Tradition and The Individual Talent

TOPIC OF THE BLOG:-

This blog is a part of a thinking activity given by Dilip Barad Sir from The English Department, MKBU, Bhavnagar. Check out Dilip Barad sir's Blog Site (Click here) for more information and knowledge about For 'The Waste Land' by Thomas Stearns Eliot and other works and writers. In this blog I like to tell something about 'Tradition and The Individual Talent' as per my understanding and also some answers of points to ponder from the blog of Tradition and Individual Talent' by Dilip Barad Sir (Click here). 

T. S. ELIOT:-

Thomas Stearns Eliot also known as T.S. Eliot. He was born on September 26, 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. and died on January 4, 1965, in London, England. He was an American-English poet, playwright, literary critic, and editor. He was a leader of the Modernist movement in poetry in such works as The Waste Land (1922) and Four Quartets (1943).(Tate)

NOTABLE WORKS:-

• Ash Wednesday
• Burnt Norton
• East Coker
• Little Gidding
• Murder in the Cathedral
• Notes Towards the Definition of Culture
• Prufrock and Other Observations
• Sweeney Agonistes
• The Confidential Clerk
• The Dry Salvages
• The Elder Statesman
• The Family Reunion
• Four Quartets
• The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
• The Metaphysical Poets
• The Sacred Wood
• The Waste Land
• Tradition and the Individual Talent

"In my beginning is my end"

- Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot

From Milton which is in Massachusetts, he entered Harvard in 1906; he received a B.A. in 1909. He was influenced by George Santayana (a Philosopher and Poet) and Irving Babbitt (Critic). He has read widely from childhood and he is interested most in philosophy. From Babbitt he derived an anti-Romantic attitude.(Tate)

ELIOT'S CONCEPT OF TRADITION AND THE INDIVIDUAL TALENT:-

'Tradition and the Individual Talent' is an essay written by T. S. Eliot and published in 1919 in The Egoist:Times Literary Supplement. He was normally knows as a Poet but he also contributed critisism. In this essay we can find clear idea of relation between poet and literary traditions.

By Tradition an individual talent he means poet who is writing a poetry should add elements and reference of past and great works. By this in literature he wants to tell everyone to spread awareness. Second thought he gave that, Novelty has its own uniqueness but no works of literature can start with 0% novelty. There should be some thoughts, reference and ideas of other past works and traditions. Third is a great poet never express his personal feeling in his expressions. He consider poetry as an escape from emotions.

This essay divided into three parts:-

1. Concept of Tradition 
2. Theory of Impersonal Poetry 
3. The conclusion

• Tradition is not slavish imitation of the past. 
• Tradition can not be inheritated, it can only be obtained by hard labour.
• Tradition can only be obtained by those who have historical sense.
• Tradition is not anything fixed and static.
• It is constantly changing and becoming different from what it is.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE CENTRAL IDEA OF 'TRADITION AND THE INDIVIDUAL TALENT':-

• The relation between tradition and individual talent in interdependent.
• the historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence.
• Tradition cannot be inherited. It can be mastered only by labour and erudition.
• The idea of tradition is not to have literally 'read' each and every thing written till date. It is rather to absorb knowledge, so he said "Some can absorb knowledge, more tardy must sweat for it'.
• Eliot's theory of depersonalization.
• the more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates; the more perfectly will the mind digest and transmute the passions which are its material.
• Impressions and experiences which are important for the man may take no place in the poetry, and those which become important in the poetry may play quite a negligible part in the man, the personality.
• 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.

This all points are taken from quiz on 'Tradition and The Individual Talent' by Dilip Barad Sir which help us to understand more clearly and deeply this concept. 

HISTORICAL SENSE:-

"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 quote has all about historical sense in which Eliot believe in. According to my understanding, if a person who wants to something, suppose a poetry or any work he should write with having historical sense or historical ideas about it in his mind. Like not merely his own generation but whole of the litrature of Europe from Homer. 

A person who is writing perticular work he should have information and awareness about its history and background. Like NORTHROP FRY belived about history and philosophy can be remarkable here. 

Philosophy and history are two major tools- for interpretation of

literature and archetypal criticism is based on philosophy and history of a people. 

We can also get the nearest meaning of this quote (The Historical......Order) form the quiz. - It means that literature makes a historical monument. Each writer is contributing to the monument by putting a brick in form of poem or other writings. It makes writer understand the responsibility which he carries on his shoulder when he undertakes literary writings. It also makes it clear that without proper understanding (not only information) of History, writers cannot write something significant.

WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN 'TRADITION AND THE INDIVIDUAL TALENT'?

"Some can absorb knowledge, the more tardy must sweat for it. Shakespeare acquired more essential histories from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum."

According to quiz 'It means that only those who do not have sense of understanding must literary read, others can learn by absorbing from experience and observation and a little reading.'

Like here he gave example of William Shakespeare a man who don't have heavy language to write his works but he do have historical sense and skill to observe knowledge and as we can see he also wrote so many historical plays also like King John Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part III, Richard III, Henry VIII and others.

Eliot also explained that a person who do not have any sense of historical elements at least they should read and understands literary writing and others can learn and absorbing from experience and observation. 

"Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry."

It means that true criticism or appreciation should be of poetry and not that of poet. In short if anyone wants to like and say and criticise work of writer they should criticizes work not the writer, to the poetry not the poet. 

"The process of depersonalization, which is “a continual surrender of himself as he is at the moment to something which is more valuable. The progress of an artist is a continual self-sacrifice, a continual extinction of personality."

It means that the poet has to make him/her-self insignificant and surrender or self-sacrifice at the altar of poetry, because poetry is more important than his self. (From quiz).

It simply means that when poet start to write poetry or he wants to write a poetry he should give his hundred percent in it and give haa soul to this poetry. They have to sacrifice themselves for this poetry. And the artist continually are going through self sacrifice, a continual extinction of personality. 

So many ideas and thoughts are taken from quiz, other sites and some are from my mind. 

‘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.’

What he meant by escape of emotion? In normal terms he says that Poet never describes his personal feeling, personal emotions, in his poetry and make it different from what he felt about personal emotions. This idea by Eliot might considered as escape from emotion. Poets Personality should be different from his Poetry or one say that it should not expresses his personality through his poetry. That's why it is an escape from personality too.

WORKS CITED:-

🎊Tate, Allen , Gardner, Helen and Davies, Hugh Alistair. "T.S. Eliot". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/T-S-Eliot.

NOTE:- If you find any problem or question or suggestions please let me know☺️.

Words:- 1306

Photos:- 2

Quotes:- 7