LECTURE 8 DEFINITION YEARS DIFFERENCES IMP QUESTIONS

Background and Eliot as a poet

I Importance and emergence of Freudian psychology in 20th
century
II How did Marxism and Freudianism define man?
III Georgian poets
20th century was marked by a complete breakdown of the agrarian way of life and economy. The
process was expedited by rapid urbanization and industrialization. It signified the end of rural
England. Industrialisation was not a un- mixed blessing. It was accompanied by overcrowding, wise,
chime and decline in moral standard. Boredom of the urban life introduced agonizing loneliness .The
age witnessed unprecedented rise of the scientific spirit and rationalism. The spirit of questioning
sought to re-examine the prevailing social believes and traditions. It also gave rise to a sort of

scepticism. I Freudian psychology turned upside downs the orthodox values and conventions ‘The
Study of the Unconscious ‘ by Sigmund Freud contributed to the revelation that the intellectual
convictions are rationalisation of emotional needs. Repressed sexual instincts were discovered to be
at the root of many forms of neurosis including the Oedipus complex. The social and cultural life of
the 20th century were drastically transformed by the First World War. It broke up the authoritarian
pattern of family relationship and produced an indefinable variety of anxiety and anguish. The
collapse of old values resulted in the beckoning of religious fate. Freudianism considered man as a

creature of instinct and impulse, II Marxism defined him as the outcome of economic and social
forces.

Literary background of 20th century:

The 20th century poetry is a curious mix of the traditional anti experimental, the old and the new.

III With the Victorian poetic establishment losing its vitality the native English tradition was kept
alive by a group of poets called Georgian poets. Though they regarded themselves as innovates of
new tradition, they were in fact continuators rather than reformers. Rupert Brooke was the
embodiment of Georgianism. The world war transformed the consciousness of men who went
through shattering experiences. War poetry world as a distinct sub-genre, the cruelty of the war was

represented in the poetry of Edith Sitwell, Wilfred Owen and others. IV But modernism arrived
with the bang in 1922 with the publication of 2 works which are the quintessence of the modern
spirit in Literature. T S ELIOT’S WASTE LAND and James Joyce’s Ulysses which is a novel. Eliot and
Ezra Pound a grt modern poet btw them effected a reordering of the English poetic tradition. Earlier
W B Yeats and T E Hulme contributed to the enrichment of modern poetry. The influence of Arthur
Simons work - the symbolist movement in Literature published in 1899 and the theatrical writings of
pound-this book was ‘abc of reading’ published in 1934 and Hyume whose book is ‘speculations’
published in 1936 provided a sense of direction to the new poetry.These were notable theatrical
works that gave a sense of direction new poetry. theconscious Revolt against decadent romantic
tradition resulted from the impact of science poet’s were compelled to see the naked realism of life
inall its horrible forms. theconsciousness of the grim realities of life has shattered all illusion and
romantic dreams tragedy of everyday life induced in the poet a mood of disillusionment. revival of
metaphysical poetry lend intellectual dimension to modern poetry . eliot himself was instrumental
in rediscovering the unified sensibility in Donne’s poetry. the formal innovations in 20 th century was
the result of its exposure to artistic movement like impressionism, imagism and surrealism
Impressionism seeks to convey the vague fleeting sensations passing through the mind by the use of
novel imagery and metaphor . Imagism was the artistic movement led by Ezra pound- it aimed at
clarity of expression through the use of hard, accurate and definite images.surrealism expresses
whatever passes in the subconscious without any controlled or selection by the conscious mind.
Modern poems startedLooking more documentary and prose like as if there is a blurring of
distinction between the genres - distinction between genres seem to be quite indistinct. A new liking
for fragmented forms characterises modern poetry.

