The purpose of lhis paper is to assess the current state of T. S. Eliot’s poems in Korean translation. Academic research on Eliot by Korean scholars began in 1945, and so far three generations of scholars have actively engaged in Eliot studies and translations of his works‘ However, based on my examination of nearly all of the Korean translations of the quoted verse lines appearing in the Journal 01 the T. S. Eliot Society of Korea between 2006 and 2008, and Studies ill Modern 8ritish and American Poetry (2008), I argue that translation endeavors by the second and third generation scholars have not yielded satisfactory results and that the senior group of scholars cannot shirk its responsibility. The problem areas in the translations include choice of words and phrases, tense adjustment, versification and punctuation as well as scene description and poetic imagtnlDg. Followmg a detailed discussion of inappropriate and awkward translations, 1 offer my own translation for comparison if need be.
This paper examined how the English Renaissance drama influenced Eliot's early poelry. Many critics like Hugh Kenner and Grover Smith insisted the relalionship between Eliot' s poetη and the English Renaissance drama, but they didn’t tell concretely how Eliot’s poetry was affected by the English Renaissance drama. First, I Iried to examine how the English Renaissance drama affected Eliol's poetry in terms of the form. As some critics indicaled Eliot was a poet who tended to improve the traditional English verse forms and use them. So he learned the blank verse form in lhe English Renaissance drama, improved and used il in his poems especially “Gerontion.'‘ And he used some lechniques like repetition he showed in Ihis poem in his several poems such as “The Love Song of J A lfred PrufTock," and “La Figlia Che Piange." Besides, Eliot used tbe English Renaissance drama as lhe significant source of allusions in his poems. For example, lines 5 and 6 of “Whispers of Immortality" can be associ ated witb Flamineo’s speech of John Webster’s The While Devi/ V. iv. Thus, Eliot Iried to put the concept of tbe deatb in life tbis speech implied in his poem. And he tried to show the speakers' self-dramatization in his early poems Ihat appeared in main characters’ speech in the English Renaissance drama by using these allusions. Thus, he attempted to sho\V the speakers' narcissistic mind that he thought tbe modem men had.
The main aim of Ihis article is 10 examine the significance of Ibe cily’s nighl in Eliot' s early poems, such as “The Little Passion." “Goldfish," "Prufrock’s Pervigilium," “Suile Clownesque," and “Rhapsody on a W indy ight." In these poems, Ihe cily’5 nigbt becomes the conlest zone in whicb bOlh the melropolis’s beauty and ugliness, and ils seduClion and hOTTor cúnf1iclingly coexist. Eliot" 5 f1anuers, who 51roll on urban slreels al night, are shocked (0 confront (he horror of high modemÎ(y. To some of them, as In “Prufrock’s Pervigilium.‘’ it is nol jusl the darkness of “problemalic" modemily bUI that of Iheir own inside Ihal Ihey encOunler 31 Iheir slrolling. A nother agenda that E liot" 5 early poems register is lhe urban nigh I as a gendered time-space, in which bOlh urban landscape and female bodies are transfigured inlo spectacular objecls under Ihe gaze of the desiring males. lnstead of foregrounding Ihe agenda of desire and sexualilY, Eliot's Oanuers, however, conslantly erase their OWIl desire by deployill8 l.be sLrategy of disavowal. In “Suite Clownesque," Lhe speaker’s lransgressive desire is effaced by lbe self.deconstructive parody of his perforrnative acts. “The Lillle Passion" presenlS anolher type of disavowal by displacing Ihe speaker's scxual desire into his own self.projecled Iragic characterizalÎon. Ralher l.han opening up a new/meaningful horizon of experience, lhe lransgressive desire in Eliot’5 poems is recaptured by lhe logic of modemity and lhc cily’s nighl, as exemplified in Ihe prostitule-moon in “Rhapsody on a Windy Nighl." becomes a lelling sign of Ihe “ugly" city.
T. S. Eliot, in one of his later poetic dramas, The Conjìdential Clerk, shows the search for the mistaken identity dealing with lhe discovery of hero' s self for the eternal life in 버e common lives. From the titlc onwards the play also suggests a detective thriller interest concerned with Lhe investigation of a mystery or, at least, some business of a secret, confidential nature. In this respect, lhe elemenls of mystery and lheir function deserve to be analyzed. It appears via the elements of investigal.ion. coincidence. mystjfication, confession etc., which make the play fairly diverting and at the same time suggest symbolically its deeper meaning and lheme. AClually the process of invesligalion receives more extended treatment in this play than in I.he earlier ones. and the suspense is so well maintained that the play definitely achieves a technical smoothness 1101 to be seen in earlier plays. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the myslery lhriller elements of tbe play, The COlljìdential Clerk and investigate how they are used with special reference to its subject matter, the mistaken identity revealed in the process of self-identification through the discovery of self. As seen in the analysis, Eliot makes all the characters take part in the search for the mistaken identity of Colby Simpkins and in particular, lets a detective named Eggerson help M rs Guzzard as witness give evidence. 10 addition, he designs the story so that Eggerson can bring the whole affair to light by getting lhe c1ue to lhe identity problem which plays part in investigation. It matters that the discovery of hero’s true self is made Ihanks 10 the cooperalive efforts of all Ihe characlers in Ihis process, and here Ihe elemenls required 10 invesligation are of great help to structuring the basic frame of Ihe play.
By Ihe "objective correlalive,“ a verbal equivalenl for Ihe poel’s personal experience, T. S. Eliol meanl 10 end the abuse of language which he believed widely spread by the pemlclOus influence of Romanticism and Symbolism. Ironically, howcver, its ongm dates back to the Romantic I Symbolist aesthetes. Amold taught Eliot how to achieve a balance between “the style’‘ and “the subjecl matter." by curbing both Symbolist and Imagist indulgence in stylistic expcriments. Pater, on thc other hand, showed Eliot ho\V to be modem by denying Hegel’s transcendental self, someLhing he al50 leamed directly from the French poets. Even though the quasi-scientilìc tcml strips it of any historical context the exploration of it shows a continuous line which run5 from lhe Romantic' s idea of symbol, through the Symbolists, and into the 페nage" of Poutid and the Imagists. This is the line that slrived 10 make Creation self-sufficient by the indirecl method of evocation, and a line in which Amold and Paler form an important link. The idea of “objective correlalive" belongs to the tradition, starled by Ihe great Romanlic poels, that aimed to overcome Carlesian represenlalional realism as well as subjective idealism. Eliot’s contribulion is in adding further sceplicism aboul Ihe I.ranscendental self and his recognition of Ihe danger that poelic Iranscendence could lum into solipsism.
Unlike the innuence of Beethoven on Eliot, that of Bartók has been relatively ignored. Like-for-like parallels between particular poems and specific píeces of music by both of these composers can be dubious enlerprises, and il will here be inlended 10 avoid such an approach. This article will inslead look al critical work which has been done on the string quarlets of Barlók as a more general voice behind the composition of FOllr QuortelS. As a necessary adjuncl, I1 will also consider Ihe degree to which Eliol would have been familiar with these pieces, by examining Iheir performance history and reception in Britain, as well as inlelleclUal comment generated about them in sources familiar to Eliot. Through some parallel analysis of the poetry and Ihe music, and wilh reference to readings, including Eliot's own, of FOllr QllorlelS, il will also be 311empted 10 show how the principlc of motivic development provides an important connection hetween Eliot’s and Bartók’s compositional techniqucs.