Question

Which of the following best describes Eliot’s concept of depersonalization in poetry?

• A. The poet must express their own intense personal emotions.
• B. The poet surrenders their personality to tradition.
• C. The poet should focus only on imaginative spontaneity.
• D. The poet must deliberately recollect emotions in tranquility.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. The poet surrenders their personality to tradition.

Eliot’s concept of depersonalization refers to the poet’s surrendering of their personality to the authority of tradition. He argues that poetry is not about personal expression, but about self-negation and absorption into tradition. This stands against Romantic ideals of personal emotion in poetry