Tradition and the Individual Talent Analysis

customs and the Individual giving AnalysisTradition and the Individual Talent was personal line of creditally published across two instalments of the Egoist in 1919 and later, in 1920, became get around of T.S. Eliots full length book of essays on rhyme and criticism, The Sacred Wood. Literary modernism is visible throughout the essay in the self- apprisedness Eliot writes of with regards to writing song. The barbaric landed estate, like much belles-lettres of the modernist era breaks away from customs dutyal ways of writing and uses Eliots own understanding of tradition, literary allusion, in a unique way. This essay will be focusing on the arguments do by Eliot, with regards to literary tradition, in Tradition and the Individual Talent and how The neutralise Land relates to those arguments.Eliot begins Tradition and the Individual Talent by surrender it is the poets treatment of their grade indoors the historic context of literature that demonstrates talent. The e ssay asserts that the poet should use their knowledge of the writers of the noncurrent to influence their work. He republics that we shall very much find that non only the best, further the most individual damp of his work may be those in which the dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously.Eliot pardons that to write with tradition in mind does non mean imitating, as this would lead to repetition and novelty is better than repetition. He defines tradition as nearthing only to be gained by the labour of knowing literature of the past and by creation critically aw ar of what techniques and content is of value. The poet should be awargon of the simultaneous golf club of literary tradition, dating rearwards to the classics. Tradition is the accumulated wisdom and dumb engraft of literature through the ages and is, according to Eliot, essential for enormous achievements indoors meter.Eliot argues that no writer or piece of literature has value or signifi rear endce when isolated from the literary cannon. In aver to judge a work of art or literature it must be compared to works of the past. He believes that tradition is constantly changing imputable to adding cutting work to the literary cannon. He suggests that the indite should conform to literary tradition and be informed by the past, still that by doing so the work of the author modifies the work they have been informed by. It is important for the poet to be aware of their own position within the present entirely also their relevance in relation to literature of the past. The modern author adds meaning to the handed-down text by incorporating its influence into their work. Eliot acknowledges that the saucy work of art, when original, modifies the literary tradition in a small way. The relationship between past and present is non one-way, the present can circuit the past, just as the past informs the present.Eliot then acknowledges that knowledge of the past as a whole would be impossible. In order to gain a good sense of tradition one must critically examine the past, focusing on works of art that are considered to be of high value. He explains that the interpretation of a sense of tradition is to be critically aware of trends and techniques which became typical of a particular age, causal agent or even author, and to have the efficiency to recognise deviation from this. An author with a good sense of tradition should also be aware that the main literary trends do not come, solely, from the most appreciate poets, but they must be aware of trends set by poets of lesser recognition.Although the work of present poets is compared and contrasted to poets of the past, it does not determine whether the work of the present is better than the work of the past. Standards and principles are recognised to have changed. The comparison is made in order to analyse the new work, creating a deeper understanding of the text. It is only through this co mparison the traditional and the individual elements can be determined. Eliot claims that art neer improves. He argues that, despite changes in thinking, great writers much(prenominal) as Shakespeare and Homer remain relevant. He recognises that artists work with antithetic frameworks and their art is a product of different eras, therefore it would be impossible to measure a qualitative improvement in some(prenominal) schooling of art.Eliot is aware that questions will be asked about the great level of knowledge that would be required of any one poet in order to meet his understanding of tradition. The essay will be criticised on the terra firma that there are great poets who did not have the level of education that Eliot is claiming is required. Eliot goes on to argue that it should be the duty of every poet to build their knowledge of the past for the duration of their career. He believes that it is knowledge of tradition that encourages and strengthens the poets ability to write great work.Eliot recognises that, at the start of a poets career, individuality will assert itself, but he notes that it is the sign of an im rise poet and that as they continue to write one should lose the sense of the poets ainity within the work they create. The poet should become objective with maturity. This therefore makes it irrelevant who wrote the poesy under analysis, the relevance lies in the poems auction pitch of literary tradition.Eliot notes the necessity of the poet experiencing new situations and emotions without any changes being visible in their poetic voice. He states the more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates. He notes that the personality of the poet should not be expressed in their work but should remain unchanged by external factors.Eliot expresses that poetry may be formed from singular or various feelings, emotions or a combination of the two. He argues that poetry is in fact the organisation of emotions and feelings rather than inspiration. He believes that the woodland of the poetry is not determined by the intensity of