Eliot’s poetry :

Generally regarded as the one of the grtstpoets of20th century.hisreputation lead to legendary
proportions in his own type time. his radical innovation revolutionised the literary tradition
nurtured by romanticism and Victorianism.the bold poetic techniques he Introduced called for a
new way of reading poetry. He was the real harbinger of modernism in English poetry.Eliot’s poetry
is believed to be meant for the learned and the initiated there is obscurity and complexity in it.He
pored that the best way to question the existing convention was to question its syntax- by violating
the rules of syntax he wanted to challenge the conventions of the time.the complexity was mainly
because of the complexity of materials he dealt with- it is aggravated by new poetic devices which
included the mythical method ,symbolism, borrowings, allusion and literary reminiscences.eliot
employed the mythical method to manipulate a continuous parallel between contemporaneity and
antiquity . Ancient myths and legends were juxtaposed with the facts of modern life to bring out
similarities and contrasts between past and present. Myths were used as objective correlatives in
the wasteland. Eliot’s allusion and quotations were not drawn from pagan myths and legend but
also from European literature. He has used traditional and personal symbols and was under the
powerful influence of the French symbolists . He was fond the techniques of condensation which is
using less words and implication to make sense by making indirect statements. his poetic genius Is
essentially dramatic and his auditory imagination is manifest in his instinctive love for syllable and
rhythm. Eliot’s settings, themes and characterspurely Urban. His intention was to diagnose the
disease of his generation and offer possible remedy. Eliot was instrumental in introducing a new
poetic sensibility through his dislocated discourse. His poetry is often called dislocated discourse and
astounding stylistic innovations.
Lecture 9

20th century literary criticism

I {Modern Criticism}, Non literary techniques

II Influence of Marx, Darwin, Freud and Frazer

Darwin’s ideas

[Psychoanalytic criticism]

III Marxism

I There is bewildering variety in 20th century literary criticism. Douglas Bush a prominent
American critic in an article entitled “American literary criticism: the contemporary scene” wrote -
“Literary criticism waits for over two thousand years seem to be a light house radiating a fairly
steady beam has in recent times become a tower of Babel -that's a scene of noise and confusion-a

{
darkling plain where arrogant armies clash by night”. Modern criticism was an aesthetic movement
brought about by a radical shift in consciousness and a violent transformation in social condition in
late 19thand early 20th century. Transitions were abrupt violent and pivotal at all levels of society.
Modern criticism is characterised by a variety of modes and techniques, currents and close-currents
new discoveries and researches in the fields of science anthropology sociology , psychology and
semantics have brought about a revolution in critical outlook, technique and methods. There is
qualitative difference in 20th century criticism – the very approach to literature has become radically

different . DEFINITION Modern literary criticism can be defined as organised use of

non-literary techniques and bodies of knowledge to obtain insight into literature. Non –literary
techniques are psycho -analytic associations and non-literary bodies of knowledge range from the
ritual patterns of primitives to the nature of capitalist society. The new critical techniques and modes
of investigation have been greatly influenced by a number of revolutionary systems of thought about

man and society .}

II The major influences have been those of Darwin, Marx, Frazer and Freud. Darwin was
the English naturalist and biologist who contributed to the development of the science of
evolution. He established that all species of lives have descended over time from common
ancestors. His theory was based on the concepts of natural selection and survival of the
fittest. In struggle for existence he thought the organism that can produce maximum

offspring under any circumstance alone can survive. His monumental work was YEAR
Origin of Species, published in 1859.Marx was the German philosopher who introduced
what is known as the historical materialism. He thought that history is the result of material
conditions, not of ideas. He defined Marxism as political and economic way of organizing the
society. James George Frazer, the Scottish social anthropologist who influenced modern
studies on mythology and comparative religion. Freud, the Austrian psychoanalyst who
revolutionised 20th century culture and thought .He gave a new importance to the
unconscious and believed that our conscious actions are controlled by unconscious drives
and motives. Darwin regarded man as a creature of circumstances. His bold assertions
helped to question the most cherished ideals of the age, including those on literature and
criticism. The revolutionary fervour of Darwinism was not confined to the Victorian period.
Its ripples were felt in the 20th century also. The tendency to interrogate before accepting
anything was the legacy of the spirit of inquiry embedded in Darwinian Theory. Marx looked
upon literature as a social institution. Modern critics knew a lot about primitive magic mix
rituals and archetypal patterns from the modern anthropologist James Frazer. Freud saw

artistic gift as a compensatory gift of neurosis . [Psychoanalytic criticism, which became

popular in the 20th century, is a form of literary criticism, which uses some techniques of
psycho analysis in the interpretation of literature. The practice is based on the specific
theories developed by Freud. His seminal work, The Interpretation of Dreams, published in
1900, turned out to be a milestone in the history of psychoanalytic criticism.

