T.S. Eliot’s Use of Prose, Research Paper Example

The development of Modernism presented a fundamentally altered world from that of the past.  The historic framework of social and political beliefs were being replaced by more modern notions rooted in various philosophic and scientific understandings of the world.  These changes had a dramatic effect on the way that literature was conceived of and presented.  This had an impact on the underlying symbolism and metaphors that were used within the written texts of the time.  These shifted from being predicated on the notions of personal identity in relationship with the social order that is discussed in the text.  The way that authors approach these identities can, therefore provide evidence for how the underlying conception of the social order established a vision of this identity.  It is, therefore, important to understand how the prose in T.S. Eliot’s “The Annotated Wasteland” presents evidence of the need to utilize prose in order to break free of these bounds of logical order that had been conceived regarding the way that the world was conceived.

The use of free verse in Eliot’s prose seems to present an underlying yearning to break free of the bounds of understanding.  He seems to develop the need to Eliot writes “You Cannot Say, or Guess, for you know only a heap of broken images” (20).  This demonstrates the implications of his prose in creating a conception of the world predicated on these aspects of the unknown.  In this way, he develops a prose that established itself in relation to the world that is conceived by Eliot.  For this reason, he uses metaphors, symbols, and imagery in order to develop a conception of reality that is predicated on the abstract ideas that he presents in order to create a sense of the concrete and physically focused world of which he was a part.

This is evident in the relationship that his prose had to the elements present in musical theory.  His form of literary exposition was, therefore, closely connected with the aesthetics of music.  This is demonstrated in the fact that “Eliot’s lines are mimetic of music” (Finn 4).  His prose demonstrates a relationship with notions of musical rhythm, which help to express the underlying realities of the work that he creates.  This has been argued to have been the result of the time period in which he lived.  This was a point in history in which the various measuring and knowledge systems of the world were beginning to be consolidated into a cohesive framework of understanding.

The practice of standardization began to become more widespread in Britain during 19^th century.  At this time, not only a standard measuring system, but also a standard mathematic system, and a standardization of time were implemented in the Kingdom.  This is demonstrated in the fact that “British citizens were experiencing the process of standardization from the 1830s onward” (Finn 15).  This was ultimately the result of the expansion of England during its imperial rule over much of the world.  In order to maintain a sense of order, these various facets were systematically enumerated in order to create a distinctly British form of efficiency that would have a profound effect on the underlying themes and ideas that were present in the literary prose of Eliot.

Eliot’s work, therefore presents a reflection of this social system that was in place at the time.  The implications of the natural rhythmic forms that were utilized in his poetry were, in this way, an expression that demonstrates a reaction to this synthesis of the various modes of everyday life.  Within his work, there is, therefore, implicitly evident “a clear evocation of England’s extensive economic reach and the impending consequences of that reach expressed through Eliot’s management of the metrical possibilities of temporal prosody” (Finn 25).  The use of temporal rhythm within his work, therefore, expresses the need to escape the bounds of this bureaucratic over the natural world.  The social order is directly connected to the identities of those within that order. The way that people view themselves, their roles, and their responsibilities in relationship to those around them presents an important consideration in regards to the establishment of a social order and what might constitute its underlying tenets.

For this reason, there are various important elements that must be considered when constructing prose. This is implicit in the arguments that are made by Eliot concerning the nature of literary articulation and its relationship with the physical world. “These are the poet’s knowledge of literary tradition and contemporary literature, his knowledge of structural and genre detail, his own personality, emotions and circumstances and his creative ability” (Hennekam 1). In accounting for these factors, a more coherent demonstration of poetic capacity can be demonstrated.  It is, therefore, important to establish a conception of how these elements relate to one another.  His notion of identity seems to be established in regards to an individual’s personal experiences and how they relate to the larger social order that they are a part of.

However, the underlying role and nature of a poet should be to simply express their underlying intentions and subjective emotional state to the world.  This should be done in the most personal way possible.  This is evident in his notion of literature that presents the idea that “the poet does not know what to say until he has said it; and in the effort to say it he is not concerned with making other people understand anything as long as it is personally relevant to him” (Hennekam 2).  His understanding of poetry seems to be related to the idea of stream of conscious rather than having any specific form, methodology, or structure.  This highlights his underlying conception of how poetry is the expression of the individual and their personal subjective experiences.

The importance of relevance to the personal experiences of the poet presents an essential consideration regarding the way that the writer’s role in the creation of their literary works is.  This demonstrates the fact that “Eliot assumes and condones the presence of the poet’s personal identity within the poetry he creates” (Hennekam 3).  It is, therefore, the implication of this underlying conception of poetic expression that “the path is from within the poet outward” (Hennekam 3).  In this sense, a poet’s duty is to accurately portray the inner intentions of the writer in regards to their particular experiences.  This form of prose is, therefore, remarking on the role that the use of logic has in the development a new identity, enmeshed in the circumstances of the new social order.  His prose, then, is the attempt to replace this logic with a more personal form of self-identification.

