Researchproposal:

RichardWagnersconceptofTotalArti.e.Gesamtkunstwerk

InT.SEliotspoetry
The urge for experimentation characterized the modernists sensibility as
manymodernistwritersattemptedtotranscendartisticdisciplines.Crucially,the
modernistsstrivingagainstrestrictiontowardsfreedomwasoftenseeninrelationto
otherartssuchasmusicandpainting.EzraPoundcalledforpoetstocomposeinthe
sequenceofthemusicalphrase,notinsequenceofametronome. 1Inthisconcern,a
large number modernists who often aspired towards formal experimentation and
liberationassociatedwiththemusicalphrase.Forexample,VirginiaWoolfslove
formusicledhertoconsiderwordsinthesamelightasmusic.Indeed,musicwas
centraltoWoolfswriting,asshebelievedthatthewritingofliteraturewasnearly
alliedtotheartofmusic.2
Consideringtheurgeofthemodernistwriterstoexploremusic,itis
unsurprisingthatmodernistliteraturehasbeenanalysedwithaninterestinginterest
intomusic.Theinterdisciplinarycomparisonbetweenliteratureandmusicdrew
considerableinterest.Inthiscontext,CalvinSmithBrownpresentedaseminalstudy
entitledMusicandLiterature:AComparisonoftheArts(1948.)Moreover,Itseems
thatinrecentcriticaldebate,thedrawingofanalogiesbetweenmusicandliterature
hasbeengraduallyincreased.InLiteraryModernismandMusicalAesthetics:Pater,
Pound,JoyceandStein (2001),BradBucknellelucidateseachauthorsinterestin
music.
Themostcommoninstanceofthistypeofcriticaltrendisinrelationtothe
criticismofEliotspoetry.Infact,therehasbeenawidespreadcriticismthatdraw
comparisons between Four Quartets and the string quartet form, especially with
regardto BeethovensLateStringQuartets.ThemostnotableattemptsareHarvey
GrosssarticleMusicandtheAnalogueofFeeling:NotesonEliotandBeethoven
(1959),KeithAlldrittsEliotsFourQuartets:PoetryasChamberMusic(1978),and
JohnHollowaysarticleentitledFourQuartetsandBeethovensLastQuartetsin
TheFireandtheRose:NewEssaysonT.S.Eliot(1992).InT.S.EliotsOrchestra:
Critical Essays on Poetry and Music(2000), David Barndollar comes with an
additionalcriticismtothesamedebateinachapterentitledMovementsinTime:
FourQuartetsandtheLateStringQuartetsofBeethoven.

1 Ezra Pound, A Retrospect, Literary Essays of Ezra Pound (London : Faber and Faber, 1974.) p.03.
2 VirginiaWoolf,TheEssaysofVirginiaWoolf19041912vol.1,ed.AndrewMcNeillie(London:HogarthPress,1986)P.03

ThisparticularattentionfocusingonEliotspoetryanditsreliancetomusical
formscomesatfirstground,asareactiontoEliotsremarksandanalogiesthatbring
possibleconnectionbetweenhispoetryandmusicalarts. InhisfamousessayThe
Music of Poetry, T.S Eliot opens the door for a possible musico literary
interpretation,ashementionssomeanalogiesbetweentheartofwritingpoetryand
theartofcomposingmusic:
Therearepossibilitiesforverse,whichbearsomeanalogytothedevelopmentofa
themebydifferentgroupsofinstruments;therearepossibilitiesoftransitionsina
poemcomparabletothedifferentmovementsofasymphonyoraquartet;thereare
possibilitiesofcontrapuntalarrangementofsubjectmatter.Itisintheconcertroom,
ratherthanintheoperahouse,thatthegermofapoemmaybequickened.3

Basically,farfrombeingmetaphorical,T.SEliotinthisquoteisratherserious
aboutsuchkindofconnections.Hisinterestinmusicalanalogiestothecreationof
poetry seems driven by his desire to formulate an objective poetry. In another
passage,Eliotreferstooneaspectofmusic;rhythm,intheprocessofformulating
objectivepoetry:
ButIknowthatapoem,orapassageofapoem,maytendtorealiseitselffirstasa
particularrhythmbeforeitreachesexpressioninwords,andthatthisrhythmmay
bringtobirththeideaandtheimage;andIdonotbelievethatthisisanexperience
peculiartomyself.4

