Question

I am really struggling with this, if I could get some help understanding this that would be great.

Using a dictionary and the methods described at the beginning of the “Advanced Reading Skills” lesson, provide a “translation” of Eliot’s paragraph.



In a peculiar sense he will be aware also that [the poet] must inevitably be judged by the standards of the past. I say judged, not amputated, by them; not judged to be as good as, or worse or better than, the dead; and certainly not judged by the canons of dead critics. It is a judgment, a comparison, in which two things are measured by each other. To conform merely would be for the new work not really to conform at all; it would not be new, and would therefore not be a work of art. And we do not quite say that the new is more valuable because it fits in; but its fitting in is a test of its value–a test, it is true, which can only be slowly and cautiously applied, for we are none of us infallible judges of conformity. We say: it appears to conform, and is perhaps individual, or it appears individual, and may conform; but we are hardly likely to find that it is one and not the other.

Answer 1

T.S. Eliot's paragraph discusses how poets are judged by the standards of the past and the importance of conformity and individuality in new works of art.

Step-by-step explanation:

Using a dictionary and literary analysis methods, T.S. Eliot's paragraph can be translated as follows: The poet is aware that they will be judged by the standards of the past, but not entirely shaped by them. The poet's work needs to be compared and judged in relation to other works. If the new work conforms too much, it loses its originality and artistic value. However, if it doesn't conform at all, it may not be recognized as a work of art. The judgment of conformity and individuality is subjective, and it is difficult to determine whether a new work is both conforming and individual.

Answer 2

Question

I am really struggling with this, if I could get some help understanding this that would be great.

Using a dictionary and the methods described at the beginning of the “Advanced Reading Skills” lesson, provide a “translation” of Eliot’s paragraph.

In a peculiar sense he will be aware also that [the poet] must inevitably be judged by the standards of the past. I say judged, not amputated, by them; not judged to be as good as, or worse or better than, the dead; and certainly not judged by the canons of dead critics. It is a judgment, a comparison, in which two things are measured by each other. To conform merely would be for the new work not really to conform at all; it would not be new, and would therefore not be a work of art. And we do not quite say that the new is more valuable because it fits in; but its fitting in is a test of its value–a test, it is true, which can only be slowly and cautiously applied, for we are none of us infallible judges of conformity. We say: it appears to conform, and is perhaps individual, or it appears individual, and may conform; but we are hardly likely to find that it is one and not the other.