The Poetics of T. S. Eliot and Dylan Thomas

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the poetics of Dylan Thomas and T. S. Eliot demonstrate the manner in which Thomas challenges and re-figures the previous aesthetic ideas of Eliot. The author points out that, whereas Eliot views tradition as a cultural accumulation of literary works within which the writer participates, Thomas shatters these historical bonds. The paper relates that, although both authors strive to achieve an emotional complexity and depth in their work, Thomas refuses the sublimation of the poet's personality to the literary medium by embracing the medium itself with the entirety of his personality and composition as an act of celebration rather than repression. The author underscores that, through his playful love of all the elements and structures of language, Thomas is able to achieve an emotional depth rooted in the medium of literature without the sacrifice of the poet's personality.

From the Paper:

"The value Eliot places upon tradition necessitates the depersonalization of the poet and the perfection of the medium of language to sufficiently express the concentration of the past and its convergence with the experience of the present. The personal experiences and emotions of the poet are too subjective to contain the enormity of what the present represents to literary history, so therefore he must engage in "a continual surrender of himself as he is at the moment to something which is more valuable." The poet is envisioned as a catalyst that collects and transforms his emotions and experiences into a new compound that is greater than the sum of its parts."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Eliot, T. S. "Tradition and the Individual Talent". The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. Vol. 1; 3rd Edition. Eds. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair. New York: Norton, 2003. pp. 941-947.
• Thomas, Dylan. "Poetic Manifesto". The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. Vol. 2; 3rd Edition. Eds. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair. New York: Norton, 2003. pp. 1062-1066

More papers on The Poetics of T. S. Eliot and Dylan Thomas:

• Essay # 89402 : "Despair in the Works of T.S. Eliot"
• Essay # 85939 : "T.S Eliot and Emily Dickinson"
• Poem Review # 108306 : "T.S. Eliot and Modernist Poetry"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: