RichardWagnersGesamtkunstwerkinT.

SEliotspoetry

0 Eliot in some of his essays has exposes the possible relation that both music and
poetry may has in common. He clearly explains the possibility of a poet to create poetry using
different musical devices:

In his essay

There are possibilities for verse, which bear some analogy to the development of a theme by
different groups of instruments; there are possibilities of transitions in a poem comparable to
the different movements of a symphony or a quartet; there are possibilities of contrapuntal
arrangement of subject-matter. It is in the concert room, rather than in the opera house, that
the germ of a poem may be quickened.1

TheGermancomposerandcriticRichardWagner(18131883)presentedtomid19thcentury
EuropethetermGesamtkunstwerk.Itpresentstheunionofpoetryandsymphonyasthesupremeart
form.Wagnerrevolutionizedclassicaloperaintomusicdramas,wherethepoetadaptshisownepic
tohismusicalcomposition.Theartistisatoncepoetandmusician,stimulatingallsensestoreach
aestheticbeauty.Farfrombeingasimpleintertextualexercisebetweendifferentartforms,Wagner
explainsinhisessaystheeffectsandimplicationsofGesamtkunstwerkintohisart.InhisessayArt
andRevolution(1849),WagnerpresentedthedecayofhissocietyincontrasttotheidealofAncient
Greekdrama,whichcombineddance,music,andpoetryintoasingularcoherentwhole.Heexpounds
howtheGreeksperfectedDramaintheirunityofartworksthatlivedinthepublicconscience.The
decayofcontemporaryDrama,andhenceArt,isattributedtothedetachmentofartformspursuingits
owndevelopment[]inlonelyselfsufficiency[]intheconscienceofprivatepersons(Wagner,
52).

WagnerusedtheexacttermGesamtkunstwerkinhisessayArtandRevolution,andinthe
secondessayofthepolemicseriesArtworkoftheFuture(1849).Thetermbecameessentialtohis
conceptionofaestheticideals.Wagnerdemandedtwomainfactorstobepresentinatotalworkofart:
poetry,carriedtoitsutmostlimitsindrama;andmusiccarriedtoitsutmostlimitsastheinterpreter
anddeepenerofdramaticaction.Synthesizingthepoetic,visual,andmusicalintotherealmofdrama,
WagnerrealizedhisconceptofGesamtkunstwerkinhisfouroperacycleDerRingNielungen(1848
1874).

WhileWagnersuseofthetermGesamtkunstwerklikelyappliessolelytohisnotionofoperaticdrama,
IwouldtrytoexplorehowGesamtkunstwerkalsoworksandmanifestsitselfinthepoetryofT.SEliot.
JustlikeWagner,Eliotinhispoetrydepictsthefragmentationanddecayofhistime.Thisresearch
proposaltriestoidentifyGesamtkunstwerkelementsinEliotspoetryatafirsthand,andtriestoprove
thattheconceptoftotalartisusedformallyandthematicallybyEliottocreatemeaningandunityin

1
T.S. Eliot, 'The Music of Poetry', On Poetly and Poets (London, 1957),
hispoetry.ThisthesisconcentratesontherelationbetweenEliotspoetryandsomemusic,painting,
andpoetrytechniques.IttriestoshowhowEliotusedotherartsintohispoetryinordertoachieve
meaning,unityandharmonyapplyingtoWagnernotionofGesamtkunstwerwhichlinksdifferentart
formsintoonemedia.

SincetheconceptofGesamtkunstwerortotalartreferstotheunionofdifferentartformsinto
onemedia,thisthesistriestolooktothedifferentconnectionsEliotspoetryholdswithotherarts,
mainly:poetry,music,andpainting.ByshowinghowT.SEliotspoetrymakesuseandadapts,ina
wayoranother,differentpoetical,musicaland,paintingtechniquesinhiswriting,wewilltrytoshow
howEliotusedWagnerconceptoftotalartintohispoetryinordertoachieveorderandmeaningoutof
modernfragmentation.Moreprecisely,thisthesisfocusesonEliotsuseofCubisminTheWasteLand,
hisuseofmusicalformsandthemesinFourQuartets,andsymbolistssynthesiainhispoetryas
Gesamtkunstwerkelementstoachieveunityandharmony.

WhiledifferentcriticsalreadypointedouttotheestablishedconnectionsbetweenEliots
poetryanddifferentotherarts,thisthesistriestolooktothoseintertextualconnectionsastotalart
elementscorrespondingtoWagnernotionofGesamtkunstwerk,usedforthepurposeofachieving
meaningandunity.Thus,thisthesisprovesitsoriginalityintryingtogivenewtoolsthatbringunityin
Eliotswritingdespiteoftheconventionalmythical,archetypalandobjectivecorrelativeapproachesto
Eliotstexts.
Asfarasmusicoliteraryanalysisisconcerned,whilepreviousanalysisandinterpretations
focusedmainlyontheformativeelementsofthetextandtheirrelationtomusicalforms,thisresearch
triestolooktotheimplicationofboththeformandthecontentofEliotstextsandtheirrelationsto
musicbothasastructuralelementandanexploredthemeusedtoachieveharmony.Thus,musical
motifs,structures,andthemesaretobeinterpretedasGesamtkunstwerkelementscreatingconnection
betweenmusicandpoetryinEliotstexttoachieveunityandharmony.Eliotsconnectiontomusicis
alsotobeseenwithregardstohisFrenchsymbolistsinfluences,sincepoetslikeBaudelaireand
MalarmearethemselvesinfluencedbymusicalformsandsomeWagnerianmusicalconcepts.

