My Encounter with Formalism, or Why I Disagree with T. S. Eliot

When I cracked open my Literary Criticism textbook this week with the intention of perusing T.S. Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent," I began reading with an open mind. Having read "The Wasteland" in American Literature, I had a very general grasp of this Anglo-American author's outlook on life. I also assumed that scholarship in the field of Literary Criticism would have shifted since the time of the Romantics. However, I didn't expect Eliot's blatant rebuttal of Romantic sensibilities or what I perceive as his intellectual arrogance . . .

Here is just one of his statements that galled me: "Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things." Hmph!

In addition to feeling indignation towards Eliot's tone, I have issues with his elitist theory. He seems to say, "I am higher than you because I have this elusive connection with tradition. Great poets belong to an exclusive club, and unless you possess my level of education, we won't admit you as a member. Forget 'emotion recollected in tranquility' and your overwhelming desire to convey the sublime in everyday subjects and accessible language. These attempt to serve the reader by sharing something. This club is above that. We're too good for our emotions."

While the Romantics worked to break down the artistic and socioeconomic hierarchy, Eliot and his Formalist followers reconstruct it. Not everyone has access to the education that Eliot deems necessary to obtain union with tradition. At the time of the composition of "Tradition and the Individual Talent," only a miniscule number of women, minorities, or people of few financial resources could obtain a university-level education. However, everyone-- regardless of race, gender, or class-- has the potential to convey emotion and an artistic personality. I can see how Formalism would grate upon the beliefs of Post-Colonial and feminist critics. While I don't consider myself a member of either school, Eliot's ideas anger me.