Tradition and the Individual Talent

I was surprised about after reading this, that I actually understood it and found it somewhat interesting. It shocked me that the same man who wrote this also wrote The Wasteland, the world's most difficult piece to read.

I really liked how T.S. Eliot was saying that in writing, there is not really a "tradition". There is really no set standard on how to write, and the English language actually encourages uniqueness and individuality. Eliot says, "Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative, but its own critical turn of mind; and is even more oblivious of the shortcomings and limitations of its critical habits than of those of its creative genius". What I think Eliot is saying is that a writer is able to think and write critically and creatively; there are no limitations.

I also like whenever Eliot says, "To conform merely would be for the new work not really to conform at all; it would not be new, and would therefore not be a work of art." A writer or poet's central goal is to be different and to not conform to another writer. A writer should set their own standards of writing. If a writer can accomplish this difference in writing, then to me, that is what makes a great writer.

I also like how Eliot says that writing is no good unless it is critiqued and criticized. It is important for a writer to understand his shortcomings in order to improve. The writer should not be criticized but the writing.

There is one more quote that I found interesting. It says, "Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality". What I think this means is that poetry is a way for a person to escape their own lives and create a world in which one can say whatever they want without offending anyone.