Poetic Theory and Practice of T.S. Eliot


Book Description

This Is A Comprehensive Study Of The Whole Æuvre Of T.S. Eliot, His Poetry, Criticism, Drama And Social Writings From The Pen Of A Penetrating Scholar. The Writings Of Eliot Still Form Major Documents Of Twentieth Century English Literature Presenting Challenges And Problems To The Reader. Using The Tools Of 'Background' And 'Domain' Assumptions, The Author Has Brought Out Eliot'S Philosophical Moorings And Sociological Preoccupations. A Study Of This Book Is A Must If Eliot'S Esoteric Doctrines And Poetry Have To Be Seen As A Systematic Whole.




T.S. Eliot in the Aesthetic Tradition [microform]


Book Description

This study explores the many striking parallels between the poetic theory and practice of T.S. Eliot and that of writers belonging to what is generally regarded as the last expression of nineteenth century romanticism, the "aesthetic movement." The first chapter explores the basic assumptions of that movement, pointing out that, above all else, it was an attempt to establish the independence of art from utilitarian considerations of any kind. The suggestion is also made that this insistence on the autonomy of art was responsible for the preoccupation of the aesthetes with what might be called a subjective kind of poetry, with a poetry offering not an objective description of the external world but a view of reality charged with the subjective feelings and mystical perceptions of the poet. Also examined are some of the techniques developed by the aesthetes to communicate this world of inner experience, techniques such as the use of symbols (ordinary objects given emotional suggestiveness by being evoked rather than named directly), the substitution of a logic of association (characteristic of inner mental processes) for a coherent development of thought, an avoidance of all explanatory rhetoric, and a concentration on achieving an effect of incantation. The second chapter concentrates on Eliot's criticism, noting how he always retained a fundamental belief in the aesthetic doctrine of the autonomy of poetry, but modified it by insisting that unless poetry is considered in relation to the various disciplines upon which it draws its sustenance, it deteriorates into a mere abstraction. This belief in the separate-but- relatedness of poetry is shown, in turn, to have shaped his view that poetry must take into consideration both the subjective and the objective aspects of experience, that it must represent a fusing together of thought (or feeling) and sensation, form and content. That in taking this position Eliot was not rejecting but only modifying aesthetic doctrine is demonstrated in the third chapter which examines the poetry and shows how it continues to exhibit such familiar aesthetic features as a preoccupation with states of feeling, a tendency to avoid discursive rhetoric, a preference for associative patterns of organization, and an emphasis on incantation. What is modified is shown to be mainly the imagery which, being altogether more concrete and substantial than that of aesthetic poetry, made possible the expression of precise rather than generalized emotional states. Only in the later poetry where the emphasis is less on feeling than on ideas is there found to be a significant departure from the aesthetic tradition, a departure evident in such stylistic changes as a greater concentration on rational as opposed to associative forms of organization, a preference for a more intensive allegorical kind of imagery, and a greater use of abstract language.




T.S. Eliot, Poetry, and Earth


Book Description

T. S. Eliot enjoyed a profound relationship with Earth. Criticism of his work does not suggest that this exists in his poetic oeuvre. Writing into this gap, Etienne Terblanche demonstrates that Eliot presents Earth as a process in which humans immerse themselves. The Waste Land and Four Quartets in particular re-locate the modern reader towards mindfulness of Earth’s continuation and one’s radical becoming within that process. But what are the potential implications for ecocriticism? Based on its careful reading of the poems from a new material perspective, this book shows how vital it has become for ecocriticism to be skeptical about the extent of its skepticism, to follow instead the twentieth century’s most important poet who, at the end of searing skepticism, finds affirmation of Earth, art, and real presence.




The Poetry of T. S. Eliot


Book Description

In this fascinating and revealing book, first published in 1952, Maxwell shows the development of Eliot’s poetry and poetic thought in the light of his political and religious attachments. This study traces Eliot’s style from the earliest poems to the Quartets, and examines the characteristics of Eliot’s earlier work adumbrate that of his maturity. The Poetry of T. S. Eliot is essential reading for students of literature.







W.H. Auden's Poetry


Book Description

W. H. Auden is perhaps the most important English language poet of the 20th century. He produced marvelous poems-even in his last days.However, critics and reviewers not only have not recognized the aesthetics of the poetry Auden wrote after 1965, but they have ignored or made prejudiced and disparaging remarks about it, thus diverting subsequent critical (and popular) attention from its remarkable virtues. The aim of W. H. Auden's Poetry: Mythos, Theory, and Practice is to clarify Auden's career-long interest in poetic theory and, above all, to show how his changing thoughts about poetry impelled him towards the production of the last three volumes of his verse.Because it links the poet's biographia literaria and his aesthetic vision, this book will appeal to poets as well as to students of writing-particularly those interested in the creative process and its correlation to artistic forms. Students of 20th-century American and British literature will find in these pages a comprehensive survey of Auden's thoughts about his art and the poetry of his predecessors as well as of his contemporaries. Teachers of Auden's works will appreciate the strong light such a survey casts on Auden's poetic practice. Engineers and architects, physicists and biologists, cultural critics, social scientists, philosophers, and especially Gestalt psychologists might well enjoy reading about the ways their fields have intersected and influenced the thinking of one of the twentieth century's most brilliant and courageous poets.




Eliot's Objective Correlative


Book Description

T.S. Eliot's dictum about the objective correlative has often been quoted, but rarely analyzed. This book traces the maxim to some of its sources and places it in a contemporary context. Eliot agreed with Locke about the necessity of sensory input, but for a poet to be able to create poetry, the input has to be processed by the poet's intellect. Respect for control of feelings and order of presentation were central to Eliot's conception of literary criticism. The result - the objective correlative - is not one word, but "a scene" or "a chain of events." Eliot's thinking was also inspired by late 19th-century French critics, like Gautier and Gourmont, whose terminology he not infrequently borrowed. But he chose the term "objective" out of respect for the prestige that still surrounded the Positivist paradigm. In its break-away from Positivist dogmas, criticism of art in the early 20th century was very much preoccupied with form. In poetry, that meant focus on the use and function of the word. That focus is perceptible everywhere in Eliot's criticism. Even though the idea of the objective correlative was not an original one, Eliot's treatment of it is interesting because he sees a seeming truism ("the right word in the right place") in a new light. He never developed the theory, but the thought is traceable in several of his critical essays. On account of its categorical and rudimentary form, the theory is not unproblematic: whose fault is it if the reader's response does not square with the poet's intention? And indeed, T.S. Eliot's own practice belies his theory - witness the multifarious legitimate interpretations of his poems.




T. S. Eliot and Indic Traditions


Book Description

An exploration of Eliot's lifelong interest in Indic philosophy and religion.




T. S. Eliot's Romantic Dilemma


Book Description

The fact that Eliot disapproved of Romanticism is clear from his critical essays, where he often appears to reject it absolutely. However, Eliot’s understanding of the term and his appreciation of literature developed and altered greatly from his adolescence to his years of scholarly study, yet he was never unable to dismiss Romanticism entirely as a critical issue. This study, first published in 1985, analyses Eliot’s approach and criticism to Romanticism, with an analysis of The Waste Land, adding to the layers of its meaning, context and content to the poem. This title will be of interest to students of literature.




The Poetry of T. S. Eliot


Book Description

Although Eliot exerted for many years as important influence on English poets, his writing style & choice of material made his work difficult for the average reader. This study analyzes his poetic theory & discusses a number of his major early works. "The excellence of this little volume makes it a key for easy entrance into Eliot's entire poetic work."--NEW YORK TIMES.