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What term does Eliot use to describe the universal element that evokes emotion in poetry?

ASimultaneous order

BObjective correlative

CHistorical sense

DCatalyst effect

Answer:

B. Objective correlative

Read Explanation:

  • "Tradition and the Individual Talent" (1919) is an essay written by poet and literary critic T. S. Eliot.

  • The essay was first published in The Egoist (1919) and later in Eliot's first book of criticism, "The Sacred Wood" (1920).

  • The essay is also available in Eliot's "Selected Prose" and "Selected Essays".

  • The essay highlights Eliot’s critical principles related to his notion of “tradition” and delineates the importance of the sense of history in writing and understanding poetry.

  • Eliot argues that poetry should be impersonal, which means that poetry should be independent of the personality of the poet.

  • The essay is divided into three parts. In the first part, Eliot explains his idea of tradition; the second part deals with Eliot’s theory of the impersonality of poetry; and the third part sums up his critical assessment.

  • While Eliot is most often known for his poetry, he also contributed to the field of literary criticism.

  • In this dual role, he acted as a cultural critic, comparable to Sir Philip Sidney and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

  • "Tradition and the Individual Talent" is one of the more well known works that Eliot produced in his critic capacity.

  • It formulates Eliot's influential conception of the relationship between the poet and preceding literary traditions.


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