The Poetic Embodiment in T. S. Eliot's Poetry
School of Chinese Language and Literature, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming 650504, China
| Abstract: | T. S. Eliot’s poetic theory has long been presented as a set of discrete propositions—“impersonality” “objective correlative” and “organic wholeness”—with few studies revealing their internal logical connections. Drawing on the theory of cognitive levels proposed in Eliot’s early philosophical dissertation Knowledge and Experience in the Philosophy of F. H. Bradley, this paper reconstructs his poetic creative process into a three-stage progressive model: “intuitive experience—intellectual experience—transcendental experience.”The study finds that, first, Eliot subjects“intuitive experience”to an impersonal intellectual treatment, transforming it into“objective correlatives”in the text through symbolist techniques. Second, this process generates a universal“intellectual experience,”which involves the integration of intellect and emotion. Finally, the poetry returns to intuition and achieves a transcendental sublimation. This model demonstrates that Eliot’s concept of “impersonality” does not negate the poet’s subjectivity but rather represents a higher-order mechanism of transformation—the poet, acting as a catalyst, facilitates a chemical reaction between emotion and form while remaining concealed. This paper aims to provide a more internally coherent interpretive framework for Eliot’s poetic theory. |
| Keywords: | T. S. Eliot; Poetic Theory; Impersonality; Objective Correlative; Symbolism |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.ha.2026.02.002 |
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Received: 25 April 2026
Accepted: 13 May 2026
Published Online: 8 June 2026
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