Thinking activity on T. S. Eliot

 

      Thomas Stearns Eliot, was one of the twentieth century's major poets was also an essayist, publisher ,playwright and literary and social critic. Born on St. Louis, Missouri ,in the United States, to a prominent Boston Brahmin family, he moved to England in 1914 at the age of 25, setting, working and marrying there. He became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39, renouncing his American passport.


(1) How would you like to explain Eliot's concept of Tradition?  Do you agree with it? 

Ans : yes,  I  agree with Eliot's concept of tradition. Eliot takes the tradition in a positive way as well as in a larger sense.  Tradition is not inherited but it must be acquired with great labor.  So we can say that he put emphasizes on mingling the past and present with historical sense. The tradition means the work of writer and their writing style. Every writer contributes his talent in his tradition. It is the tradition with which we compare our present writer and find newness in present work.it is simple that we come to know about the new because there is something that we call past.


(2) what do you understand by Historical sense ? 

Ans : The historical sense means as Eliot presented in his essay.

" The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence ".
       
         The writer should be aware of the past and how the mistakes of the past should not repeat be in the contemporary time. Which means that it involves perception of the presence of the past not only it's pastness. It it is not only to know about historical fact but mainly it's about that in which way people were living in the past and how that past is presented in the contemporary time.


" The 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. 

    Which means that with the help of historical sense a writer can create the work which has timeless and temporal both together.


(3)  what is the relationship between " Tradition " and " The individual Talent " , According to the poet T. S. Eliot? 

Ans : According to T.S.Eliot ,individual Talent is a part of tradition. They are inseparable. A creative artist while creating his work not only considers literature of his own time but also the classical.

(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 :In this quote Eliot explain that to be a good poet one must have the common sense.  It is not necessary for a poet to read all the literary history of the past but one has to have Shakespeare who is not a university student or very educated fellow ,but he easily understood everything which the university wits and his contemporary could not.

(5) Explain : " Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry. "

Ans : This quote means we should disconnect a poet from poetry to pass a fair judgement. A poem should be judge by its words not by the history of the poet.

(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 : Eliot explains the theory of depersonalization with the help of science which makes it quite interesting as well as easy to understand.  He describes the process of making sulfuric acid.  This sulfuric acid is made from sulfur dioxide and water but entire process can't take place in the absence of platinum. In this process platinum is essential element.

(7) Explain :" poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotions it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. "

Ans : According to T. S.Eliot, a poet writes poetry not to release his emotions , but he wants to escape from his emotion. He doesn't want to face it. He wants to escape from his personality from its real self rather than expressing his personality.

(8) write two points on which one can write critique on T.S.Eliot as a critic. 

Ans : As per my understanding one can write critique on following two points.....
 
    1. Eliot's concept of Tradition
    2. " poetry is not a turning loose of emotion. But as escape from emotions ,it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality.


Thank you ...........