Persistance et rejet du victorianisme chez T.S. Eliot

International audienceAfter The Victorian Age comes The Age of T.S. Eliot in the history of English Literature. Yet, even if scholars have often stressed that T.S. Eliot's poetry had consecrated a way out of Victorianism, some kind of continuity becomes apparent after a close scrutiny of Eliot's notion of tradition. If his art of writing is founded on a perfect command of philosophical and critical concepts which Victorians lacked, his own personal evolution also reveals a thorough exploration of Victorian issues and fears. Through his quest for an adequation of thought and feeling in poetry, which led him gradually to the mystery of the Incarnation, T.S. Eliot discovered a way to rejuvenate the true significance of Western civilisation and to reject the Victorian interpretation of Kulturkritik._The Age of T.S. Eliot_ suit chronologiquement _The Victorian Age_ dans l'histoire de la littérature anglaise, mais au-delà d'une sortie du victorianisme il convient de parler d'une continuité au vu de l'importance cruciale que revêt chez lui la notion de tradition. Si sa technique d'écriture révèle un aplomb conceptuel qui manque aux victoriens, il faut néanmoins voir dans son évolution personnelle un approfondissement des peurs et des enjeux propres au victorianisme. Grâce à sa quête en direction d'une adéquation parfaite entre le sentir et la pensée, Eliot entrevoit la possibilité de reprendre le sens de la civilisation occidentale, et de rejeter le paradigme victorien de la kulturkritik par l'évocation d'une mémoire de l'Incarnation à travers le temps

In Search of the Grail: The Poetic Development of T.S. Eliot

In Poets of Reality, Joseph Hillis Miller seeks to establish T.S. Eliot as a precursor of the modern movement towards romantic. subjectivism. By applying his phenomenological critique, Miller claims that several major modern writers, including Eliot, adopt aesthetics based on various forms of philosophical monism. The point underlying this thesis is that Eliot stands opposed to any such position and, until 1930, breaks with philosophy, monistic or otherwise. His art from this period is instead characterized by a search for solution in poetic artifice, a pure art. However, with Ash Wednesday, the poet once again enters fully into the realm of ideas, and by Four Quartets has achieved a synthesis of art and idea that is clearly dualistic in nature and affirms the importance of a progressive, and not destructive tradition. All of this he finally undergirds with a logocentric belief in language as a vehicle to be purified, far from the linguistic nihilism of Miller\u27s Yale School colleague, Jacques Derrida

Heraclitean logos and flux in T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets: 'cosmic consciousness' and 'the still point of the turning world'

T.S. Eliot prefaces “Burnt Norton”, the first of his Four Quartets, with two quotations from the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. By means of these epigrams, Eliot points us to the Heraclitean opposition and paradoxical interdependence between logos and flux as a paradigm in the poem, a paradigm that he uses for an investigation and articulation of a number of philosophical contemplations. In this paper, I discuss Eliot’s different configurations of the logos/flux paradigm in the poem, firstly to illuminate the relationship between temporality and eternity, secondly, to elaborate the relationship between God and humanity, and thirdly to express the relationship between structured art and chaotic experience. In each instance it is not only the opposition between the two elements that is important, but also the point of contact, the intersection. There is some evidence that Eliot’s depiction of this intersection as, for example, the “moment in and out of time”, is based on personal experience of a transcendent, mystical nature. His expression of this experience is also investigated by comparing it to similar experiences described by others, notably by a Canadian psychiatrist, Richard Maurice Bucke. A comparison of Bucke’s description in his evolutionist text of 1901 and Eliot’s poetic rendering reveals not only surprising similarities but also essential differences which highlights Eliot’s purely Christian interpretation in the face of Bucke’s more universalist approach. For T.S. Eliot, eternity or timelessness can only be accessed through the temporal experience of human consciousness, in fleeting moments of exaltation in daily life, in the charged, timeless configurations of art as an imitation of divine creation, and finally in Christ, who embodies the love of God and is for Eliot the ultimate transection of the temporal and eternal, the flux and the logos

Eliot\u27s Masterpiece and Downfall: New Poetics and \u3cem\u3eThe Waste Land\u3c/em\u3e

In the early 1900s, T.S. Eliot aimed to create a poetry that relied on the creation of images rather than rhetoric, that denied complete unity of theme in favor of individual feelings, and that acted as a medium for the communication of the poet\u27s subconscious. Additionally, he desired that after its creation poetry be criticized not in terms of its ideological content or meaning, but rather its artistic value and its ability to create emotion in the reader. Eliot\u27s method both succeeded and failed in his poetic work, The Waste Land. Although this work aptly followed each of Eliot\u27s poetic guidelines and became an admirable embodiment of his new poetic, criticism of the work paid less attention to its artistic worth and more to its implied meaning and function as a reflection of the author. The failure of the work to be viewed as Eliot wished it to be can be attributed to both the nature of literary criticism and, ironically, the success of the artist in making his art as he wished it to be, a manifestation of the poet\u27s subconscious

