INFLUENCE OF EARLIER POETRY TRADITION
The “Tradition and Individual Talent” is an essay which was written by T.S Elliot in the year 1919 and is has received much criticism and acclaim due to its approach to poets and authors. It is an essay which contains most of his criticism of literature and the principles which guide him in his literal criticism. In the essay, the central idea of Eliot is in the manner in the relationship between a poet and the tradition of literature which precedes them. He bases his arguments on the notion that the best writers are those who follow and adhere to the continuity of the poets who were before them.
Eliot believes many of the poets’ who preside are the ones who have shown to the audience their work as original and individual. However, the significance of the literary tradition towers above their heads when the same is looked from the lenses without biases (White 364-392). The wrong praise is directed to the wrong person because an analysis of the work of the poet would yield the fact that where he is given merit is largely influenced by those who were before him or her.
The other notion held by Eliot is that the significance of traditions should not mean that the recent generation will have a blind following to the traditions of the past poets. He believes all passed poets hold the touch for the path in which new and modern poets walk. The modern poet swims with the flow of the tradition which earlier poets had set (White 364-392). However, he admonishes the notion that tradition forms the pool in which all new poets must enter and swim. He encourages that those who should be receiving real praise are those who shift their path and set a new path to improve tradition.
Eliot goes on to explain the essence of tradition, in that tradition is not something which means a poet must be conversant with the past in a wholesome manner. A poet should not take the past traditions as a mass or in its entirety and without discrimination ("Tradition and The Individual Talent - T. S. ELIOT- A Critical Elucidation"). A poet must be capable of critical analysis the past traditions in order o come up with a tradition which has created its own path towards the improvement of the past traditions. In this sense, a poet must widen his or her scope of admiration to passed poets, he or she must appreciate every piece of literature which is available and taking lessons from them (Mulryan 117-137). Eliot argues that is a sense of inexperience and immaturity for a poet to limit his or her access to content which lies within the scope and age he or she likes. However delightful and pleasant such discrimination would be, but it would not culminate to the essence of tradition.
He is quick to argue that it is not the personality of the poet which matters, but it is impersonality of the poet. It is the content of the poetry which the poet produces which is important. The value of a poet lies in the tradition which he or she has written and its harmony with path traditions or a new course which it has charted. He denotes that poets should use poetry as a way of escaping fromemotion, not as a way of letting loose emotions ("The Baul Sursadhak: The Tradition and Individual Talent"). The value of poetry should not be based on how one expresses personality, but how one escapes from it. Therefore, there are aspects which must be incorporated to make good poetry.
In the aspect of the tradition of poetry, Eliot advises that great poets are those which have incorporated their minds in their works. This creates the aspect of permanence in their art. He believes it is only the material of poetry which changes, but the art never changes (White 364-392). Even though the minds and setting of people and places might change, this does not render great writers of the yore like Shakespeare and Homer insignificant or valueless. Their incorporation in the work which they produced makes them timeless; they never lose their value or significance, primarily because there is no improvement of quality in the art (Mulryan 117-137).
He then validates his arguments with his principles which he considers would make good poetry worthy praise and admiration. For this to occur, the poet must continuously indulge him or herself in something which more than just personality. He or she should delve into literal traditions which will enable his poetic skills to be modified and shaped by the past. Eliot here believes past traditions are indispensable in modern poetry, as they shape and mold the present, and poets should use them create good literal works.
In conclusion, Eliot is using his literal knowledge to make a claim that modern poetry is largely influenced by the works of former poets. Literature is ageless as it cuts across all dimensions which exquisite poet must indulge in. Literal tradition is the essence of poetry, without it, poetry loses meaning and value. However, poets should not shy away from creating new paths in literal traditions to have more original literal works.
Works cited
Mulryan, John. "Tradition and The Individual Talent." Ben Jonson Journal 10.1 (2003): 117-137. Web.
"The Bail Sursadhak: The Tradition and Individual Talent." Journal of Literature and Art Studies 5.2 (2015): n. pag. Web.
"Tradition and The Individual Talent - T. S. ELIOT- A Critical Elucidation". International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature 5.4 (2017): n. pag. Web.
White, P. "'Tradition and The Individual Talent' Revisited." The Review of English Studies 58.235 (2007): 364-392. Web.
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