WhiletheuseofCubismisevidentinT.SEliotspoems,thisthesistriestoshowhowEliotis
abletousesyntheticandanalyticalCubismalongwithmythicalfigurestoachieveunityandcoherence
inTheWasteLand.Thus,ittriestoshowhowEliotspoetryappliestoWagnernotionof
Gesamtkunstwerk,thistimecombiningpoetryandpaintingforthepurposeofachievingharmonyand
unity.NotethatEliotsuseofCubismistobeconsideredwithotherauthorsuseofthissame
techniqueforthepurposeofforegroundingEliotsGesamtkunstwerktechnique.
1.Eliotsrelationtomusicalforms,Wagnersopera,andGesamtkunstwerk:
FrenchSymbolistsrelationtoWagner,music,anditsimplicationonEliotspoetry.
WagnerevidentinfluenceonT.SEliotpoetry(EliotsquotingofWagner).
EliotsuseofmusicalformsinFourQuartets(useofQuartetformandsonataformintheconstruction
ofthepoem)archetypalcriticismonmotifs.
MusicanddanceinFourQuartetsassymbolsofharmony.
EliotsuseofmusicalformsandthemesastoolstoachievetheconceptofGesamtkunstwerk.

2.EliotsuseofSynesthesiaasatechniquetoachieveGesamtkunstwerk:

FrenchsymbolistsSynesthesia:Baudelairescorrespondences

Musicalpaintings: The Blue Riders use of synesthetic experiments to achieve

Gesamtkunstwerk

EliotsUseofSynesthesiaasaFrenchsymbolisttechnique
EliotsuseofsyntesthesiatoachieveGesamtkunstwerk

3.EliotsuseofCubismtoachieveGesamtkunstwerk:
CubistspaintingandGesamtkunstwerk:Picassoandpiano
Eliotcollageofdifferentpoems

OtherconnectionsbetweenEliotandWagner:

EliotandWagnerrelationtoJessieWestonsFromRitualToromance:BothWagnerandEliotused
thegrailherointheirartisticcreations
EliotsuseoftheWagnerianleitmotifasanelementtobringstructureandmeaning
EliotsuseofWagnerianstructuralOrchestrationinTheWasteLand:
Critical Essays on Poetry and Music p.272

Eliotsuseoftheseekertoachieveharmony

Symbolistuseofmusicasareactiontorealistpoets:
OneofthemajorconcernsofFrenchSymbolistpoetswasthe
efforttoachieveamusicalization:"[d]elamusiqueavanttoutechose"wroteVerlaine
inhisopeningsentencetoArtpoetique.31
Itwasareactionagainstintellectualismin
poetryandanattempttoachieveasingingqualitybythesuggestiveflowofsounds.
poetryandanattempttoachieveasingingqualitybythesuggestiveflowofsounds.
FortheSymbolists,thesensuousemphasisfallsontheearmorethantheeye.Itisa
musicthatcaststhefeelinginwards.Alongwiththeirconcernwithmusicthereis
alsoapreoccupationwithinwardness,themystical,themysteriousandthearcane,
stateswhicharedetachedfromallthatispublicandinstitutionalized.Symbolism
impliesthatwordssuggestratherthanstate.Theverseismusicalinthesensethat,in
practice,itaimsatbreakingwiththeoratoricaltraditionoftheFrenchalexandrine
and,insomecases,breakscompletelywithrhyme.'Verslibre',theinventionof
whichisusuallyascribedtoGustaveKahn,outlastedthemovement.Kahnsumsup
thedoctrineas"antinaturalism,antiprosaisminpoetry,areactionagainstthe
regimentationoftheParnassiansandthenaturalists".32

Overacenturylater,Eliotwassaying
ofVal6ry'scriticismthat"[h]eremindsmeofNarcissus,gazingintothepool,and
partakesoftheattractionandmysteryofNarcissus,thealoofnessandfrigidityofthat
spiritualcelibate".35
Intheirverse,MallarmeandValeryfracturesyntaxandcollapse
idiomsintoauniquetimelesscontinuumapproximatetotheunvoicedconditionof
music.36
Musiclacksoneofthebasiccharacteristicsoflanguage,namely,afixed
associationandasingleunequivocalreferent.Listenersarealwaysfreetofillits
subtlearticulateformswithanymeaningthatfitsthem.AsR.Dragonettipointsout,
itisthisfreedomthatmakesSymbolistpoetsmusiciansofsilence.37
Itleads
Symbolistartinthedirectionoffreedomfromspecificreferent.

Poe,laforgue,malarme
Bentley,Eric.TheTheoryoftheModernStage:anIntroductiontoModernTheatreand
Drama.Harmondsworth:Penguin,1968.

/learly Eliot was influenced by Frazer's anthropological writings both

directly and through the Wagnerian HYPERLINK "http://www.monsalvat.no/weston.htm"
J.L. Weston HYPERLINK "http://www.monsalvat.no/verlaine.htm" Verlaine's
poemabout Parsifal) and through HYPERLINK "http://www.monsalvat.no/weston.htm"
Weston HYPERLINK "http://www.monsalvat.no/grail.htm" Grail legend. It might be
fortuitous that the quotation from Petronius with which Eliot prefaced his
poem is singularly appropriate to HYPERLINK "http://www.monsalvat.no/names.htm" \l
"Kundry" Kundry