The Helpfulness of T.S. Eliot’s Critical Ideas in Understanding his Own Poetry

At the present paper, we aim at explaining T.S. Eliot’s own poetry considering his own essayson the art of writing poetry. Thomas Stern Eliot (1888-1965) was a British essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, being regarded “one of the twentieth century’s major poets” (Bush, 1999) in the English language. Eliot’s poetry was seen as representative of the Modernist movement, beginning with The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock(1915) and followed by some of the best-known poems, including The Waste Land (1922), The Hollow Men (1925), Ash Wednesday (1930) and Four Quartets (1943), among others. He was also known for his work as a playwright, although he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 due to his pioneer contribution to nowadays poetry.T.S. Eliot also made significant contributions to the field of literary criticism, strongly influencing the school of New Criticism. It is, in fact, this arena of the literary criticism the main topic which will be dealt throughout the whole paper. In the current essay, we will explain Eliot’s critical ideas, in other words, what he conceives of poetry and the art on writing poetry, and how his own critical ideas influence on his own poetry. The poet introduces the idea that the value of a work of art must be viewed in the context of the artist’s previous works. He also covers the idea of an objective correlative which shall be dealt with in this paper. We should also consider that Eliot revived, when writing his own poetry, the interest in the Metaphysical Poets as well as in Shakespeare and, specifically, in Hamlet. After having explained the existing relationship between his own criticism and his own poetry, we will conclude the current paper by explaining what Eliot conceives of the concept of communicating.Keywords: English literature; Poetry; Modern poetry; Literary Criticism;art of poetry; Metaphysical Poets

The Poetic Theory of T.S. Eliot: An Investigation

Few critics have had a greater impact upon the theory of poetry than T.S. Eliot. His critical works, spanning the decades of his literary career, embody a theory of poetry and by a careful scrutiny of his many essays, reviews and interviews, it is possible to formulate definite requirements for works in the genre of poetry. Beginning with the essay “Tradition and the Individual Talent” in 1919, Eliot stresses certain aspects of poetry that must be carefully considered by the poet, and Eliot does not radically alter his attitudes throughout his career. Eliot insists in his earliest essays that the poet must recognize the value of tradition to his work. To Eliot, tradition represents not only a knowledge of the past, but an assimilation of this past into one’s life. The artist must have a definite sense of tradition and realize that his work does not stand apart from all other art. Rather, each new work of art will modify the old existing order. Another element of poetry that Eliot considers important is prosody. Eliot insists that free verse is impossible; the poet can only thoroughly master technique, then has he the freedom to depart from the standard forms. Eliot cautions the poet to not sacrifice the sense of a line for its sound, yet always be aware that the musicality reinforces the meaning of the poem. Perhaps the most familiar term Eliot uses is objective correlative. Although much has been written about his meaning, Eliot basically uses the term to signify the objectification of emotions and thoughts; it is a technique to elevate the subjective into the objective, while retaining a sense of immediacy. Eliot never concedes that poetry should only be a personal statement; the poet may begin with very personal feelings, but he must transform them into an impersonal statement. This demand by Eliot for impersonality includes his belief that the poet can best express the universal through the particular. He believes the imagery should be definite and specific. The poet should also use the vernacular speech of his era; he must avoid the appearance of artificiality of language. Finally Eliot comes to a clear position toward the role of philosophy in poetry. Early in his career he argued that no poet should sacrifice the quality of the poem artistically in order to employ it as a vehicle for a particular philosophy. Eliot, recognizing that a poet will incorporate personal beliefs into the poem, insists that these views should be there almost unconsciously. A too conscious striving to use poetry only as a statement of philosophy Eliot views as corrupting the role poetry should play. To Eliot, the function of poetry is to serve as an aesthetically satisfying expression of universal truths

