T.S.Eliot tradition and individual talent.

T.S.Eliot’s “Tradition and Individual Talent” was published in 1919 in The Egoist - the Times Literarysupplement. Later, the essay was published in The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism in 1920/2. (Gallup). This essay is described by David Lodge as the most celebrated critical essay in the English of the 20th century.  This essay is divided into three main section 

• The concept of Tradition
• Theory of depersonalization
• Conclusion.

Not only to price Eliot this essay is used but also critisied this essay is used. When he wrote this esay was 25 years old. Eliot was not poet so he do not speak about how to write poetry but only talk about end product of poem.

Concert of Tradition :
In his time poets want to different then each other uniquess is important. Inhus essay he explained how Traditions and individual go together. Knowing Traditions plays vital role in development of personal relent.
He also talk about the inheritan. He say that Literature is not the thing that can be inheritan.

      For ex: Shakespeare

He say that if we consider Shakespeare as last name then we don't find another Shakespeare. He ladies talk about the pastness of literature.

" The historical sense involve a perception not only the past Ness of past but of it's presence."

Theory of depersonalization : 

                    New criticism is important. This part begins with the sentences,
“ Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not  upon the poet but upon the poetry.”
 Like poetry but not poet and person this thing he wants to say in this part. Here he say that appreciate work rather then the person. He believes that poetry is depersonalized of poet. This idea is opposite idea then the romanticism. Because Romanticism believe that whatever there is in poem is the feeling of poet.

          According to him painful exp9 gives the batter work of literature. For Eliot poetry is as acidic as  H2so4 possess. . Poetry is painful. .IND of post is like biker. Everything is there but after creation there is nothing in it. Poetry is not explanation of personality but escape from personality. Poetry is more significant then person. Ha Laos give example 6 H2SO4.

      He say that when potassium is there then only H2SO4 has created but after that there is no platinum. Here he  compere platinum with the poet. He say that after writing poetry there is nothing in poet. 

According to Eliot the poet’s mind is like a tare or utensil in which numerous feelings, phrases & images can be stored or seized. When a poet wants them he utilizes them and unites them. It doesn’t mean that the poem created by the poet shows his personality or nature.

Eliot explains very basic thing of his point that, what is expressed by the poet is merely a medium, not a personality. He says:

“…the poet has not a ‘personality’ to express, but a particular medium, which is only a medium and not a personality…”

In this medium, the impressions and experiences come together in unusual and unexpected ways. And other thing is some impressions and experiences seem valuable for a person, yet they may not be important for poetry. Same way some trivial experiences & impressions can become so important for poetry. Then Eliot says about context that without context nothing can be understood. He says:

“This balance of constructed emotion is in the dramatic situation to which the speech is pertinent, but that situation alone is inadequate to it.”

          He gives example from “The Revenger’s Tragedy” (by Thomas Middleton). He puts some line from that without context to explain this point. Then he says that emotion in poetry remains very complex thing, and poet’s own personal emotion may be simple or flat. So every time poet’s own emotion cannot be taken place in poem. And if the poet is always looking for new emotion in poem, then it will be perverse. A poet has not to find new emotions but he has to use ordinary emotions. He has to deal with every known/unknown emotion. Eliot here twists ‘emotion recollected in tranquility’. He says it ‘an inexact formula’. To write poetry is a great deal. When a poet becomes personal while writing poetry, he will be considered as a ‘bad poet’. Because he becomes unconscious, where he should be conscious and he becomes conscious where he must be unconscious. When a poet escapes from his personality, then & then the great poem comes out. A poet must not show his emotion in poetry. Eliot says:

“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.


The conclusion :
At the end, in this third part Eliot says that this essay stops at the starting of mysticism. And it can be applied by the responsible person, who really interested in poetry. It is very hard thing to take interest in poetry and to keep a poet aside. We usually read poem with the name and fame of the poet.

In this way we see he talk about the tradiction and individual ttlent in three parts.