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Rabia Imtiaz (161651063)

Ma’am Ayesha Mumtaz

Literary Criticism

BS English Literature Semester VI

04-03-2019

T.S. Eliot’s concept of Tradition

T.S. Eliot is a great poet and literary critic of the twentieth century. In his essay ‘Tradition and
the Individual Talent’, Eliot has changed the notion and idea of tradition. Arnold has the view
that traditional or historical estimate is a false estimate whereas Eliot has the word ‘Tradition’ in
the very title. It means in his essay we will see great significance for notion of tradition.

In the start of this essay he presents a new meaning of using tradition as the adjective , as he
writes ‘We cannot refer to ‘the tradition’ or ‘to a tradition’; at most, we employ the adjective in
saying that the poetry of So-and-so is traditional or even ‘too traditional’. He says we should
include the writer’s connection with living and dead artists for their appreciation. For him,
criticism is as inevitable as breathing. He also insists on the idea that individual traits are more
important but he favours the inclusion of some parts or traditional traits of dead poets or
predecessors. Eliot praises tradition in a different manner. For best poetry, the poet must have
copy historical traits but Eliot rejects to follow tradition in a ‘blind or timid way’. This is not
useful and this ‘tradition’ should be ‘discouraged’. His keywords are ‘novelty is better than
repetition’ so the use of traditional traits does mean sacrificing newness. Tradition is a matter of
wider significance and makes us question, can it be inherited, Eliot says no it can’t, he rejected
blind adherence and says you must acquire it with ‘great labour’ and conscious efforts like
Coleridge said. By saying this he opposes Mathew Arnold who rejects traditional estimate.

Next Eliot tells us, what makes a writer traditional that is, in the first place it demands ‘historical
sense’ and it involves a ‘perception’ which further includes ‘pastness of past’ and also its
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‘presence’, so poet should consider past which has gone by and past of present. The historical
sense forces a writer to write for both his own generation but must have feeling for ‘whole of the
literature of Europe’ because at that time writers started forgetting their past culture as it has
been rightly noted, Eliot’s conscious cultivation of a sense of tradition and his constant search for
a tradition implies the extent to which his native culture had lost the values of its past and is an
indication of the decay of the European culture in general*, that’s why he forces great
importance on past and tradition as it has a ‘simultaneous existence’ and create a ‘simultaneous
order’. This wider vision encourages you to be a good poet.

Further he tells how to give value to any artist, if you want to value a poet you must have to
value other dead poets or artists. No artist has his complete interpretation alone, he cannot be
valued in isolation but with ‘contrast and comparison’. When a new poet comes, the existing
order of previous works should be altered and shaken so the relation of each work will be
readjusted and who understands this idea will be aware of ‘great difficulties and
responsibilities’. Poet must not be judged by ‘standards of past’ that is he is not supposed to
follow dead poets but there should be a strict ‘comparison’.

If a poet wants to be called traditional and strong relation with past he should not take ‘past as a
lump’, not rely on personal likeness and ‘preferred period’ just like Arnold says personal
estimate is false. In fact he should consider ‘main current’ where all artists connected with each
other and must conscious about that ‘art never improves’. No one has right to change existing
arts but their value should be same to remain in main current. ‘Self-sacrifice’ and
‘depersonalization’ is important for an artist relation to the sense of tradition. His work must not
include traces of his personality. So if you want to be a traditional you should have to detach
yourself because mind and personality are separate, in this way mind will perfectly digest and
transform ‘the passions’. We can conclude with this, Eliot has reconstructed the meaning and
function of tradition.

Reference
*Sean Lucy, T. S. Eliot and the Idea of Tradition (London: Cohen & West, 1960), p. 18.