Previous
Terms
In the context of “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” criticism means the examination and assessment of a literary work. In the beginning of his essay, Eliot states that criticism has been given a bad name, because being “critical” connotes a lack of spontaneity. However, Eliot claims that criticism is “as inevitable as breathing,” because it is—simply put—what passes through a reader’s mind naturally when they are reading anything. Later on, at the beginning of Part II, Eliot mentions “honest criticism.” He says that, if someone were to honestly criticize poetry, they would praise the poem rather than the author of it. In this way, Eliot tries to remove literary criticism from prejudices that prevent writers and readers from recognizing truly praiseworthy poetry.
Criticism Quotes in Tradition and the Individual Talent
The Tradition and the Individual Talent quotes below are all either spoken by Criticism or refer to Criticism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1 Quotes
We endeavor to find something that can be isolated in order to be enjoyed. Whereas if we approach a poet without this prejudice we shall often find that not only the best, but the most individual parts of his work may be those in which the dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Tradition and the Individual Talent LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Criticism Term Timeline in Tradition and the Individual Talent
The timeline below shows where the term Criticism appears in Tradition and the Individual Talent. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...either living or dead writers. Every group of people has its own distinct way of criticizing. Every group is blind to the prejudices of its way of criticizing in the same...
(full context)
Part 2
Eliot asserts that readers should criticize and appreciate poems, not the poets who wrote them. One hears of lots of poets,...
(full context)
