Tradition refers to the English literary canon from ancient Greek and Roman works through Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton and others. Individual talent refers to new poems and poets. Eliot argues that for a new poem to be successful, it must conform to literary tradition by demonstrating a historical understanding of poetic forms and a poetic sensibility shaped by great works, yet still reflect the contemporary era. The new poet must act as a catalyst, combining tradition and individual experiences into a new work without changing themselves. In this way, great poetry is created by both conforming to tradition and expressing individual talent.

1. Tradition and Individual
talent
TS Eliot

2. Tradition
• It efers to the English tradition (Poetry) and the many feelings and
emotions therein.
• the English literary tradition comes down from the Greek literature,
therefore Homer, Socrates, Plato, as well as Roman literature, Virgil,
Horace, Ovid, all consists to form the beginning of this tradition
• The tradition is then spearheaded by the other literary ages in the canon
from Medieval to the post modern period- some of the famous writers and
their works are as- Geoffrey Chaucer (The Cantubury tales), the Romances,
Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Spencer, John Donne, Milton,
Wordsworth, Eliot and so many others.
• the main focus of this essay is the poetry of the English literature and its
tradition that has come down all these ages till TS Eliot.
• therefore tradition here is the English literature (poetry).

3. Individual Talent
• Individual talent here, refers to the new poet and his poetry.
• The point of the essay is to lay down the guidelines for writing good
poetry.
• The essay, first, tells us why criticism is important because it brings
out the value of things, to judge whether a poetry is good enough or
not. from there starts the discussion of how to judge the value of a
new poetry (poem).
• Eliot says, the new poetry of the new poem will find its value, if it can
re-adjust the canon of English poetry and enter into it as one of them,
its like keeping a new book of poetry into a shelf of library, containing
already some old books of poetry.

4. contd...
• Eliot thinks that ever every new English) poet should conform to the poetic
tradition (English poetry) those have been considered great.
• The new poet must read old poems (tradition) and get a historical sense or
consciousness of the tradition (English poetry).
• He must have the poetic consciousness of what is Shakespearean Poetry,
Metaphysical poetry, Sonnets, Romantic poetry, what is a ballad, lyrical,
allegoric, fabliau, poem means.
• The new poet must not be someone who wants to be a poet just because
he writes a few emotional lines.
• The new poet must represent his contemporary age/period, he must not
merely repeat like other poets.

5. Tradition and Individual talent
Tradition- English Literature (poetry) Individual poet- new poet

6. Tradition and Individual Talent
•Tradition- English literary canon
•Homer
•Chaucer
•Shakespeare
•John Donne
•Spencer
•Wordsworth
•Keats
•Coleridge
•Eliot
•Individual talent- New Poem
•Must conform to the tradition
•Must be aligned within the new tradition
•Must have historical sense of tradition
•Must possess the poetic sensibility of
the tradition
•Must be a concentration (mixture) of the
tradition[al]+Individual experiences

7. How to concentrate Individual into tradition
• It means how to write the new poetry (English poem) by conforming to the
tradition of poetry (English poetry).
• Eliot lays down a few guidelines- as-
• The new poet must be impersonal or the new poet must be pour his
personal feelings and emotions into the new poem.
• Although poetry is comprised of feelings and emotions, rather the new
poet must take a poetic sensibility of these experiences
(feelings+emotions) from the tradition (English poetry). By reading all the
poems of English literature.
• The new poet must possess a historical sense of the tradition (English
poetry)
• Thus the new poem will be a manifestation of Individuality of the poet and
of the tradition.

8. How to conform Tradition and Individual
talent.
• The poet must remain impersonal in writing his poetry, though it is a
reflection of the tradition of poetry.
• To make this possible, Eliot gives the example of a catalyst.
• When a platinum piece (Catalyst) is dissolved into the mixture of
Oxygen and Sulphur dioxide, it becomes Sulphurous acid, while the
platinum doesn’t change, it remains the same.
• Thus he says that the new poet must like a catalyst, which will
combine the tradition and his individual experience to form a new
poetry, but at the same time he will remain unchanged.

9. Conclusion
• Thus Eliot says, great poetry is created, by conforming to the tradition and the
individual.
• He criticizes Wordsworth’s definition of poetry, and Romantic poetry as a whole,
because according to him poetry is not exaltation of emotions and feelings, by
being emotional.
• According to Eliot, poetry is more important than the poet, thus, disavowing the
notion of romantic poetry.
• Eliot’s essay can also be said to the precursor to other similar concepts like
intertexuality and dialogism by Julia Kristeva and Mikhail Bakhtin respectively.
• Thus Eliot tries to outline the general guidelines for the future poets of English
literature in specific and others in general, on how to write great poetry. That is
by conforming to the tradition and the individual aspects, while being
impersonal.