This process of

creation comes to counter the Wordswothian definition of

writingpoetry,whichmainlyreliesonpersonalfeelingsrecollectedintranquillity 5.
Anotherimportantaspecttomention,isthatsuchinterestinmusicalanalogiesfrom
thepartofEliotmayhavebeentheresultofaFrenchSymbolistsinfluence.Indeed,
oneofthemajorconcernsofFrenchSymbolistpoetswastheefforttoachievea
musicalization:delamusiqueavanttoutechose6,wroteVerlaineinhisopening
sentencetoArtpoetique.
Whilesuchinterdisciplinarycriticismbringevidencetothepossibleuseof
musical forms in the poetry of T.S Eliot, placing too much focus on musical
compositions,structuresandforms,mayresultinanabsoluteconsiderationofthe
formalaspectsofwriting,givinglittleinteresttothethematicconcernpresentedinthe
text.Moreprecisely,suchmusicallycentredinterpretationstendtodenyEliotsclaim
that:wecanneveremulatemusic,becausetoarriveattheconditionofmusicwould
betheannihilationofpoetry.7In'TheMusicofPoetry',Eliotwrites:Iwouldremind

3T.S.Eliot,'TheMusicofPoetry,'OnPoetryandPoets(London:Faber&Faber,1957).P.32
4Ibid.p.38
5WilliamWordsworth,andSamuelTaylorColeridge,LyricalBalladsandOtherPoems(London:MackaysofChatham,2003)
p.21

6P.Verlaine,'Artpotique',Oeuvresenprosecompletes,ed.J.Borel(Paris:Gallimard,1972),p.14.
7T.SEliot,'PoetryandDrama',OnPoetryandPoets(NewYork:Farrar,StrausandCudahy,1957)p.87.
2

you, first, that the music of poetry is not something which exists apart from the
meaning.8
Inmythesis,Iwouldtrytogivejusticetothethematicconcerninsuchliterary
musicalinterpretationrelevantinT.SEliotspoetry.Farfromconcentratingonstrict
formalanalogiesbetweenmusicalformsandEliotspoems,thisthesistriestoshow
the influence of such writing techniques in conveying poetical meaning. More
precisely,thisresearchconcentratesontheinfluenceofRichardWagnersconceptof
GesamtkunstwerkinT.SEliotspoetry.
TheGermancomposerandcriticRichardWagner(18131883) presentedto
mid19thcenturyEuropethetermGesamtkunstwerk.Itpresentstheunionofpoetry
andsymphonyasthesupremeartform.InhisessayArtandRevolution(1849),
WagnerpresentedthedecayofhissocietyincontrasttotheidealofAncientGreek
drama,whichcombineddance,music,andpoetryintoasingularcoherentwhole.He
expoundshowtheGreeksperfectedDramaintheirunityofartworks.Themodern
decayofcontemporaryDrama,andhenceArt,isattributedtothedetachmentofart
forms: The Drama separated into its component parts; rhetoric,
sculpture, painting, music, &c., forsook the ranks in which they had
moved in unison before;9 The term became essential to his conception of
aestheticideals.Synthesizingthepoetic,visual,andmusicalintotherealmofdrama,
Wagner realized his concept ofGesamtkunstwerk i.e. Total Artin his four opera
cycleDerRingNielungen(18481874).
WhileWagnersuseofthetermGesamtkunstwerklikelyappliessolelytohis
notionofoperaanddrama,IwouldtrytoexplorehowGesamtkunstwerkalsoworks
andmanifestsitselfintheT.SEliotspoetry.JustlikeWagner,Eliotinhispoetry
depicts the fragmentation and decay of his time. This research proposal tries to
identifyGesamtkunstwerkelementsinEliotspoetryatfirsthand,andtriestoprove
thattheconceptofTotalArtisusedformallyandthematicallybyEliottocreate
meaningandunityinhispoetry.This thesisconcentratesontherelationbetween
Eliotspoetryandsomemusic,painting,andpoetrytechniques.Ittriestoshowhow
Eliotusedotherartsintohispoetryinordertoachievemeaning,unityandharmony,
applyingtoWagnernotionofGesamtkunstwerwhichlinksdifferentartformsinto
onemedia.
SincetheconceptofGesamtkunstwer,orTotalArtreferstotheunionof
differentartformsintoonemedia,thisthesistriestostudythedifferentconnections
that Eliots poetry holds with other arts, mainly: poetry, music, and painting. By
8 T.S.Eliot,'TheMusicofPoetry,'OnPoetryandPoets(London:Faber&Faber,1957).P.29
9RichardWagner,ArtAndRevolution,trans. WilliamAshtonEllis,BlackmaskOnline,2003,
http://www.encyclopaedia.com/ebooks/11/97.pdf

