he is talking about ‘de-personalization’, he is not free from his ‘persona’.
Because, often his criticism is marred by personal and religious prejudices
blocking an honest and impartial estimate.
Moreover,
he does not judge all by same standards. There is didacticism in his later
essays and with the passing of time his critical faculties were increasingly
exercised on social problem.
Somewhere,
we find Eliot euro-centric that he never thinks beyond the European mindsets.
Moreover he talks about Homer down to present era. But he never speaks for
those who wrote before him.
Though,
he has faults in his criticism, he could change the mindset of modernists.
Of
all the western modernists, T.S.Eliot (1888-1965) has been the most pervasively
influential through both his poetry and his literary criticism. He was
initially influenced by the American new Humanists such as Irving Babbitt and
Paul Elmer, and his early ideas owed a great deal to their emphasis on
tradition, classicism and particularly to Ezra Pound and the imagist movement (Habib).
Generally,
Eliot considered himself as a “Classicist in Literature”. Because, it was he
who first applied the Aristotelian method of comparison and analysis to the
elucidation of works of literature. Although, he known as “Modern Critic” that
perhaps because he applied the method of science to the study of literature to
be able to see it as it really is. This is what he has to offer to present day.(Prasad)
*Criticism on Eliot by other Critics.
Until
the middle of last century, Eliot’s ideas of tradition were extraordinarily
influential. His essay was major contributor to Modernism’s rise and hegemony.
Like its author (T.S.Eliot), the essay came to be regarded as conservative,
elitist, obsessed with order and back-ward looking. Eliot’s theory of literary
tradition has been criticized for its limited definition of what constitutes
the canon of that tradition. Moreover he emphasize that one should refer
tradition at that level of pedantry. But, sometimes too much reading or
learning not good for the creative work, because perhaps that sensibility of
work dies. Then many believe that Eliot’s discussion of Literary Tradition is
the “mind of Europe” reeks of Euro-Centrism. Withal this Eliot does not account
for a non-whites and non-masculine (feminine) tradition. Post-Colonial critic
Chinua Achebe also challenges Eliot, since he argues against deferring to those
writers, including Conrad, whom have been deemed great, but only represent a
specific (and perhaps prejudiced) cultural perspective. As we before discussed
Harold Bloom’s “Anxiety of Influence” presents a conception of tradition that
differs from that of Eliot. Whereas Eliot believes that the great poet is
faithful to his predecessors and evolves in a concordant manner, Bloom (with
his theory of “Anxiety of Influence”) envisions the “strong poet” to engage in
a much more aggressive and tumultuous rebellion against tradition (Gareth
Reeves – T.S.Eliot and the Idea of Tradition in Patricia Waugh’s Literary
Theory and Criticism). Further in 1964, his last year, Eliot
published in a reprint of “The Use of Poetry and The Use of Criticism”, a
series of lectures he gave at Harvard University in 1932, a new preface in
which he called “Tradition and the Individual Talent” the most juvenile of his
essays (although he indicated that he did not repudiate it). Thus, Eliot
himself fails to escape from his personal view-points upon romantics.
At the end I would humbly state that with the
limited knowledge at my disposal, I tried to justify the topic. I would believe
that I subscribe to what Eliot has to say about the importance of Tradition in
honing Individual Talent. On the flip side to it I have my own reservations
about his views on “Depersonalization”. It is somehow very difficult to detach
yourself from the work. You cannot be detach or disillusion that literature you
are writing or the literature you criticizing, unconsciously there is always a
sense of “you” in what you think whether you write or for that matter you
criticize.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. The Anxiety of Influence.
Second. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Eliot, T. S. Tradition
And Individual Talent. 1920.
Habib, M.A.R.
"The Poetics of Modernism: Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot." M.A.R.Habib. A
History of Literary Criticism and Theory. New Delhi: Blackwell Publishing,
Wiley India Pvt.Ltd., 2005, 2008 by M.A.R.Habib. 629.
Prasad, Birjadish. An
Introduction to English Criticism. Delhi: Rashtriya Printers, 1965.
Reeves, Gareth.
"T.S.Eliot and Idea of Tradition ." Waugh, Patricia. Literary
Theory and Criticism. n.d. 107 to 117.
