T.S. Eliot's Critical Theories and Literary Impact

T.S. Eliot's Influence on Literary Criticism

T.S. Eliot was an influential figure in literature. While the literary canon naturally changes with society, Eliot managed single-handedly to modify the canon of English literature through his criticism.

Revitalizing and Reshaping the Canon

He revitalized whole periods of English literature that were almost forgotten, including:

• The Jacobean drama
• Metaphysical poets
• John Dryden
• The poetry of Dante
• Symbolist poetry

However, he also criticized Romantic poetry, managing to impose a dislike for it because he felt it descended into sentimentalism.

Eliot's Critical Concepts

He introduced a series of critical concepts that have exerted an enormous influence on how criticism was conducted in the 20th century. For Eliot, criticism was a byproduct, akin to waste left over from an industrial process. Though not as overtly offensive as Ezra Pound, Eliot was conscious that the main product was poetry itself; thinking and writing about poetry were secondary.

He introduced concepts that affected 20th-century criticism, notably:

Impersonal Poetry and the Creative Process

Eliot's theory of impersonal poetry states that once a poem is composed and finished, there is no relationship whatsoever between the poem and the poet. The poem becomes independent and autonomous, unrelated to its author. Therefore, explaining the poem with reference to the poet's life or intentions is committing a fallacy (an explanation by origins). All necessary elements for the interpretation of a poem reside within the poem itself. Any emotion perceived in the poem should not be automatically attributed to the poet.

The work of art stands alone.

The poem has its own life.

The feeling or emotion resulting from the poem is distinct from any feeling or emotion in the mind of the poet. What happens in the poem does not necessarily relate to the poet's personal experiences.

Creation involves bringing something new into existence. Thus, literary creation cannot be explained simply by its origins. To create original poetry, one cannot merely rely on expressing one's own personality or imitating another's.

Poetry, for Eliot, is not an avenue for liberating personal feelings but rather an escape from them. Your poetry should be as distant as possible from your immediate feelings at the moment of writing.

Emotions can exist within the poem, but they should be modified, objectified, or hidden. There is the artist, and there is the person who suffers. The more separate these two are, the better the poetry.

Interestingly, when Eliot wrote poetry himself, he did not always strictly follow his own theoretical principles. He championed a theory of impersonal poetry, yet his own poetic works are often deeply personal.