T.S. Eliot and the Objective Correlative Explained
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The Concept of the Objective Correlative
For T.S. Eliot, the location of emotion in poetry cannot be within the poem itself. It may exist in the poet and the reader, but never in the poem. How, then, can we transmit emotion to the reader without placing it directly in the poem? The answer lies in the objective correlative. According to Eliot, this is the only way to convey emotion while maintaining the principle of impersonality in poetry.
The Process of the Objective Correlative
The process functions as follows: the poet experiences an emotion and wishes for the reader to share it, yet cannot express it directly. The solution is to replace the emotion with an object—the objective correlative—and hope that when the reader encounters this object,... Continue reading "T.S. Eliot and the Objective Correlative Explained" »