The implications of this idea is that there are often important political and social ideas presented within the prose.  This is due to the underlying role of poetry in helping an author to express their unique perspective.  “Although his task is simply to express his individual circumstance the great poet often articulates the feeling of his time” (Hennekam 4).  His work is, therefore, implicitly expressed through the experiences that he had that inspired him to write his works.  By doing so, poetry becomes a natural extension of the rational analysis of these institutions.  The role of poetry should, therefore, be understood in Eliot’s work as being a discussion of the social or political order of his time.  This order was predicated on the established doctrines of scientific advancement.

This presents the need to examine Eliot’s writing in regards to how it expresses the world.  This can help to provide perspective into the period in which he lived as well as an understanding of the personal ideologies of Eliot himself.  “Eliot’s writing is highly individualistic, avoiding indistinct references” (Hennekam 5).  His writing presents features that are inherently related to the personal nature of the poet themselves, but also present characteristics that can be considered universal in nature as well.  In this way, it is possible to understand the work of Eliot as not only expressing the underlying realities of the world that he lived in but also in the personal reaction that he had to this world and the issues that were presented in context to it.

Eliot’s work, therefore, presents the need to synthesize the capabilities of the literary poet in order to bring together the realms of the poetic and the dramatic.  This will create “a truly new dramatic world which is beyond the mere poetic world and the mere dramatic world will come out by the complete unity and fusion of the poetic and the dramatic elements” (Okada 56). In grounding his poetry in the dramatic conception of literary prose Eliot demonstrates a need to commit to the realities and the challenges that are present within the choices made in everyday life. This has important implications regarding the historic context in which his prose was introduced.

The works that were created by Eliot present a synthesis of various literary styles, ideas, and traditions that were present in the world that he lived in.  This represents a connection between various literary forms that can be understood in relation to one another, according to Eliot.  He uses these methods in order to develop a new reality. “Eliot creates a new poetic world by gathering many poetic images from the traditional literature in Europe” (Okada 56).  To Eliot, however, this literary world must be an expression of the real world and, through the use of dramatic purpose, he is able to present a dynamic view of the material world through his poetic dialogues.

In this sense, Eliot seems to view a profound connection between the ideas present in both poetry and drama.  These two concepts have the capacity and the purpose of challenging one another to become greater within the works of the literary artist.  He expresses the idea that “poetry exists as a latent and sleeping existence in drama and when a dramatic situation becomes more most intense, poetry becomes potential existence in drama” (Okada 57).  In this way, these two methodologies work to inform and build upon one another, essentially reforming the notions that the author is attempting to express.  Dramatic poetic dialogue is, therefore, an essential element in Eliot’s work.  This element serves to provide insight into how Eliot’s work served as an expressive reaction to the social identities of his time.

This demonstrates the capacity of Eliot’s poetry to express the underlying conditions of the social order that he was a part of.  This is evident in the conception of social progress and the descriptions of the landscapes that he presented.  It is evident, therefore, that “we can see the wonderful traces of artistic struggle in transforming the personal feelings of private sufferings in the real life into something rich, impersonal, and universal in in Eliot’s poetry” (Okada 57). This demonstrates the capability of Eliot’s work to evolve the practical and personal ideologies of everyday life into a larger and more dramatic expression of the more abstract ideas that society is presented with.  His prose is, in this way, a reaction to the mechanization of the social processes of his time, which were themselves a result of the implications of the scientific advancements and the importance that was placed on logic and rationality during his time.

This further demonstrates a relationship between the idea of creativity and the physical world that we live in.  It is evident that, within Eliot’s work, there is a need to make a connection between these two opposing realities.  Although the creative world of literature, poetry, and prose is “independent of the world of human experiences” Eliot believes that it is simultaneously true that “literary creation implies the world of human experiences” (Okada 59). In this sense, the perceptions of the individual have the power to transform reality through the imaginations and creative potentials of the writers that express their subjective experiences. “The artistic transformation of personality into something impersonal and universal is closely connected with his traditional attitude towards literature” (Okada 59).  This demonstrates the underlying principles that his work is based upon.

Works Cited

Brogan, E. Haublein. Verse and Prose. Princeton University Press. 2002. Print.

Eliot, T.S. (2006). The Annotated Waste Land with Eliot’s Contemporary Prose. Yale University Press. Print.

Finn, Anna. T.S. Eliot, the New Prosody, and the Time of Global Capital. “Scansion tells us very little.” T.S. Eliot, “Reflections on Vers Libre. 1917. Print.

Hennekam, Jennifer. A Study of T.S. Eliot’s Criticism. University of Toronto. 1985. Print.

Okada, Haruma. The Essence of T.S. Eliot’s Theory of Poetic Drama. UAC DSpace. 1960. Print.