Page 330 - DENG502_PROSE

Prose

Notes Poetry as Orgnasation:-Eliot next compares the poet’s mind to a jar or receptable in which are
stored numberless feeling, emotions etc. Which remain there is an organised and chaotic form till
“all the particles which can unite to form a new compound are present together”. Thus poetry is
organisation rather then inspiration imperssion and experience which are important in for the
man way find no place in his poetry, and those which become important in the poetry amy have
no significance for the man.
Eliot’s rejects words woth’s theory of poetry. Having its origin “emotions recollected in tranquality”.
And points out that in the process of poetic composition there is neither emotion, nor recollection
for tranquality. In the poetic process there is only concentration of a number of experincess, and
anew thing results from concentration. And this process of concentration is neither conscious nor
deliberate : it is a passice one.
The difference between a good and a bad poet is that a bad is conscious and unconscious where he
should be conscious. It is this consciouness of the wrong kind which makes a poem personal,
whereas mature art must be impersonal, but eliot dose not tell us when a poet should be conscious,
and when not. The point has been left vague and interminate.
Poetry As Escape from Personality :- Eliot conclude: “poetry is not a turing loose of emotion, but
as escape from emotion: it is not the expression of personality,but an escape from personality”.
Thus, eloit dose not deny personality or emotion to the poet only , the must depersonalise his
emotions. There should be exitinotion of his personality this impersonamlity can be achived only
when the poet surrenders himself completely to the work that is to be done and the poet can know
what is to be done , only if he acquires a sense of traditon, the historic sense, which makes him
conscious, not only of the present, but alos of the present movement of the past, not only of what
is dead, but of what is already living.
Self-Assessment

1. Choose the correct option:
1. “Honest Criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the
poetry”. Can be elucidate as .........
(a) Only the poets can make honest criticism and sensitive appreciation of his own poetry.
(b) Sincere criticism has to focus on the poet’s personality which would in turn lead him to
neglect his poetic contribution.
(c) The focus of literary criticism has to shift from author to the text. The poet is not supposed
to compose poetry which is full of his personal emotions.
(d) None of the above
2. Eliot’s attention shifts in the second section from ......... to ...........
(a) Tradition, individual talent
(b) The author, the text
(c) Individual talent, tradition
(d) The text, author
3. According to Eliot the emotion of art is ...........
(a) Impersonal
(b) Personal
(c) Inaccurate
(d) Spontaneous
4. Eliot has not completed his notion of tradition in this essay; he develops it further in …….
(a) ‘Notes towards a definition on culture’.

324 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY