T.S. Eliot Text Analysis Lecture - September 2021

[niamh.brazil]

Hey friends!

Any questions following the T.S. Eliot lecture? Want feedback on your thesis practice? Leave it here and I'll take a look!

I'll be monitoring this thread for a few days to clarify ideas and give feedback so get in quickly 

Niamh

EDIT: Lecture notes are attached to this thread

[aidosss]

An inherent tension between stability and change is revealed through recurring images in Eliot’s poetry.
To what extent does your interpretation align with this view?

Texts that possess significant literary value have an ongoing impact on their audiences, igniting them with new insights into a particular facet of humanity. T.S. Eliot’s suite of poems significantly resonates with this idea, through his illustration of the fundamental tension between stability and change in Modern society. This tension in Eliot's poetry exists in the form of the changing Modern city due to urbanisation, and the instability this causes to the lives of individuals living within it. Thus, the audience is forced to step inside of his poetry and reflect on the inherent relationship between stability and change in their 21st-century world.

[aidosss]

*That isn't my whole introduction by the way. Just my conceptual statement, thesis and audience impact statement.

Thanks

[Keys]

These are the unanswered questions I had:
- Do you have to use a lot of fancy words in your mod b essays?
- Would you suggest tracing a single concept across the poems or looking at a different concept in each poem?
- How do we go about adapting broad theses to essay questions addressing form?
- Is it a good idea to have a broader idea e.g. decay linking all your concepts in your thesis?
- What are some ways of actually embedding a personal judgement throughout my response?
- How would you approach textual integrity in relation to Eliot?
- Does every piece of evidence that I use have to have a direct contextual link?

[smokeybatscore]

Could you please give me some feedback on the introduction I wrote for trials? Thankyou!

Question: It is the distinctive qualities and ideas that establish Selected Poems as significant literature. To what extent does this comment align with your interpretation of Eliot’s poetry? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text.

"A disturbing and often ominous portrayal of the angst of entering a fractious Modern age pervades T.S. Eliot's poetry, as revealed, to a large extent, through the interconnectedness of the text's distinctive qualities and ideas adding to its significance. As a literary movement, Modernism had detrimental consequences on the individual's relationship with society and self. Eliot's oeuvre, especially the poems "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" (1917), "Preludes" (1917), "Hollow Men" (1925), presents significant concerns of stagnation and spiritual vacuity of European society amidst modernity. In his exploration of the human psyche, Eliot's adopted personas become a metonym for humanity's timeless condition to reside in alienation, demonstrating the poem's textual integrity and, thus, resonating with a new generation of readers. "

[niamh.brazil]

An inherent tension between stability and change is revealed through recurring images in Eliot’s poetry.
To what extent does your interpretation align with this view?

Texts that possess significant literary value have an ongoing impact on their audiences, igniting them with new insights into a particular facet of humanity. T.S. Eliot’s suite of poems significantly resonates with this idea, through his illustration of the fundamental tension between stability and change in Modern society. This tension in Eliot's poetry exists in the form of the changing Modern city due to urbanisation, and the instability this causes to the lives of individuals living within it. Thus, the audience is forced to step inside of his poetry and reflect on the inherent relationship between stability and change in their 21st-century world.

• Overall the thesis is good and addresses the question well for the most part
• First sentence should tackle question head on and address the stability/change binary so maybe rework some of the order the intro
• Most importantly, be very clear about how you are defining stability and change for this essay. I can see that you implicitly are defining it as the transition stage between tradition and progress propelled by the impact of industrial/social forces but make this a little more explicit so your marker doesn't miss it when reading fast
• Try to include an audience impact that isn't just restating the question - which values is Eliot prompting us to consider that might remain relevant in the 21st century
• Good expression, clarity and conciseness

[niamh.brazil]

These are the unanswered questions I had:
- Do you have to use a lot of fancy words in your mod b essays?
- Would you suggest tracing a single concept across the poems or looking at a different concept in each poem?
- How do we go about adapting broad theses to essay questions addressing form?
- Is it a good idea to have a broader idea e.g. decay linking all your concepts in your thesis?
- What are some ways of actually embedding a personal judgement throughout my response?
- How would you approach textual integrity in relation to Eliot?
- Does every piece of evidence that I use have to have a direct contextual link?