Psychoanalysis devotes itself to the buried drama of individual’s life, a major theme of
modern literature. It records human personality as a battle field of instincts and impulses.
Psychoanalytic critics see a literary work as the substitute gratification for the writer whose
suffers from unfulfilled desires in real life. The critic gives central importance to the
distinction between the conscious and unconscious mind. He associates the literary works
overt, content that is the visible superficial part with the former and the covert, the secret
hidden with the latter. For him what really matters is the covert content. He pays close
attention to unconscious motives and feelings. In short he identifies the psychic contexts of
the work. Maud Bodkin's archetypal patterns in poetry psychological imagination published
in 1934 and Ernest Jones Hamlet and Oedipus published in 1949 are path breaking works in
psychoanalytic literary criticism. Maud Bodkin was a major British critic who applied the
theory of Freud and Hulme to literature. Ernest Jones was Freud’s colleague and biographer,
he was an American critic who undertook a psychoanalytic study of Shakespeare's Hamlet
which is titled as Hamlet and Oedipus. Ernest Johns identifies Oedipus complex as the real
problem that baffled Hamlet. I A Richards improved upon Freud and took psychoanalytical
criticism towards a different direction. Lionel Trilling and Edmund Wilson were American

prominent modern critics whose criticism was informed by psycho analysis . ]

III (Marxism is a materialist philosophy .it tries to explain things without assuming the
existence of a world or forces beyond the natural world around us and the society we live in.
It seeks to shift everything from the individual to the society. Marxist criticism tries to see
how far a literary work reflects the social interest and commitment of the writer. Key
identifies the over written covert content of the literary work as the Psychoanalytical critics
does and then relates the hidden that is the covert subject matter to basic Marxist themes
like class struggle or the progression of society through various historical stages. Literature
is often looked upon as a mirror that reflects the Dynamics conflicts and contradiction of the
social context that has produced it. Christopher Caldwell was an outstanding modern
Marxist critic his famous work illusion and reality was published in 1937. the decline of
socialogical criticism in the late 1930's resulted in the emergence of anglo American new
criticism it was a healthy reaction again the older philological historical and biographical
approach to literary works. it compelled The Reader to pay close attention to be text and
respond to it instead of collecting information about the text and the author. The new
method of close reading of the text without wearing anything outside the text was the
contribution of T S Eliot and I A Richards who wanted to make criticism objective and
impersonal. JC ransom, allentate and Klean brook where major American new critics.
William Anson who was the student of I A Richard's became a celebrated British
practitioner of new criticism. In 20th century there were critics who aimed at correction of
opinion and assessment of values -it is evaluated criticism .f r leavis titled one of his critical
words revaluation others like davour Wilson, wilson Knight and Carolyn Spergen where
interested in textual ementation and application of scholarship for the elucidation of
symbolic significance of the literary work. All the three where great shakespearean critics.
wilson was famous for his Seminal work essential shakespeare published in 1932 , wilson
Knight wrote his wheel of Fire in 1949 and Caroline spurgeon published the path breaking
work on Shakespeare which is titled as Shakespeare's imagery and what it tells us in 1935 so
they were interested in revising and connecting scholarly works which is known as textual
emantation. Academic critics like sainsbury and a c Bradley where distinguished scholars of
the 20 century who maintained high standards of judgement in there criticism. some of the
critics still followed Victorian tradition in the critical approach gKchesterton Hillary belloc
and marxbeerbohm belong to this category. tS Eliot analytical critical criticism and the
theoretical works of ezra pound and T E hyumevery influential in shaping the course of of
20 century criticism but later in the century criticism came under the influences of linguistic
philosophy anthropology and history and evolved into structuralism, post structuralism and
postcolonialism.

