Help. I'm weighing the prompts and wavering back and forth until I'm a little dizzy, nauseous actually. I'm extremely intrigued by T.S Elliot's Tradition and the Individual Talent. But, I'm not worthy of corduroy and I'm not ready to be paired with the words "literary scholar" even if I am pretending. The other options invite me to become Ezra Pound or to dictate the content of a text book. Wow. Mostly, I'm just a girl who loves to read.
In Tradition and the Individual Talent Elliot states the "criticism is as inevitable as breathing." Is that a warning, complaint, or an invitation to examine his essay and think? For some reason, it invites me into his compilation of thoughts. I'd like to see the intellectual author with a more defined thread of coherency. I notice the first essay holds a strong thematic element of timelessness among writers and the distinct influence of writing from all eras upon itself. .
The idea of "tradition" is approached in depth. While the initial definition of "a generation before us in blind and timid adherence to his successes" is regarded as something to stay away from. Elliot's own ideas of tradition lean towards hard work and perception that is not "handed down." Elliot touches on the cultural influence of country which is an extremely interesting angle to explore of a man in his circumstance.
It's also time to reason with the poet versus the poetry. What and how do they connect? One should know why "The mind of the poet is the shred of platinum." Elliot weighs the aged author, and the influence of emotions. He concludes the essay with a contrast of living and dead, a common theme of his work.
I'd love the experience of reviewing his essay from a bit less formal syntax than a text book would require. That might reveal quickly why I shouldn't write a text book; I tell stories. How about a response letter to the publishing magazine of the piece or a literary review from an Innocent bystander? Can I examine the content with a valiant effort of dissecting the words? I want to make some sense of Elliot. And who knows, with this insight maybe the next time I read The Waste Land, I'd grasp a line or two with more clarity.
"How about a response letter to the publishing magazine of the piece or a literary review from an Innocent bystander? Can I examine the content with a valiant effort of dissecting the words?"
ReplyDeleteYes to both of these questions. This is a good idea. I think looking at Eliot's idea of "tradition" in the context of the readings this semester is very good.
I think for this, you'll want to do some explication of the essay, try to explain Eliot as you understand him. What you've got in your textbook are excepts from the entire essay. I think it would be a good idea to read the whole thing for the paper (it's not that much longer than what's in the book, 4 or 5 paragraphs). I have the whole thing if you want it.
I think it would be good to look at one or two of Eliot's poems through the lens of the essay (not necessarily the two we read for class, but "The Waste Land" would be interesting in this context). You might also want to look at other, more recent poems through Eliot's eyes and see if they live up to what he's saying.