Hey there! I'll deal with these questions one by one below:

1. No - it is more effective to use clear language that expresses your point concisely as markers have to go through these essays fairly quickly. Rather than use very complicated words, try to use specific verbs which communicate your point better (i.e. what I was saying in the lecture about replacing "shows/demonstrates" with words like highlights, accentuates, paints, conjures, queries, interrogates, embodies, epitomises, mocks etc). The most complicated language should just be terminology relevant to his social and literary context (e.g. objective correlative)

2. If you are structuring an essay by dealing with a poem in each paragraph I would suggest looking at a different concept in each poem. Otherwise, the essay runs the risk of becoming repetitive and running out of material. An alternative structure which would allow you to to trace concepts through different poems is by structuring your essay by thematic concern/idea and looking at 2 poems in each paragraph

3. Consider how Eliot's use of form (fragmentation, free verse, intertextuality, dramatic monologue, imagism) is reflective of and even embodies his key concerns and make that the basis of your thesis

4. Yes - but make sure to use precise language though (I know some teachers are not a fan of the word "decay" as it is very general so look at similar words like degeneration, stagnation etc.)

5. Two ways. Firstly, your thesis should be a summary of why you think Eliot has literary merit/significance (conceptually and with regard to language/form, you can also critique his work) and not simply repeat the language of the question. Some methods of exploring your opinion are outlined on the "Thesis Approaches" slide. Secondly, going through key quotes and doing textual analysis that is different from what you have done in class e.g. identifying new techniques, identifying a different purpose to those techniques, interpreting it the opposite way to your teachers, identifying metatextual elements. This allows your personal interpretation to be incorporated in analysis too.

6. Consider how form, language and ideas cohere to create Eliot's purpose (this purpose will be your personal interpretation which I've talked about above)

7. Nope! Weave in context where it is appropriate but if the quote has the same link to context as a previous quote or the influence of context is not very strong then there is not need to make a point of it. Also, when integrating context in analysis where it is relevant, try to distill it into key words that can be woven into the "Effect" part of analysis rather than requiring separate explanation where possible

Hope this helps

[niamh.brazil]

Could you please give me some feedback on the introduction I wrote for trials? Thankyou!

Question: It is the distinctive qualities and ideas that establish Selected Poems as significant literature. To what extent does this comment align with your interpretation of Eliot’s poetry? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text.

"A disturbing and often ominous portrayal of the angst of entering a fractious Modern age pervades T.S. Eliot's poetry, as revealed, to a large extent, through the interconnectedness of the text's distinctive qualities and ideas adding to its significance. As a literary movement, Modernism had detrimental consequences on the individual's relationship with society and self. Eliot's oeuvre, especially the poems "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" (1917), "Preludes" (1917), "Hollow Men" (1925), presents significant concerns of stagnation and spiritual vacuity of European society amidst modernity. In his exploration of the human psyche, Eliot's adopted personas become a metonym for humanity's timeless condition to reside in alienation, demonstrating the poem's textual integrity and, thus, resonating with a new generation of readers. "

• The thesis in the first sentence responds to the question well
• Clarity of expression could be improved in the first sentence - this might involve breaking it into two sentences since it contains lots of dependent clauses
• Try to make your response to the question as specific to your text as possible to demonstrate your personal interpretation - name the distinctive qualities and ideas that are most relevant to your essay (a good tip I got from an English lecturer at uni is to not use your first sentences as a "warm up" to the main thesis, and to immediately express your most compelling interpretation rather than restate the question's broad language)
• Overview of context is very good
• The final sentence is excellent - great personal interpretation and audience impact

[Nomsie]

Hey!

I wanted to ask if pronouns are appropriate for form and whether it is inclusive or simply "I", in essence, it also links to the narration. For instance, would discussing Eliot's use of only inclusive language within 'Hollow Men' such as 'we' 'our' and excessive plurals be a type of form analysis?