T. S. Eliot: Tradition and Individual Talent
Q-1: How would you like to explain Eliot's concept of Tradition? Do you agree with it?
ANS: Eliot has explained the concept of Tradition in three parts. Eliot says that -
1st -Tradition cannot be inherited and involves a great deal of labour and erudition.
2nd-It involves the historical sense which involves apperception not only of the pastness of the past, but also of its presence.
3rd-The historical sense enables a writer to write not only with his own generation in mind, but with a feeling that the whole of the literature from Homer down to the literature of his own country forms a continuous literary tradition.
Thus, I found his concept of Tradition Crystal clear, and i can say that Yes I'm agree with him.
Q-2:What do you understand by Historical Sense?
ANS:
- "The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence"
-The above quote mentions that ; The historical sense means common sense, which gives one to not only understand the past but also how to implies it in presence.
- 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.
- This historical sense is timeless or we can say it is endless and furthermore it is temporal means; it is of present time. so the historical sense is timeless and temporal together and that is the quality which make writer traditional.
Q-3:What is the relationship between “tradition” and “the individual talent,” according to the poet T. S. Eliot?
ANS:
The relationship between 'Tradition' and 'The Individual Talent' is reciprocal.One can not cut himself from tradition.
When the term 'Tradition' used ,somehow in negative sense but Eliot mentioned that writer should write with Historical sense in his bones. He explained that Tradition and Individual talent are similar or closely related to each other.
Q-4: Explain: "Some can absorb knowledge, the more tardy must sweat for it. Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum".
ANS:
Eliot has given example from Matthew Arnold's essay 'fanction of criticism ' in which Arnold said that 'The great epochs of creativity doesn't come often' ; therefore to understand those quotes they gave reference of Shakespeare that he never learned and even he knows only one language, which is his mother tongue English. He was not learned man though he absorbed his entire age we can say that he lived through age. Shakespeare was not university scholar but he was scholar, in a sense of writing and observing surroundings.
Q-5: Explain: "Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry"
ANS:
Furthermore Eliot mentioned that critic must have to criticise or appreciate the poetry not poet. Oftenly we noticed that critics mostly judge poetry or any literary work by name of writer not by work itself and thus Eliot denies that partial nature of critics and advised them to be honest and criticise or appreciate the poetry only on itself.
Q-6:How would you like to explain Eliot's theory of depersonalization? You can explain with the help of chemical reaction in presence of catalyst agent, Platinum.
ANS:
In very easy and simple manner The Theory of Depersonalizetion means, The poetry is more important then poet. it means poet have to separate his personal emotions from his poetry. He gave example of sulphuric acid ,To describe creative process he used as a example from science a chemical reaction of to form sulphuric acid-H2So4. He talked about the formation of sulphuric acid to create this acid it needs sulfurtrioxide- So3, Water-H2o in which most important thing is the entire process will not take place without a catalyst, named Platinum Without a strip of platinum sulfuric acid will not form. Here critic described poets mind as a catalyst -platinum. He says about this chemical reactions that 'the man who suffers and the mind which creates are different.'
Q-7:Explain: " 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."
ANS:
The above quotation mentions that poet should not allow to express his own emotions or feelings in to the poetry, he is not permitted to express his feelings but he has to escape from his personality and create something new, which is impersonal or different from his personality.
Q-8: Write two points on which one can write critique on 'T.S. Eliot as a critic'.
ANS:
Here I'm going to describe those two points from which I found him as a critic.
- His theory of Historical sense: "The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence"
- His idea of Depersonalization : 'the man who suffers and the mind which creates are different.'
