Poets on Poetry - T. S. Eliot
Quotations and Excerpts from Master Poets, Reflecting Upon the Poetic Craft
can communicate
before it is understood."
"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.
But, of course,
only those who have personality and emotions
know what it means
to want to escape from these things."
T.S. Eliot
(1888 - 1965)
Nobel Prize winner T.S. Eliot took an innovative approach to poetry, viewing the poetic craft as an outlet for creativity, rather than an emotional catharsis. His poetry reflected this stance, often focusing on serious and meaty topics, rather than feelings and intangibles of life.
At the same time, Eliot expertly explored humor and unusual poetic forms, as with "Mr. Mistoffelees":
And we all say: Oh!
Well, I never!
Was there ever
A cat so clever
As magical Mr. Mistoffelees!
I love this dichotomy, as I think it offers a balanced view of reality. Poetry may offer both writers and readers much more than an outlet or an escape. Surely, valid expression and amusement may often coexist creatively in well-crafted poetry.
According to Eliot,
"Our high respect for a well-read person is praise enough for literature."
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- Poets on Poetry - Carl Sandburg
- Poets on Poetry - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Poets on Poetry - W. H. Auden
- Poets on Poetry - Emily Dickinson
- Poets on Poetry - Edgar Allan Poe
- Poets on Poetry - Robert Browning
- Poets on Poetry - Robert Frost
- Born in St. Louis, Thomas Stearns Eliot studied at Harvard, Paris' Sorbonne and London's Oxford.
- He is best known for his poems, "The Waste Land" and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."
- Eliot also wrote dramas, such as "Murder in the Cathedral" and "The Family Reunion."
12 Comments
Post a CommentCome get some, Taylor!! Are you in college yet?!
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This guy looks like a slicked back Italian!
Linda- I am not a poetry buff at all. For some reason, though, T. S. Elliot's work always speaks to me. I especially love his: "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." This has a spiritual message that I think, for me, aims at finding who we are beneath the chatter of the ego. Thanks for the article.
Great job on this - I love the look at how great poets think of poetry. What I love about Eliot's poetry is that it manages to elicit emotion without reeking of emotion. His poetry is not unemotional, by any means. Rather than focusing on emoting, though, he used precise language, powerful imagery, and expressive language that allows readers to experience their own emotions - rather than trying to tap into those of the poet.
Poetry is not limited to any style or topic, that is what it is all about.
Good artical :)
Fantastic work on this one !!
Another wonderful article.
Another inspired poetry article.