Lecture – 10

Eliot literary criticism

In Use of poetry and use of Criticism eliot's critical work published in 1932 while
commenting on Arnold he said " from time to time every hundred years or so it is desirable
that some critics appear to review the past of literature set the poem and the poet in a new
order". Eliot himself did it in an admirable way. his Important critical works are sacred wood
published in 1920, selected essays published in 1932, use of poetry and use of Criticism in
1932, after strange gods 1933, on poetry and poets in 1957. His wellknown critical essays
are tradition and individual talent, hamlet and his problems included in the sacred wood,
and the perfect critic :the metaphysical poets and function of Criticism included in the
selected essays. Essays like the three voices of poetry and 'poetry and drama are included in
poetry and poets.as a critic eliot sought objective standards in his methods and strategies.
he Is prepared to sacrifice personal impressions for the common pursuit of true judgement.
he introduced himself as classicist in Literature and royalist in politics and Anglo Catholic in
religion. Coming under the powerful influence the American humanist IrvinBbbit and Paul
Elmor More , Eliot sought to introduce a new form of poetry and criticsm . Both Babbit and
More were associated with the American critical movement called New Humanism , they
chambianed classical virtues of retrastined and moderation. Eliot was hostile to romantic
and realistc movements in lit. and call for a return to classical standards. He stood for
claasicsm and tradition and opposed the tide of romantic criritcm which he characterised as
fragmentary, immature and chaotic. Eliot recommende discipline, order and sanity for critic.
He embraced classism because he believed that men cannot get on without giving legiance
to something outside of themselves. He believed that a crirtic of poetry was expected to
discover the nature of poetry and looked upon criticm as a branch of aesthetics. The
function of critic according to Eliot is to elucidate work of art and correct the taste and bring
permanent artistic values and standards to bear upon contemporary art. He also warns critic
to promote the understanding and enjoyment of lit. It has to tell the good from the bad ,
and the living from the dead and tried to preserve the living tradition. In his workAfter
strange gods, he defines tradition as that which involves all those habitual actions habits
and customs from the most significant religious rites to the conventional way of greeting a
stranger. Earlier in tradional and individual talent he tried to establish that tradition involved
historical saids and that without it a poet is a fantom or ghost or a figment of imagination.
Eliot was an analysticalcritc who rejected the abstract style in criticism. He also dismissed
the dogmatic critic who judges a work on the basis of some precept. He wanted to
introducedscientic enquiry into criticism and thus gave rise to anglo American new criticism.
Iarchards, leavisenossed and validated eliot’s critical method which formed the foundation
iof modern critism. Emrson and orhers developed it further. In the function of criticism he
elaborates the process of critism involved int the creative writing that’s how he
distiguiesheshimslef fr0m other criritc he gives lot of imp. to the prcess of critic involved in
creative writing itself. He describes it as the labour of swifting , combining constructing
expending correcting and testing. It’s a toy which is as much critical as creative. He goes on
to consider the criticsmempoled by atrained and skilled writer on his own work as the most
vital the highest kind of critic the creative writers the strong criritc of faculty as superior to
any such critical insight. The major influences On his crirticm were T E HYME, ezra pound
Bradley, and the American humanist Babbit and elmer more. Ezra pound and hyume were
technical innovatives who helped eliot to liberate himself from them maners exhausted d
by the victorian poets and the critics and fashion a new crirtical approach . Pounds aBc of
reading and hyume’s speculations Excersicedgrt influence o the crirtic in eliot. His search for
reality and significance of human situatuons and quest foo meaning or meaninglessness
hidden under external aspects of things were associated with the philosophy of Bradley The
britishphilo. His doctoral thesis was on Bradley’s theory of appearance and reality. His
advocacy of extension of personality in art discussed in tradition and individual talent,
dissociation of sensibility and sensuous apprehension of thought discussed in metaphysical
poets was inspired by Bradley’s thoughts. He sought to review the past of literarute to saet
the poets and poems in a new order and correct taste. He was neither a theoritican or a
crirtic of findamentals. His crirticm is not purely academic and not in any way dogmatic.
Love of details and precision governed his critical writings. They reflect the spirit of the age.
He wanted crirticm to be assessed in relation to poetry. There are stages 3 stages in his
criticm : the crirtic in the 20’s , the humanist in the 30’s and the rationalist in the last phase.
Eliot Was a critic of order and pious. His proposition to romanticism and Victorianism were
inspired by the twin ideals of objectivity and order. He was against grouse emotionalism of
romantic criticism and complacency of victoriancrirticm.

