T. S. Eliot on Theory and Practice: Primacy of Technique as Justifier of the Impersonal Poetics

Abstract

Eliot has been criticized for the inconsistency between his theory and practice. His frequent shifts in critical positions were prominent over the years, specifically in his evaluations of the individual writers. Eliot himself was conscious of the criticism, and his answer was technique. As he endorsed “the practitioner’s criticism,” he championed creation over criticism: it is poetry only that justifies criticism. However, the relationship between theory and practice is far from being one-sided. Tracing their coherency is the ultimate justifier of Eliot’s impersonal poetics. In this light, technique for Eliot is both the merger of Eliot’s theory and practice and also form and content. More importantly, technique is both the tester and justifier of Eliot’s impersonal theory of poetry, the art of autotelic nature. Shakespeare, Dante, metaphysical poets, Symbolists, Imagists, et al stand as the forerunners of his impersonal techniques.