T. S. Eliot: The Poetic Mind

Paper Summary:

This paper offers examples from 'The Waste Land' and 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'. It discusses how the brilliant poetic mind of T. S. Eliot mixes inner and outer experiences to create memorable lines that reverberate in the minds of his listeners. The seeming obscurity of Eliot's imagery is discussed as well as his "magic lantern" processing of images. The critical opinions of Cleanth Brooks help to demonstrate Eliot's creative process.

From the Paper:

"The poetry of T.S. Eliot is an emphatic example of how "the poet's mind is. . .a receptacle for seizing and storing up numberless feelings, phrases, images, which remain there until all the particles which can unite to form a new compound are present together" (Eliot, "Tradition and the Individual Talent" 8). These words from one of the many essays he wrote on the subject of poetic creation, show how well Eliot knew his own poetic process. Eliot is an extremely self conscious poet, delving into his process more thoroughly than other poets who are less intellectual or introspective. This paper offers examples from "The Waste Land" and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" of how the cauldron of Eliot's poetic mind mixes inner and outer experiences to create indelible lines that reverberate in the minds of his listeners."

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