eliot's theory, relation to the past, escape from emotion, characteristics of a true poet, mark doty, my alexandria, chaunteuse

1. Theory of Depersonalization
Hema Goswami
Sem 2
Paper no. 7: Literary theory and
criticism-20th
century western and
Indian poetics
Submitted to Department of
English MKBU
Enrollment no. 2069108420180020
Roll no. 12
Email :
hemagoswami4742gmail.com
Year 2017-19

2. Eliot’s theory
• Eliot’s
remarkable
gift in
criticism
• Being a
detached
observer of
oneself.

3. Characteristics of a true poet
• Extinction of personality
• continual self sacrifice.
• Experiences and
impressions should not
take any place in poetry.
• The best is the one who
can separate his
sufferings into his work of
art.

4. Example of Mark Doty
• Most accomplished poet in America after the publication
of his first volume of verse Turtle, Swan in 1987.
• Won number of prestigious literary awards: the Whiting
Writer’s Award, the T. S. Eliot Prize, the National Poetry
Series, the Los Angeles Times Book Award and so many
• If there was a problem in Doty’s work, Baker
hypothesized, it was the poet’s “detachment from his
own story”—Doty, he claimed, approached his
subjects as a “privileged observer and
commentator.”

5. Best work
• My Alexandria won
the most prestigious
British award for a
collection of poetry, the
T.S. Eliot Prize. He
was the first American
ever to have done so.

6. Some lines from the poem “Chanteuse”

7. Alternative example
• In many poems, we can see the effect of poet’s personal life in the
work.
• For example, Harivansh ray Bachhan, mostly he writes poem with
the influence of his personal life.

8. Chemical reaction
• Eliot explains the process of depersonalization
by comparing it to a chemical process.
• It means platinum(feelings or experinces) as a
catalyst used in the process, but in the final
reaction Sulphuric acid H2SO4( work of art)
there is no presence of that catalyst.
• Similarly a poet must have to detached his
sufferings in the work of art.

10. • Works Cited
• "bharat darshan magazine." bachchan,
harivansh rai. din jaldi jaldi dhalta hai. new
zealand, n.d.
• "mark doty." poetry foundation (1953).
• "t.s eliot's theory of depersonalization."
literary articles (2018).