The Impersonality of Art!

T.S. Elliot is of the view that poetry is more of organization than inspiration. What
makes a piece of art great and capable of enduring centuries is not the emotions or
feelings themselves, but the nature of the artistic process through which they are
synthesized together. An artist absorbs those feelings and emotions and then unites
them into a specific combination, which is the artistic product. Wordsworth
considered poetry as a spontaneous overflow of emotions, but Elliot’s ideology
diverges from this. He believes poetry is not a turning loose of emotions, but an
escape from emotions. In the beginning, an artist’s individuality or self may assert
itself, but with every step towards maturity there must be greater ‘extinction of
personality’. His emotions and passions must be depersonalized. The personal
condition and thoughts of an artist should not be visible in the art produced, it
should be beyond these restraints and closer to the more significant thing:
Tradition.

T.S. Elliot pushes an artist to surrender himself to the vast order of tradition.
Because he considers artist a medium through which the tradition is channeled and
elaborated. Elliot draws an analogy between the existence of an artist and a
chemical reaction of gasses; artist is no more than a catalyst, acting as a medium,
and does not affect the composition of the end products. He should not let his
sorrows or joys affect the art. So, the artist is there just to contribute to that
timeless sphere of tradition. The artist’s life is not important but the art produced
by him, because that is going to outlive the artist. Elliot’s example of Homer is
worth mentioning here where he prefers the art itself over the artist, he believed
‘Odyssey’ itself is what matters, not the man who wrote it, poetry is timeless and
universal, and it remains even after the poet’s own generation and lifetime.

Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon
the poetry. It may partly or exclusively operate upon the experience of the man
himself; but, the more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will
be the man who suffers and the mind which creates. Art can be produced leaving
one’s personal emotions and experiences aside. It is not necessary for an artist to
search for a unique emotion or event, but he can achieve greatness by showing
ordinary emotions in his poetry, using his crafting abilities. And it goes for all
forms of art; an actor should leave every bit of personality when going on-stage,
and the audience should see just the character being played.