Ans.
The
Dramatic Element in T.S. Eliot’s Poetry
According to
Eliot,”all great poetry tends towards drama” and this statement is practically used by Eliot in his
works. He was essentially dramatic. His
early poetry upto The Waste Land was
predominantly dramatic in nature.
Dramatic
Characters:-
The dramatic
quality of Eliot’s poetry lies in the creation of characters like ‘Prufrock’ .
When sincerely observe you can find that
Eliot has created an army of unrealistic characters . There is no action
or suffering of the character is visible, they are just a combination of ‘name and voice’.
Interior
Monologue – struggle in human Mind:-
In Eliot’s
poetry drama arises from the clash of
opposites in human mind or conscious . He
brought us into the subconscious
of his personages and show their
struggle with doubts and indecisions. He
consider human mind as a battle-ground for the forces of Good and Evil.the
sensual and the spiritual, the beastial and the devine . Prufrock is a good
example . He wants to enjoy the pleasures of love and intimacy , but unable to
decide . The dramatic quality of the poem arouses from Prufrock’s struggle with
himself to make a decision. This technique we can call ‘interior monologue’.
Dramatic
Objectivity in T.S. Eliot’s Poetry:-
This is
another quality of Eliot . His dramatic art is completely objective in nature ,
not a single example of subjective way of expression found in his dramatic
works at large. Objectivity means expression of thoughts through characters and
not directly from the mouth of the poet. The dramatic personae is the life line
of the of the poem . whole actions and thoughts in the poem relates to him
only. In Love Song , Prufrock is that central personae and the entire poem is
projection of his consciousness only. On the other hand Tiresias is central
figure of The Waste Land . The past and present, skillfully built contrasts are
all focused through his consciousness .
Eliot’s
Poetry Extremely in Nature:-
Eliot
cultivated this difficulty voluntarily and knowingly . His poetry was a
reaction against Georgian and Edwardian poetry of romantic tradition. That poetry was popular but was not great as
per Eliot. He did not like subtle , metrical, linguistic , intellectual or
emotional greatness of that poetry as very base of the poetry was worthless
according to Eliot. He revolted against this type of simple poetry and decided
to write poetry require ‘efforts’ i.e. mental concentration of the poet as well
as of the reader .
It was
because Georgian and Edwardian poetry was of imaginary world , there was no
trace of present world and its complexities . On the other hand Eliot thought
poet had to mirror a civilization infinitely more complex and intricate
(obscure) than the previous . Thus , the intricacy of his poetry is what a
reflection of the condition of life. According to Eliot poetry in the modern
age must be difficult in order to reflect the complexities of modern life.
Use of
New Technique:-
In order to
express new condition it requires to use new technique. He cultivates all the
possibilities of the words as a medium of expression. He used mythical methods,
symbolic techniques implication irony etc. to convey his meaning.
Borrowing:- ‘Poetic Shorthand as per I. A.
Richard’
Eliot’s
poetry became difficult also due to borrowing on large scale, he was familiar
with European literature, right from Homer down to present day ,the Hindu, the Buddhist, other
oriental philosophies – literature ,ancient or primitive myths-legends and
Biblical mythology and legends furnished him with allusion and quotations.
In the waste land alone there are allusions
and references to at least twenty five different writers and passages from at
least six languages.
Condensation
or Compression:-
Absence of logical links,
Under the
influence of Ezra Pound Eliot used compression and condensation in poetry. All
connecting links, grammatical signs of connection and order which serve as sign
posts for the guidance of the readers are ruthlessly eliminated. Even
I.A.Richards justified Eliot’s technique by saying that ‘The Waste Land’ is equivalent in content to an epic, without these
devices twelve books would have been needed. It also give flexibility to the
verses which helps unification of opposites.
Profundity
of Thought:- As Eliot’s art matured his style became simpler , allusions and
quotations came to be sparingly used , but the thought became more profound and
difficult . He probed deeper and deeper into the human soul , analysis human
emotions in subconscious and unconscious .
Difficult
but not Obscure:-
Eliot’s poetry
may be difficult but it is not obscure . It requires some labour , some ‘brain
work’ on the part of the reader . After that hard work the thought becomes
clear and a hard core of wisdom is discovered. Eliot says,” genuine poetry can
communicate before it is understood . I.A. Richards called Eliot’s poetry being ’music of ideas’ . This is a key to understand his poetry.
Conclusion:-
We should
first allow the images and symbols to
sink into the mind , where they would gradually combine and blend into a
coherent whole. I n this sense the general sense of the poem would become clear
and then the reader may pass on to a particular detail.
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