the nature of radiantly confirmed when recurs at the poem’s close: “now,” “always” “Quick now, here, now, always” (PTSE 184). when most poetically effective, 1 “Re-cantation,” evokes such resources, akin to what Eliot described to Hayward as acute personal “some reminiscence (never to be explicated, of course, but to give power from well below the surface)” (quoted 67). But just as epigraph from Heraclitus affirms the CFQ Burnt Norton’s commonality of the this matter lying well below the surface is the experience “Logos,” “not of one life only/ But of many generations” (PTSE 196): Eliot’s insistence that the emotional 1 charge of recurrent images happens all of us” is significant. In the inexplicable “for “personal reminiscence” accruing through archetypal connectedness, individual impulse has “power” become collectively validated, another pattern & recreated & reconciled,” as his note for “in suggested. That this happens the poet” is, presumably, because Little Gidding “through – reverting to Heraclitus unlike men” he does not mistake this as private wisdom of – “most “a his own” (quoted 905-6), but embraces its reverberant contextuality. When bells ring PTSE 1 in Eliot, they are characteristically and even Doris’s telephone repeats its “reminiscent,” a ling ling” (PTSE 70, 116); the buoy-bell’s silence, in merely 1 The Dry Salvages, “Ting marks the interval between its repetitions, stillness/ Between two waves of the sea” “the (PTSE 209). His hypothesis that is always now” (PTSE 183) is one that, textually, 1 1 “all implies a dynamic interrelation between past and present writings, both his own and others’; for Eliot’s is above all a poetics of resonance, in which an Ground-swell” “unhurried/ underlies the vividly immediate as well as its recurrences, recovered as it were from the of the sea: and small laughter between leaves and hurrying feet/ Under “Whispers sleep, where all the waters meet” (PTSE 194, 107). 1
the nature of “now,” radiantly confirmed when “always” recurs at the poem’s close: “Quick now, here, now, always” (PTSE 1 184). “Re-cantation,” when most poetically effective, evokes such resources, akin to what Eliot described to Hayward as “some acute personal reminiscence (never to be explicated, of course, but to give power from well below the surface)” (quoted CFQ 67). But just as Burnt Norton’s epigraph from Heraclitus affirms the commonality of the “Logos,” this matter lying well below the surface is “not the experience of one life only/ But of many generations” (PTSE 1 196): Eliot’s insistence that the emotional charge of recurrent images happens “for all of us” is significant. In the inexplicable “personal reminiscence” accruing “power” through archetypal connectedness, individual impulse has become collectively validated, “in another pattern & recreated & reconciled,” as his note for Little Gidding suggested. That this happens “through the poet” is, presumably, because – reverting to Heraclitus – unlike “most men” he does not mistake this as “a private wisdom of his own” (quoted PTSE 1 905-6), but embraces its reverberant contextuality. When bells ring in Eliot, they are characteristically “reminiscent,” and even Doris’s telephone repeats its “Ting a ling ling” (PTSE 1 70, 116); the buoy-bell’s silence, in The Dry Salvages, merely marks the interval between its repetitions, “the stillness/ Between two waves of the sea” (PTSE 1 209). His hypothesis that “all is always now” (PTSE 1 183) is one that, textually, implies a dynamic interrelation between past and present writings, both his own and others’; for Eliot’s is above all a poetics of resonance, in which an “unhurried/ Ground-swell” underlies the vividly immediate as well as its recurrences, recovered as it were from the of the sea: “Whispers and small laughter between leaves and hurrying feet/ Under sleep, where all the waters meet” (PTSE 1 194, 107).
Re_cantationreworked.docx