The GATE Grind

GATE 2024 XH2 (English) – Question 64

History of English Literature and Literary Studies · English Literary Traditions across Time: Chaucer to contemporary English literature · 2 marks · Multiple select

“We dwell with satisfaction upon the poet’s difference from his predecessors, especially his immediate predecessors; […]. Whereas if we approach a poet without this prejudice we shall often find that not only the best, but the most individual parts of his works may be those in which the dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously.”
Which of the following options is/are implied by this excerpt?

  1. Being different from one’s predecessors need not be the defining characteristic of a good poet.
  2. What we consider original in a poem, may be deeply rooted in tradition.
  3. There is no difference between old and new poems.
  4. The past is often a living presence in good contemporary poetry.

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (A) Being different from one’s predecessors need not be the defining characteristic of a good poet.; (B) What we consider original in a poem, may be deeply rooted in tradition.; (D) The past is often a living presence in good contemporary poetry.

Explanation

This is from Eliot's “Tradition and the Individual Talent”. It says that the most individual parts of a poet's work are often where the dead poets live on, so difference is not the mark of a good poet (A), originality is rooted in tradition (B), and the past is alive in good poetry (D).