Tradition and The Individual Talent

Tradition And The Individual Talent

"Tradition and the Individual Talent" (1919) is an essay written by the poet and literary critic T. S. Eliot. The essay was first, in The Egoist (1919) and later in Eliot's first book of criticism, "The Sacred Wood" (1920). The essay is also available in Eliot's "Selected Prose" and "Selected Essays".

While Eliot is most often known for his poetry, he also contributed to the field of literary criticism. In this dual role, he acted as poet-critic, comparable to Sir Philip Sidney and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. "Tradition and the Individual Talent" is one of the more well known works that Eliot produced in his critic capacity. It formulates Eliot’s influential conception of the relationship between the poet and the literary tradition which precedes him.

Read more about Tradition And The Individual Talent:  Content of The Essay, Eliot and New Criticism, Criticism of Eliot, Primary Works of Literary Criticism By T. S. Eliot, See Also

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