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Literary Criticism: Key Definitions

The document discusses T.S. Eliot's influential 1919 essay 'Tradition and the Individual Talent'. It provides context around Eliot and other modernist poets who were proponents of focusing on literary technique and style over personal biography. It also discusses how Eliot's emphasis on impersonality and tradition in poetry influenced the mid 20th century New Criticism movement in American literary theory.

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Mihaela Munteanu
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
177 views4 pages

Literary Criticism: Key Definitions

The document discusses T.S. Eliot's influential 1919 essay 'Tradition and the Individual Talent'. It provides context around Eliot and other modernist poets who were proponents of focusing on literary technique and style over personal biography. It also discusses how Eliot's emphasis on impersonality and tradition in poetry influenced the mid 20th century New Criticism movement in American literary theory.

Uploaded by

Mihaela Munteanu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Anca Peiu,

Outstanding Personalities of 20th Century American Literary Criticism

A particular sense of professional responsibility in a writer’s conscience had


begun to be manifest ever since Henry James’s seminal essay “The Art of Fiction”
(1884), just before the 19th century was over.

Continuators of Henry James, as a complex personality of both artist and


critic were – in the 20th century – the poets Ezra Pound (see the volume Make It
New!) and T. S. Eliot (see especially the volume The Sacred Wood, 1920).

Mainly speaking, these exceptionally influential poets-critics plead for:

- Teaching & learning the art of fine literature reading


- Aesthetic detachment & intellectual honesty – on the part of both poet
and reader; (self)irony and an impersonal approach of the poem, by poet
& reader alike
- The decisive importance of literary style & technique < HJ
- A specific sense of belonging to a (classic) cultural tradition (see
especially TSE’s essay “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” 1919)
- Awareness of the modern poet’s duty to answer the spiritual
requirements of a well-read audience
- Creativity & intellectual magnanimity on the part of the literary critic, too

We owe TSE such concepts as the objective correlative (instead of


metaphor); the dissociation of sensibilities; the sense of a (literary & cultural)
tradition.

Tradition and the Individual Talent

(1919; 1920 in The Sacred Wood)

1
A funny, delightful essay, too famous for its own good. Full of paradoxes &
witticisms.

“In English we seldom speak of tradition, though we occasionally apply its name
in deploring its absence.”

If the work thus described meets with approval, then the term suggests “some
pleasing archaeological reconstruction.”

“Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative, but its own critical turn
of mind.”

TSE urges readers to look for the merits of the poem rather than those of the poet!
His concern with the literary work (and not with the writer’s biographical
peculiarities) will have a tremendous impact upon a major American school of
thinking: New Criticism (1930 – 1940). John Crowe Ransom, Robert Penn Warren,
Allen Tate, Cleanth Brooks, R. P. Blackmur, Harold Bloom – all owe a lot to TSE &
EP. Before maturing into the New Critics, the former four distinguished Southern
poets (RPW was also a remarkable novelist) were gathered into The Fugitives
group, formed at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. They yielded the
volume of essays I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition (1930),
representative for their rebellion against the cliché-ridden, pseudo-romantic Old
South literary vein.

“We dwell with satisfaction upon the poet’s difference from his predecessors,
especially his immediate predecessors; we endeavour to find something that can
be isolated in order to be enjoyed.”

TSE insists that “the most individual parts of his work may be those in which the
dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously. And I do not
mean the impressionable period of adolescence, but the period of full maturity.”

“Tradition is a matter of much wider significance. It cannot be inherited, and if you


want it you must obtain it by great labour. It involves, in the first place, the
historical sense, which we may call nearly indispensable to anyone who would
2
continue to be a poet beyond his 25th year; and the historical sense involves a
perception, not only of the pastness 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 a feeling that 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. This historical sense, which is a sense of the
timelessness as well as of the temporal together, is what makes a writer
traditional. And it is at the same time what makes a writer most acutely conscious
of his place in time, of his own contemporaneity.”

“No poet, 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. You
cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and comparison, among the
dead. I mean this as a principle of aesthetic, not merely historical, criticism.”

“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. And the poet who is aware
of this will be aware of great difficulties and responsibilities.”

II

“Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but
upon the poetry.”

“It is not in his personal emotions, the emotions provoked by particular events in
his life, that the poet is in any way remarkable of interesting.”

“In fact, the 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 emotion, but an escape from emotion;
it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of

3
course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to
want to escape from these things.”

III

“The emotion of art is impersonal. And the poet cannot reach this impersonality
without surrendering himself wholly to the work to be done. And he is not likely
to know what is to be done unless he lives in what is not merely the present, but
the present moment of the past, unless he is conscious, not of what is dead, but
of what is already living.”

Common questions

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T.S. Eliot's concepts significantly impacted the development of New Criticism, a movement focusing on the intrinsic value of literature and objective analysis based on the text itself. His insistence on detaching criticism from biographical or historical interpretative contexts aligns with New Critical principles, emphasizing close reading and textual analysis . Eliot's introduction of the 'objective correlative' provides a framework for interpreting symbolic structures within poetry without relying on the author's intent. Furthermore, Eliot’s focus on tradition and impersonal expression reinforces New Criticism's rejection of Romantic prominence on the poet’s psyche, privileging instead the work’s autonomy and its formal qualities .