Crave, uma escrita teatralizante, sua tradução

Orientador : Caetano Waldrigues GalindoDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras. Defesa: Curitiba, 18/08/2012Inclui referências : f. 84-87Resumo: Busco compreender alguns dos projetos estéticos com que a peça "Crave" (Ânsia) de Sarah Kane dialoga - teatro pós-dramático, arte performance, ritual, atos performativos de fala, colagem, intertextualidade. A partir dessas convenções, e atenta à influência de Beckett, T.S. Eliot e Artaud em sua trajetória, proponho uma nova tradução do texto dramático, observando seus aspectos rítmicos e líricos. Palavras-chave: Sarah Kane, dramaturgia, performance, teatro pós-dramático, intertextualidade.Abstract: My effort, in the present work, is to understand some of the aesthetic contexts surrounding the play "Crave", from Sarah Kane - post-dramatic theatre, performance art, ritual, performative acts of speech, collage, intertextuality. From these conventions, and listening to the influence of Beckett, T.S. Eliot, Strindberg and Artaud in her trajectory, I propose a new translation of "Crave", paying attention to its rhythmic and poetic aspects. Keywords: Sarah Kane, dramaturgy, post-dramatic theatre, performance, intertextualit

María Zambrano: El rostro de Europa y la "noche oscura de lo humano"

En aquest article s'analitza la importància de l'assaig de María Zambrano "La destrucción de las formas" (1944) com a precedent de l'art de l'Informalisme i la seva interpretació de la physis i de la màscara com a elements claus per a la comprensió de l'abstracció europea a partir de la Segona Guerra Mundial.  Per a Zambrano, en la "noche oscura de lo humano", el món es converteix, com escriu també T.S. Eliot en Four Quartets, un lloc de solitud i de davallament cap al retrobament de l'home i la possibilitat inèdita de la paraula.This article draws attention to the importance of María Zambrano’s essay "La destrucción de las formas" (1944) as a precedent for informalist art, and it also analyzes Zambrano’s interpretation of the notions of physis and the mask as key elements to the understanding of European abstraction after the Second World War. In the "Dark Night of the Human" Zambrano suggests that the world becomes, as T.S. Eliot also notes in Four Quartets, a lonely place that descends towards a reunion with humanity and the unprecedented possibilities of the word.En este artículo se señala la importancia del ensayo de María Zambrano "La destrucción de las formas" (1944) como precedente del arte del Informalismo y se analiza su interpretación de la physis y de la máscara como elementos clave para la comprensión de la abstracción europea a partir de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Para Zambrano, en la "noche oscura de lo humano", el mundo se convierte, como escribe también T.S. Eliot en Four Quartets, en un lugar de soledad y de caída hacia el reencuentro del hombre y la posibilidad inédita de la palabra

María Zambrano : el rostre d'Europa i la "noche oscura de lo humano"

En aquest article s'analitza la importància de l'assaig de María Zambrano "La destrucción de las formas" (1944) com a precedent de l'art de l'Informalisme i la seva interpretació de la physis i de la màscara com a elements claus per a la comprensió de l'abstracció europea a partir de la Segona Guerra Mundial. Per a Zambrano, en la "noche oscura de lo humano", el món es converteix, com escriu també T.S. Eliot en Four Quartets, un lloc de solitud i de davallament cap al retrobament de l'home i la possibilitat inèdita de la paraula.This article draws attention to the importance of María Zambrano's essay "La destrucción de las formas" (1944) as a precedent for informalist art, and it also analyzes Zambrano's interpretation of the notions of physis and the mask as key elements to the understanding of European abstraction after the Second World War. In the "Dark Night of the Human" Zambrano suggests that the world becomes, as T.S. Eliot also notes in Four Quartets, a lonely place that descends towards a reunion with humanity and the unprecedented possibilities of the word.En este artículo se señala la importancia del ensayo de María Zambrano "La destrucción de las formas" (1944) como precedente del arte del Informalismo y se analiza su interpretación de la physis y de la máscara como elementos clave para la comprensión de la abstracción europea a partir de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Para Zambrano, en la "noche oscura de lo humano", el mundo se convierte, como escribe también T.S. Eliot en Four Quartets, en un lugar de soledad y de caída hacia el reencuentro del hombre y la posibilidad inédita de la palabra

Laurence Binyon and the modernists: Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Marinetti

This article will claim that Laurence Binyon deserves a re-assessment for two reasons: his critical work has echoes in the poetic theory of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot, and, secondly, he was a pivotal figure for the avant-garde in Britain. Although Binyon started his career in the late Victorian period and his work may not appear to diverge from that of his direct predecessors, he was susceptible to some of the most innovative artistic movements of the early twentieth century. His early texts on Chinese and Japanese art show that Binyon was much more modern than Pound’s biographers claim, and his work needs to be assessed in that light. Binyon’s use of the term “make it new” long before Pound first mentioned it, and his progressive poetics in “Poetry and Modern Life”, are particularly interesting for our thesis