Consider the Following Two Different Views of Poetry: ‘Ly Poetry Is the Expression by the Poet of His Own Feelings’ (Ruskin) vs. ‘Poe Is Not a Turning Loose of Emotions, but an Escape from Emotion’ (T.S. Eliot).

Consider the Following Two Different Views of Poetry: ‘Ly Poetry Is the Expression by the Poet of His Own Feelings’ (Ruskin) vs. ‘Poe Is Not a Turning Loose of Emotions, but an Escape from Emotion’ (T.S. Eliot).

  • Submitted By: mads547
  • Date Submitted: 11/18/2008 7:21 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1836
  • Page: 8
  • Views: 1156

Consider the following two different views of poetry: ‘Lyric poetry is the expression by the poet of his own feelings’ (Ruskin) vs. ‘Poetry is not a turning loose of emotions, but an escape from emotion’ (T.S. Eliot).

There are various theories regarding the meaning of ‘Poetry’. Many different types of poetry; for example lyric, epic, love poems, elegies and the dramatic monologue, contain varying subject matter and differing voices. The subjects of poems include emotions and objects, with cultural contexts also having a dramatic influence on a poet and his poetry. The voice of a poem can be private, distanced or self-conscious, making the reader question whether it is the poets true anxieties. A particular style of poetry can demand a certain writing style and distance from the poet himself, such as the dramatic monologue, but the poet’s own feelings or thoughts can still be expressed. All conflicting theories have to be considered, as one assumption cannot be made on all styles and meanings of poetry.
In Eliot’s Tradition and the Individual Talent, he discusses the tradition of poetry and the notion of criticism. He has a negative view: ‘The progress of an artist is a continual self-sacrifice, a continual extinction of personality.’[1] Eliot argues that art is essentially impersonal, the mind being only a store of elements that eventually form to make a compound.[2] Eliot does go on to confess, ‘only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to escape from these things.’[3] He sees that significant emotion is ‘emotion which has its life in the poem, and not in the history of the poet.’[4] In Eliot’s poem, ‘The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock’, Eliot exposes the conscious experience and uncertainty of an everyday man, but the poems undertone is a manifesto for poetry. It tells the reader to just read the poem as a process, ‘Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”’ It can be seen that Eliot is making these grand statements to justify his writing. He...

Similar Essays