showinghowT.SEliotspoetrymakesuseandadapts,inawayoranother,different
poetical,musicaland,paintingtechniques,IwilltrytoshowhowEliotusesWagner
concept of total art in order to achieve order and meaning out of modern
fragmentation.Moreprecisely,thisthesisfocusesonEliotsuseofCubismin The
WasteLand,hisuseofmusicalformsandthemesinFourQuartets,andsymbolists
synthesia,asGesamtkunstwerkelementstoachieveunityandharmony.
Further points to be considered in this study:
FrenchSymbolistsrelationtoWagnermusic,anditsimplicationinEliotspoetry.
WagnersevidentinfluenceonT.SEliotpoetry(EliotsquotingofWagner).
EliotsuseofmusicalformsinFourQuartets.(TheuseofQuartetformandsonata
formintheconstructionofthepoem)
MusicanddanceinFourQuartetsassymbolsofharmony.
EliotsandWagnersrelationtoJessieWestonsFromRitualToromance.
EliotsuseoftheWagnerianleitmotifasanelementtobringstructureandmeaning.
EliotsuseofCubismandmythstoachieveGesamtkunstwerk.
Othertopics:
PostmodernistselementsinT.SEliotpoetry

relationbetweenmusicandliteratureinthe19thand20thcentury
relationbetweenmusicandtheFrenchsymbolists
relationbetweenEliotandFrenchsymbolists
Frenchsymbolistsuseofsynthesiaaswagnerconcept
EliotuseofFrenchsymbolistsynthesia
Eliotuseofotherelements????Imagism??
02thetechniqueoftheobjectivecorrelativeasGESAMTKUNSTWERK:
WHILE objective correlative technique involves use of objects and situation to
convey emotion to the reader , GESAMTKUNSTWERK suggests the union of
differentarttoconveysuchemotions.
LiteraryexampleshowingEliotuseoftheobjectivecorelatif
literaryexampleshowingwagneruseofgesamtkunstwerk

Eliotuseofgesamtkunstwerkasobjectivecorelatif:
Useofmusicalforms/useofpainting

The emotion of art is impersonal. And the poet cannot reach this impersonality without
surrendering himself wholly to the work to be done. And he is not likely to know what is
to be done unless he lives in what is not merely the present, but the present moment of
the past, unless he is conscious, not of what is dead, but of what is already living.

-THE EVOLUTION OF ELIOTS CONCIDERATION TO MUSIC IN HIS

CREATION OF POETRY :
1-IN THE WASTE LAND MUSIC IS USED TO FORMULATE AN
OBJECTIVE POETRY. THE USE OF GESAMTKUNSTWERK , AT THE SAME
TIME (program music) MUSIC IS USED TO SHOW SEPARATION AND
ISOLATION : GLAMOPHONE + TRISTAN AND ISOLDE
FORMULATE OBJECTIF POETRY COMBINING MUSIC FORMS WITH
CUBIM
WAGNER USE OF THE MYTH WITH Eliot use of the myth.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2-IN FOUR QUARTETS MUSIC IS USED TO APPROACH THE CONDITION
OF MUSIC , THERE IS NO MORE HESITATION MUSIC AND DANCE ARE
HERE TO FIND REDEMPTION .Eliots relation to bethoven music
(ABSOLUTE MUSIC)
FORMAL ASPECT OF FOUR QUARTETS
The purpose of the quartet was to have multiple themes that intertwined with each other.
Each section, as in the musical image, would be distinct even though they share the
same performance. East Coker and The Dry Salvages are written in such a way as to
make the poems continuous and create a "double-quartet". [32]

+ REFFERENCE TO MUSIC
The influence of Beethoven on Eliot's Four Quartets is mediated by Wagner and
Schopenhauer and relates fundamentally to the philosopher's understanding of
instrumental music as expressing a universalised and abstract emotion.
Schopenhauer's aesthetics are intimately connected with Wagner's treatment of the
idea of absolute music a discussion that begins in his early prose writings and
culminates in his essay 'Beethoven' (1870). At the origin of Wagner's thinking about
absolute music is a striking metaphor: that of Beethoven as Columbus, exploring the
sea of absolute music. This metaphor is found at the heart of Four Quartets,

powerfully connecting the poem with Beethoven's music, and with a

Schopenhauerian aesthetics that understands this music as inhabiting a realm
beyond human affect and desire.