T.s eliot as a critic

Literary Criticism

1. Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 Lecture No: 11 “T. S Eliot As a Critic” Course: Literary Criticism II- ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] By: Siraj Khan Lecturer in English KUST

2. John Hayward Says “I cannot think of a critic who has been more widely read and discussed in his own life-time; and not only in English, but in almost every language, except Russian.” Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II -ENG- 332 -- Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

3. Outlines Poet’s Biography Important Literary Works Critical Works The Metaphysical Poets Metaphysical Conceit Eliot’s Defence of Metaphysical Poets Dissociation of Sensibility Defects As a Critic Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II- ENG- 332 -- Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

4. T. S Eliot (September 26, 1888 – January 04, 1965) American- born British Poet Winner of Nobel Prize for Literature Modern Poet and Critic Tradition & Individual Talent Objective Criticism Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II -ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

5. Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II- ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] POEMS The love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The Wasteland Four Quartets POETIC DRAMA Murder in the Cathedral The Cocktail Party Elder Statesman The Family Reunion The Confidential Clerk Important Literary Works

6. Critical Works Eliot’s critical essays falls into 2 categories On the nature and function of criticism On authors and their works Important essays Tradition and Individual Talent( unofficial critical manifesto) Poetry and Drama Function of Criticism The English Metaphysical Poets The frontiers of Criticism Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II -ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

7. T. S Eliot’s Views on Criticism Openly declared himself as a Classicist in literature, Royalist in politics and Anglo-Catholic in religion Notions on religion, politics and literature indistinguishable Lifelong commitment to criticism His critical works changed the course of English literary history Criticism should be objective Critic has a role to review the past of literature and set the poets and poems in order Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II- ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

8. The Metaphysical Poets Renewal of interest in Metaphysical poetry which was neglected for a long time Argues metaphysical poetry to be the continuation of a great tradition Contradicts Dr. Johnson’s assumptions- “heterogeneous ideas yoked by violence together” metaphysical poets failed to unite dissimilar ideas into a single whole too much analysis and dissection of particular emotional situations inventive use of conceits “nature and art ransacked for illustrations” Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II -ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

9. “A comparison becomes a conceit when we are made to concede likeness while being strongly conscious of unlikeness”- Helen Gardner John Donne’s A Valediction Forbidding Mourning a couple faced with absence from each other is likened to a compass Donne’s The Flea Flea’s blood sucking to convince a possible lover to join him in physical sexual union Course: Literary Criticism II -ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Metaphysical Conceit

10. Compelling heterogeneous ideas into unity by operation of poet’s mind is universal in poetry Concept of Unification of Sensibility Great Elizabethans and early Jacobeans possessed a developed unified sensibility Sensibility- a synthetic faculty which can amalgamate thought and feeling Metaphysical poets possessed this faculty and were able to fuse dissimilar ideas into a single whole Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Eliot’s Defense of Metaphysical Poets

11. Poets in the 18th and 19th centuries lacked unification of sensibility Dissociation of sensibility set in 18th century poets- intellectuals; they thought but did not feel Romantic poets- felt but did not think Victorian poets- meditate poetically but cannot express it 20th century modern poets similar to metaphysical poets; uses conceits; bound to be difficult Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Dissociation of Sensibility

12. Theory of Impersonality Stated in Tradition and Individual Talent Rejected Romantic subjectivist theory of poetic creation “Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings…” Wordsworth Two aspects of Impersonal Theory Matter of Tradition Creative process Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

13. Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Sense of Tradition Originality of a poet not in inventing anything new or differing from his predecessors Great European tradition flowing from Homer, Shakespeare and Dante to modern times Poet should permit this great tradition to assert itself on his poem Poem should be a recreation and a development of what his predecessors have created Negative impact Distrusts novelty/originality Discourages individual attempts

14. Positive Impact of Traditional sense Poet should have a sense of the history of poetry awareness of the presentness of the past poet surrenders his personality to the superior authority of Tradition literature-not self expression but self surrender progress of an artist- a continued extinction of personality Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

15. Poet’s mind- open to all sorts of sensations and thoughts Receptacle of different feelings Combined and fused into a new whole by the creative mind Refutes Wordsworth’s definition- “poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings…” Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]

16. Example to demonstrate the relationship between process of depersonalisation and tradition Platinum as a catalyst for converting Sulphur and CO2 into Sulphurous acid No change happens to the catalyst Mind of the poet- catalyst Emotions and feelings- Sulphur and CO2 Artist’s mind keeps forming new compounds He remains separate in the whole process of creation Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Catalysis

17. Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Personality of the poet has nothing to do with his poetry Rejects Wordsworth’s theory of emotions recollected in tranquility Poetry- not a turning loose of emotion; but an escape from emotion Not an expression of personality; but an escape from personality

18. Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Objective Correlative From the essay Hamlet and his problems “the only way of expressing emotion in the form of art” Objective correlative- “a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion” Emotional reaction doesn’t get stimulated from one particular object/image/word It originates in the combination of these when they appear together

19. Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Preference for Spoken Language Poetry should approximate to the spoken language during the poet’s lifetime Not in favour of colloquialisms Admires Dante’s language Advocates prosaic style in poetry Rejects poetic style in prose

20. Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected] Defects As a Critic Religious attitude in critical pronouncements Personal and religious prejudice Attack of Milton and Shelley exposes his lack of objectivity Elements of didacticism

21. Eliot’s critical tenets invaluable aids to understanding and appreciation of poetry In objectivity and scientific attitude Eliot resembles Aristotle New Criticism greatly indebted to T S Eliot Remarks Topic : T. S Eliot As a Critic Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: [email protected]