Elaborate T.S. Eliot’s views on emotion of art in poetry.
Tradition and the Individual Talent is a notable literary work by T. S. Eliot. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Tradition and the Individual Talent.
Answer
Elaborate T.S. Eliot’s views on emotion of art in poetry. [2017] ✪✪✪
“Tradition and the Individual Talent” is infused with a new idea about emotion in poetry. The author, T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), believes that poetry is not the expression of personal emotion but the transformation of emotion into art. For him, the emotion of art is pure, controlled, and impersonal.
Artistic Emotion: Eliot says the poem’s feeling is crafted, not simply felt. He clearly states,
“The emotion of art is impersonal.”
So, emotion in poetry is free from the poet’s private life. A poet may use feelings that they have never personally lived or experienced. What matters most is the formed effect within the poem.
Catalyst Process: Eliot uses the platinum example to show artistic making. Like platinum, the poet’s mind enables fusion, yet remains unchanged. Different feelings meet and form a new, single artistic emotion. This fusion happens under the pressure of intense creative concentration. Personal emotion becomes material, not the final poetic message. Thus, the poem’s emotion is objective, complete, and inwardly ordered. The poet’s self stays outside the final poetic product.
Escape and Control: Eliot opposes Wordsworth’s “emotion recollected in tranquillity” as inexact. He maintains that poetry comes through concentration, not cosy remembrance. He writes,
“Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion.”
It is “an escape from emotion,” through disciplined artistic control. Intensity depends on process, not on raw personal feeling. Hence, art refines common feelings into universal, lasting significance.
In short, Eliot’s view of emotion in art teaches discipline and impersonality. The poet must change raw feeling into artistic expression. Only through this transformation can poetry become pure, timeless, and truly beautiful.