feelings or emotions but the intensity of the process of creating and ordering those feelings as part of poetic composition. The more pressure involved in the creative process the better the quality of the end product.Eliot goes on to note the difference between personal emotions of the poet and the emotion of poetry itself. epoch personal emotions may be simple, the contemplation of these emotions may be complex. While it is not the division of the poet to express new emotions, the poet should express ordinary emotions in new ways. Eliot then goes on to reject Wordsworths conjecture of poetry that is has its origin in emotions recollected in tranquillity. He believes that the composition of poetry does not require emotion, recollection or tranquillity, but that original poetry directs from concentration on experiences. He a lso argues that this concentration should not be cut into but passive. Poetry should be an escape from the poet, not a reflection of them. Eliot is not denying the poet personality but is declaring that the impersonality required to create good poetry can only be achieved when the poet surrenders themselves to the poetry they create.In part three of the essay, Eliot concludes that the poet is only capable of surrendering themselves to their work if they have acquired a good sense of tradition. 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. By this he means that the poet should be conscious not only of their position within the literary cannon of the past but also where they extend in the literature of the present and how their poetry is relevant as a statement of the world in which it is created.The arguments made by El iot suggest he is of the didactic school of poetic literary theory, believing that poetry should educate as well as entertain. Tradition and the Individual Talent sets out rules to be a great poet. Although he does not go to the extreme of being a neo-Classical critic, his theories do bear some resembalance in that he speaks of the classics being as relevant to poetry now as ever. This suggests that Eliot believes alluding to classical poets can improve the quality of the poetry. While Tradition and the Individual Talent does argue for originality it does so in a way that relies upon literature of the past. This still fits with the understanding of literary modernity as suggested by Ezra Pounds statement defecate it new as, rather than making something completely original, Eliot is suggesting you take the traditional and make that new by attributing new meanings to what has been expressed.Eliot does not allow for the tone of new emotions. The arguments Eliot makes for the absence of the individuals experiences within their poetry is limiting the originality and uniqueness of poetry. While Eliot allows for originality in the way in which poets react and respond to the literary and historic tradition, he limits free expression of the self. Whilst the poet often takes influence from the past there should be unlimited freedom for expressing new ideas and emotions relating to the new material and the world in which they live. The ideas expressed in Tradition and the Individual discourages poets who are less well better and therefore could discourage naturally talented poets from creating truly unique poems.Overall the essay is flawed not in the expression of Eliots arguments but in the rigidity of rules he places on a creative process, which should be free from rules and allowing for complete creative freedom.In Tradition and the Individual Talent, Eliot stated that the most individual split of the authors work may be those in which the dead poetsassert their i mmortality most vigorously. When placing this alongside his argument that the experienced and mature poets converse with literary tradition in their work, it is hardly surprising that The ravage Land is full of literary allusions. The way Eliot alludes to literary tradition is in itself a source of originality, fitting with his arguments, however, emotions, personality and the personal experience of T.S. Eliot are disguised within The Waste Land. These aspects become clear when studied from a biographical perspective. The Waste Land is often read as an attempt to put the ideas of Tradition and the Individual Talent into practice, but the remaining part of this essay will focus on how Eliot fails to separate his personal experiences from the creative process.The Waste Land was written in 1922 during a period when T. S. Eliot was under orders from his physician to take three months moderation. It is chiefly believed that this was due to a nervous breakdown. As a result of this Elio t was treated for neurasthenia1 under the care of Dr. Vittoz in Lausanne, Switzerland. Because the majority of The Waste Land was composed during the period of Eliots treatment, the poem can be viewed as spokesperson of Eliots psychological condition and his healing. It is due to this that Eliots emotions and personality are visible in the themes, structure, language and even grammar of the poem. This is something which Tradition and the Individual Talent claims should be absent in the work of a great poet.It is perhaps due to Eliots belief that 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 there have been relatively few critics to study Eliots poetry alongside biographical examinations of the poet. Lyndall Gordon states that the more that is known of Eliots biographical life the clearer it seems that the impersonal faade of his poetry-the multiple faces and voices-masks an often quite li teral reworking of personal experience.2Eliot claimed that Tiresias is the most important personage in the poem, uniting all the rest it is therefore likely that Tiresias, as the main consciousness of The Waste Land, represents Eliot in his struggle to gain drumhead control. Tiresias fits Vittozs understanding of the neurasthenic as living very little in the present and his thoughts always turn to the past or the future.3 Tiresias figured in this sense can be understood as throb between