T.S. Eliot's concept of 'impersonal poetry' shifts traditional notions of poetic expression by advocating that poetry should be an escape from the personal emotions and experiences of the poet. Instead of being a direct expression of the poet's personal feelings, Eliot asserts poetry should achieve impersonality, allowing the art to transcend the individual . This perspective challenges the Romantic notion of poetry as a spontaneous overflow of personal emotion. By focusing on impersonal method, Eliot argues for a disciplined craft where emotions are expressed through external elements, requiring poets to surrender to the creative process that draws on broader cultural and emotional archetypes rather than personal sentiment .

Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot's views emphasize the importance of tradition, which they interpret as a dynamic interaction between the past and present. Eliot, in particular, introduces the idea that tradition is not inherited but requires labor to be achieved, involving a historical sense that connects the past with the present. Both poets were influential in shifting focus from the poet to the poetry itself, encouraging objective evaluation devoid of biographical emphasis . This perspective was crucial to the development of modernist poetry, which sought to innovate by redefining how the past influences modern creativity. Their insistence on aesthetic detachment, intellectual honesty, and objective correlative impacted the emergence of new critical approaches, notably New Criticism, that focus on text rather than authorial intent .

T.S. Eliot's 'objective correlative' refers to creating a set of objects, a situation, or a chain of events that serve as the formula for a specific emotion, enabling poetry to evoke emotion without resorting to direct expression. This concept encourages poets to focus on how external elements can be structured to evoke emotions, impacting literary style by promoting indirect expression . 'Dissociation of sensibilities' suggests a historical point where intellect and emotion in poetry became separated, which Eliot believed needed reintegration. His support for combining intellectual vigor with emotional depth influenced literary technique by advocating for a balance of feeling and thought in creating deeper, more resonant poetry . These concepts encourage poets to employ intricate and deliberate techniques to convey complex emotions and ideas effectively.

T.S. Eliot views tradition as an active process where the writer must possess a historical sense, which involves understanding the past's presence in the present . This entails that poets must write not only with a recognition of their own generation but with an awareness that all of European literature exists in a simultaneous order. For a poet to achieve this balance, Eliot argues that they must incorporate a perception of both the timeless and the temporal, thus creating a dialogue between past and present that informs contemporary creation . This balance requires great labor from the poet, as they are tasked with carrying the literary heritage while innovating within it, ensuring their work resonates on multiple time levels.

Intellectual honesty and aesthetic detachment are core principles in the framework of New Criticism, attributed to the ideas of T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. These principles dictate that criticism should focus solely on the text, evaluating its merits without being influenced by the author's personal life or emotions. Eliot's argument for the impersonal nature of poetry, where the emotion of art is not tied to personal experience, but rather to an escape from it, underscores the intellectual honesty required to appreciate poetry on its own terms . Aesthetic detachment ensures that the evaluation of literature remains objective and appreciates the work's intrinsic value, aligning with the New Critical focus on close reading and textual analysis .

T.S. Eliot suggests that tradition goes beyond mere acceptance of the past; it requires an active engagement and integration of historical awareness into one's work. By stating tradition cannot be inherited, Eliot means that a poet must consciously and laboriously engage with the literature and cultural history to internalize the tradition; it requires the development of a historical sense that perceives both the past's presence and its influence on the present . This implies a continuous effort to understand and incorporate the evolution of artistic influences into new, innovative works and is indispensable for any contemporary poet seeking relevance beyond their immediate context .

T.S. Eliot complements Ezra Pound's modernist views by advocating for the significance of tradition and a serious approach to literary style and technique . Both emphasize intellectual rigor and the importance of understanding historical context in creating contemporary art. Eliot's concept of tradition, focusing on a historical sense that blends the past and present, aligns with Pound's advocacy for 'making it new,' where innovation is rooted in a deep understanding of tradition . However, Eliot's focus on the impersonal nature of poetry and objective critical evaluation can seem to contradict Pound's earlier advocacies for personal and experimental expression, showing a nuanced balance between individual creativity and adherence to tradition.

T.S. Eliot describes the responsibilities of modern poets in relation to tradition as cultivating a historical sense, which requires understanding the continuity and change within cultural and literary histories . Poets must write with an acute awareness of both their contemporaneity and the historical literature that influences it. The challenge lies in the poet's duty to perceive and convey the depth of tradition while innovating beyond mere repetition. Eliot emphasizes that a poet cannot have complete meaning alone; their significance arises in the context of the successful integration and reinterpretation of historical influences into contemporary works . This involves a recognition of mutual influence, where the past affects the present and vice versa, presenting a continuous challenge of creativity grounded in awareness of heritage.

T.S. Eliot's 'Tradition and the Individual Talent' redefines originality in literature through the lens of historical continuity and maturity rather than mere novelty. Eliot argues that the most individual works are those where the influence of past poets is most vibrant, suggesting that originality is achieved through an artist's ability to assimilate and reinterpret traditional influences . He contests the common notion of originality as merely novel or different, proposing instead that a writer's maturity is shown by how well they acknowledge and expand upon previous art. This view reshapes the concept of originality to include the depth of influence and transformation rather than rejection or departure from the tradition .

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