CRITICAL TERMS :

Objective correlative : the expression occurs in eliot’s essay hamlet and his problems. He
shows how emotion can be effectivey expressed in poetry. The poet has to find the proper
objective correlative or set of objects, situation or chain of events which shall be the
equillance of emotion that the poet wants to express. They evoke the intended emotion in
the readers. It is in fact objectification of emotion, In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s agony and
misery are beautifully objectified by Shakespeare. Her lack-lustre eyes and the burning taper
in her hands evoke necessary emotion but Shakespeare fails to objectify hamlet’s emotions.
There are no objects even such situations in the play which can evoke hamlet’s agony and
anguish . So eliot considers hamlet as an artistic failure.

Dissociation of sensibility : coined by eliot. This expression is used in the essay the
metaphysical poets. He identifies a particular quality in the poetry of Donne and
metaphysical poets. There is a sensuous apprehension of thought or recreation of thought
into feeling in their poetry. He calls it unified sensibility and considers it as the quality of
great poetry. It stands for the fusion of thought and feeling but he sees that there is no such
transformation thought into feeling in the poetry of late 17th century poets. He calls it
dissociation of sensibility. The poetry of Tennyson and browning too lacked the artistic
fusion of thought and feeling they think but do not feel their thought. He loved
metaphysical poetry and revived it because of its unified sensibility.

Lecture 11

Summary of tradition and individual talent

the topic is critical Summary of tradition and individual talent published in 1919. The essay tradition
and individual talent was highly influential and it contributed to the rise and hegemony that is
dominance of modernism. It declined with modernism and was subsequently treated with
contempt. Now, as postmodernism is retreating, there seems to be an organized attempt to return
to Elliot's idea of tradition. The first part of the essay deals with Elliot's concept of tradition and the
second dwells upon his theory of impersonality of poetry, Eliot discusses some vital problems of
literature in a sustained manner. The immediate object of the essay is to define poetic value and
originality. It's motivation was his own poetic preoccupations.

The essay had strong impact on history, Philosophy and aesthetic theory and artistic creativity. at the
outset Elliot observed that tradition is a grossly misunderstood and miss interpreted words in
England, the English used it in a derogatory sense, in a pejorative sense. They praised the poet for
their originality and individuality. This attitude exposed their uncritical thinking. They seldom
understand the fact that the best and most individual part of a poet's work is that which shows the
influence of the writer's of the past on him. It is where the dead poets, his ancestors assert their
immortality, most vigorously . Eliot tries to define tradition and explains how it can be a achieved.
tradition does not mean blind adherence to the previous generations of writers. This, it is only a
slavish imitation and would lead to repetition. That is such a difference to the previous generations.
Tradition, in the proper sense of the term cannot be inherited. It has to be acquired through hard
work. It involves the critical labor of accepting the good and the rejecting the bad.

sense of tradition goes with historical sense, which means the pastness and presents of the past. The
poet with the historical sense feels, the whole of the literature of Europe from Homer down to his
own day, including the literature of his own country forms one continuous literary tradition. It is the
living tradition or the simultaneous order .past literature is a synchronous entity coexisting with the
present synchronous existing At the same time. progress literature is a rectilinear continuam moving
in a straight line, continuam is continuity. it is something relative and continuous. The poetry likes it,
that the past exists in the present and the past and the present form an unbroken continuity.