two lives (l. 218) where the lives represent the two different aspects of his mind, the conscious and the subjective. Tiresias can be assigned the role of the characterisation of Eliots illness as the positive driving force of inspiration within the poem. Eliot himself wrote on the theory of the impact of illness on art in a positive light it is a customary that some forms of illness are extremely favourable, not only to religious illumination, but to artistic and literary composition.4Eliot took a rest break in margate in October 1921 which proved unsuccessfulOn Margate Sands.I can connectNothing with Nothing. (l. 300-302)This demonstrates the presage of hopelessness. There are no connections to be found between the speakers thoughts. The conscious and subjective aspects of the mind are unable to communicate with one another.There are multiple references in the poem to blindness, deafness, muteness and difficulties with the sensation of touch. Vittoz has stated that the neurasthenic often looks without seeing and listens without hearing (p. 44). The cashier, whether it is considered to be Tiresias, Eliot or another refers to all of these issuesI could notSpeak, and my eyes failed, I was neither animation nor dead, and I knew nothing,Looking into the heart of the light, the silence.(l. 38-41)It is the neurasthenic condition that could be preventing the speaker from connecting emotions to senses which results in further hopelessness. This is followed by a quotation from Tr istran and Isolde, Oed und leer das Meer (Desolate and empty the sea) which again furthers the state of despair associated with neurasthenia.Along with the narrator and Tiresias there appears to be another character who, as Vittoz would describe, looks without seeing and listens without hearingMy nerves a dingy to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me.Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak.What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?I never know what you are thinking. Think. (l. 110-113)The reference to nerves in line 110 should be attributed to insomnia, another symptom of neurasthenia. This furthers the argument that Eliots neurasthenia has impacted the poem greatly. Here we also see a lack of control in Eliots writing, he writes the question Why do you never speak without a question mark and the uncompleted sentence What thinking?There is a severe lack of control in the poem so any semblance of narrative becomes blurred along with the sense of time, characters and their voices. T he poem does seem to progress towards a sense of peace. It is in this way that it can be understood as Eliots process of recovery. In order to progress from this state of confusion Eliot must go through Vittozs therapy in order to reach the bloom of shantih. Vitozz wrote that several times a day the patient should repeat ideas of calm three times, this can explain the closing line Shantishantishanti (l. 434). In the manuscript version this movement can also be seen from the poem beginning with the horror, the horror to ending with the words still and quiet.In What the Thunder Said the tone of the poem begins to find its direction, or demonstrates the narrator approaching brain control.DADamyata The boat respondedGaily, the hand expert with flat solid and oarThe sea was calm, your heart would have respondedGaily, when invited, beating obedientTo controlling hands (l. 418-423)At this point in the poem Eliot is approaching a point of recovery. The poem has moved from the uncontrolled nature of neurasthenia to a calmer state of mind thanks to controlling hands. When linked to Vittozs technique of placing his hands on his patients temple in order to feel brain activity this passage is clearly in appreciation of his therapy. He spent time in the mountains recovering the symptoms of insomnia, hopelessness and confusion, In the mountains, there you feel free./I read, much of the night, and go southward in winter (l. 17-18). These repeated references to symptoms, treatments and Eliots own experience of recovery certainly suggest neurasthenia is central to The Waste Land.This argument does not dispute the understanding of The Waste Land as a reflection on modern hostel. T.S. Eliots neurasthenia was a product of the financially focused post World War Britain in which he lived. The Waste Land can be seen as reflective of the sensibility of the time in Britain, essay between the wars and trying to gain control, the poem could therefore be understood as diagnosing the s ociety in which he lived. Whichever interpretation one believes, The Waste Land was composed as a result of T.S. Eliots mental health problems, whether it be an awareness of neurasthenia in order to diagnose society with or the expression of his internal struggle. This is clear through the fragmented nature of the text. The unannounced changes in speaker, time and location are as a result of Eliots mental state and yet have been studied in great depth without considering the biographical aspects of the context of the poem. The reason for neglecting this way of reading the text is likely to be a result of Eliots own arguments in Tradition and the Individual Talent, that The emotion of art is impersonal. The emotion of The Waste Land however is very personal to the poet, T.S. Eliot.1 The symptoms of neurasthenia were notoriously vague-they included headaches, noises in the ear, bad dreams, insomnia, flushing, and fidgetiness, flying neuralgia, spinal irritation, impotency and hopeles sness. Gold, M. K. 2000. The Expert Hand and the Obedient Heart Dr. Vittoz, TS Eliot, and the Therapeutic Possibilities of The Waste Land. Journal of Modern Literature, 23 (3), pp. 519533.2Lyndall Gordon, Eliots archaean Years (Oxford University Press, 1977), p. 2.3 Roger Vittoz, Treatment of Neurasthenia by Means of Brain Control, trans H.B. Brooke (London Longmans, Green and Co., 1921). P. 19.4 Eliot, T. S. and Kermode, F. 1975. Selected prose of T.S. Eliot. New York Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pP. 237.