T. S. Eliot - Objective Correlative

 

T. S. Eliot is one of the most influential yet one of the most controversial figures in English literature during the 20th century. Eliot is known for coining new phrases and terms with regard to the critical theories he has proposed. He is known for his phrases like "objective correlative", "unification and dissociation of sensibility", "historical sense" and so on.

 The phrase “objective correlative" was first used by Washington Allston in 1840 in his 'Introductory Discourse'. However, it was popularized more by T. S. Eliot during the 20th century. He used this phrase first in his critical essay 'Hamlet and His Problems' published in his book 'The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism' in 1920.

 WHAT IS OBJECTIVE CORRELATIVE?

 Eliot explains the meaning of this phrase in his essay 'Hamlet and His Problems':

"The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an 'objective correlative'; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, and a change of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts which must terminate in sensory experience are given, the emotion is immediately evoked."

 Eliot argues that if a poet wants to express his emotions, he has to find out proper objects or images to correlate his emotions. The emotions expressed directly without correlating them with any object or image fails to appeal the readers. Eliot himself has significantly applied the concept of this "objective correlative" in all his poems. He does not express the emotions directly. He evokes the emotions by using appropriate images and objects. His well-known poem 'Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock' presents the best example of "objective correlative". Mark these lines from the poem:

"Let us go then you and I,

When the evening is spread against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table."

 

Here, Eliot wants to express the gloomy and sad atmosphere. He correlates his feeling of sadness to an evening which is again correlated to a patient etherized upon a table. By comparing the gloomy evening with a patient, Eliot successfully conveys his emotions and succeeds in evoking the reader's emotions. According to him, a great poet is one who correlates his feelings to some objects and images.

 This theory of “objective correlative" was largely accepted by scholars and critics during the 20th century. In the words of Elises Vevas, it is "a vehicle of expression for the poet's emotions." Wimsatt and Brooks also commented:

"The phrase 'objective correlative' has gained a

currency probably far beyond anything that

the author could have expected or intended."

 Thus, as a critic, Eliot coined and popularized new phrases and terms to discuss critical theories. There is hardly any critic even in today's times who is not under his influence. John Hayward remarks:

"No critic, indeed, since Coleridge has shown more clearly the use of poetry and of criticism."

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