T.S. Eliot and Literary Influences

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Questions and Answers

What is a distinctive feature of modernist poetry, as seen in poems like 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' and The Waste Land?

Emphasis on traditional poetic forms

Focus on nature and the natural world

Simple and direct language

Loaded with intertextual references (correct)

What does William Wordsworth's 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads' reject?

The idea that poetry should be formal and structured

The idea that poetry should be emotional and personal

The importance of the poet's individual talent

The elevated poetic diction of 18th-century neoclassical poetry (correct)

What is the role of the poet, according to William Wordsworth?

To communicate the passions of men and bind humanity together (correct)

To reflect the poet's own emotions and experiences

To create elaborate, ornate language

To imitate the styles of earlier poets

What is the relationship between the past and the present in poetry, according to T.S. Eliot?

The past is altered by the present, and the present is directed by the past Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of poetry, according to William Wordsworth?

To present incidents and situations from common life in an unusual way Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between the poet and the past, according to T.S. Eliot?

The poet inherits the past, but only through great effort Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of poetry, according to William Wordsworth?

To present truth carried alive to the heart by passion Signup and view all the answers

What is T.S. Eliot's view of poetry and the individual poet?

Poetry is an escape from personality and emotion Signup and view all the answers

What was the officer's occupation in the Royal Naval Division?

An officer Signup and view all the answers

What is the theme of the 'war sonnets' written by the officer in 1914?

Nationalist feeling Signup and view all the answers

Where was the officer buried after his death?

Skyros Signup and view all the answers

What literary movement is the poem's style reminiscent of?

Modernist Poetry Signup and view all the answers

What is the tone of the poem's description of England?

Nostalgic Signup and view all the answers

What is the poem's use of personification an example of?

Intertextuality Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of the poet's work according to the passage?

Using ordinary emotions to express feelings beyond actual emotions Signup and view all the answers

What is the poet's goal in creating poetry, according to the passage?

To escape from emotion and personality Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of 'emotion recollected in tranquility' in the passage?

It is an inexact formula for the poet's work Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between the poet's emotions and their poetry?

The poet's emotions are not directly related to their poetry Signup and view all the answers

What is the key to achieving impersonality in poetry, according to the passage?

Surrendering oneself to the work to be done Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the 'present moment of the past' in the passage?

It is a moment of awareness of what is already living Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic of the poet's emotions, according to the passage?

Simple and crude Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between the poet's emotions and the emotions expressed in their poetry?

The poet's emotions are personal, while the emotions in their poetry are impersonal Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

T.S. Eliot's Poetry

Enlarges meaning by echoing major and minor past poets, philosophers, dramatists, popular songs, western and eastern religions, and works of anthropology and history
His poems, such as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and The Waste Land, are modernist and loaded with intertextual references
Won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948

William Wordsworth's Poetry

Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1800) is a revolutionary manifesto about the nature of poetry
Attacks elevated poetic diction of 18th C neoclassical poetry and rejects traditional principle of decorum
Poetry can present incidents and situations from common life with imagination
Defines poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of feelings"
A poet is a man speaking to men, endowed with sensibility, tenderness, and a comprehensive soul

T.S. Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent" (1919)

Tradition cannot be inherited, but only obtained by great effort
Involves a perception of the pastness of the past and its presence
A poet's meaning is not complete without considering the past
The past should be altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past
Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon poetry

T.S. Eliot's Views on Poetry and Emotions

Poetry is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality
Poetry is not the turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion
The poet's business is not to find new emotions, but to use ordinary ones
Emotions in poetry are impersonal and require the poet to surrender themselves wholly to the work

Rupert Brooke's Life and Poetry

Was an officer in the Royal Naval Division
Wrote patriotic pastoral poems, known as the "war sonnets", in 1914
Died of dysentery on a troop-ship destined for Gallipoli
Buried on the island of Skyros

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Description

Explore the literary influences and styles of T.S. Eliot, a renowned poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. His poetry is known for its intertextual references and echoes of past poets and philosophers.