A Study Of T. S. Eliot From The Perspective Of Primitivism

The British poet, playwright, and literary critic T. S. Eliot, has been acknowledged as an activeadvocate of the modernist art. However, he is also a faithful follower of primitivism. In his literarycreation he tried to experiment and employ new techniques so as to make his perspective forward andhe also turned his perspective backward by respecting the tradition and valuing the past. As a modernwriter, his anthropological perspective, his religious faith and his mythical method have made anespecially wonderful world of T. S. Eliot himself in which we could see his fascination withprimitivism.This thesis commences with the exploration of primitivism from its origin in the18th century toits revival in the20th century. The development of Eliot’s primitive temper should be ascribed to hischildhood in which we trace the source of his primitive impulse, his education in Harvard duringwhich we notice the cultivation of his anthropological consciousness and his mythical method withwhich we see the primitive turn in his artistic thinking. Then the thesis proceeds to elaborate on avariety of primitive elements such as primitive impulse, non-dominating cultures, myths andarchetypes in his poetry. After that the thesis moves to the discussion of rituals, myths, the integrationof audience and performers in his dramas that make an equally important part in the study of T. S.Eliot.With the theoretical underpinnings of primitivism, anthropology, myth and archetypal criticism,and psychoanalysis, this thesis endeavors to present the whole picture of T. S. Eliot, arguing that Eliotas a man of twentieth century is modern as well as traditional, and his works show explicit tendencytowards primitivism. It is from these primitive elements that Eliot attempts to find not merely spiritualrelief, but also the magical primitive power to find the order of society and the meaning of life in theprimitive age for the modern world that has become a waste land. Furthermore, the epic spanningfrom the primitive to the modern puts his works in a much grander setting, and especially endows hiswritings with eternal artistic value.