It is this historic sense, that makes a writer traditional. He writes fully conscious of his generation
and his place in it. But he's conscious opposite relationship with the writers of the past Also. Apart
from tradition, right? Writer is a Phantom- a phost , a lifeless. No poet can, write in isolation, a writer
can be judged only by comparing and contrasting him with the writers of the past- tradition keeps
changing and growing. It is dynamic. The relationship between the present and the past is reciprocal
as the writer in the present allows himself to be guided by the past. The past itself is modified by the
present.a new work, if it is really original can alter and modify the entire literary tradition, it entails a
re-reading and re ordering of the literature of the past. The comparison of the work of the poet in
the present with the works of the poet's of the past is undertaken not for judgement, but for
knowing the facts about the new work, it is comparison and analysis aimed at a better
understanding of the new work.

Comparison is not one sided the present throws light on the past Also. it is Impossible to acquire
tradition by trying to know the past as a whole. Past has to be critically examined and only the
significant in it is to be acquired . However it is a sign of immaturity on the part of the poet to know
only those few poets whom he admires he should don't limit his knowledge to an age or period that
he likes. To know the tradition, the poet must identify the main literary trends , which are not
determined by the great poets alone. Unlike Arnold who chose only the best Elliot gave due
consideration to smaller poets to. The poet has to realize that art never improves .though It's
material is never the same. There may be a refinement and development, but from the point of view
of the artist, there is no improvement. Eliot foresees, the criticism against his theory of tradition. It
may be argued that a sense of tradition needs immense scholarship, and that there are great poets
who are not learned enough, but Eliot pre ems, such criticism, he nullifies neutralizes such crirticsm
saying that knowledge can be acquired easily without much toil. It need not be bookish knowledge,
but he certain that awareness of tradition enriches creativity.

The past, according to Elliot is something which is altering perpetually when viewed from our ever
changing perspectives. It depends on us as much as we depend on it. Elliot's brilliant move to bring
together these two perceptions of time is crucial to his idea of tradition. The concept of tradition,
represents Elliot search for unity and order in politics, sociology, and literature, and emphasizes the
need for stability and coherence in the disintegrating postwar world and collapsing culture. The
theory of tradition is a reworking of the philosophical principles of Bradley the British philosopher. In
fact, the text behind BSA prediction and individual talent is Elliot's doctoral thesies on the philosophy
of Bradley, which he wrote at Harvard completed in England in 1916, but was prevented from
submitting by the world war. The second part of the essay focuses on Elliott's theory of
impersonality. He States that the artist must continually surrender himself to something, but it's
more valuable than himself, but it's tradition. He must allow his poetic sensibility to be shaped by
the past. It's a lifelong process. His individuality may assert itself in the beginning, but he should
learn to ensure the extinction of his personality thus he can achieve objectivity and de-personalise
his emotions. It enables him to embrace tradition and express it in his poetry.

The poets mind is the catalyst and the poetic process-The chemical reaction, the chemical reaction
takes place in the presence of the catalyst. Similarly poets , mind is the catalyst that combines
different emotions to produce something new. The catalyst in the reactions remains inert, neutral
and unaffected. In the poetic process, the new combination is not affected by the poet's mind as the
point achieves artistic maturity, the mind which creates at the man who suffers will be completely
separate. The man suffers, but it is the mind that transforms his experience into something new. The
personality of the poet is not expressedin poetry. Elliot distinguishes between artistic emotion,
which he calls significant emotion and personal emotion of the poet, the emotions in keat's "Ode to
a Nightingale" have nothing to do with Keat's personal emotions. The points personal emotions are
not expressed in the poem. It is not his business to find new emotions Either .emotions can be very
ordinary. But the poet may, lend new significance and meaning to them, it did not be his personal
emotion at all. Elliott rejects wordsworth's theory that poetry originates from emotions recollected
in tranquility on this grounds.

eliot concludes with the observation that poetry is not the turning loose of emotion, but an escape
from emotion. It is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. The poet may
have personality and emotions, but he should deeper slice it and undergo a surrender of personality
or ensure its extinction. The poet achives a saintly renunciation rejection of the self, which leads to
impersonality. The theory of impersonality does not deny subjectivism, but sets out to put the
author in his place and to liberate the poem from his narcissism, his love for himself.