Question

T.S. Eliot's “Objective Correlative” means:

• A. Telling readers the emotions directly
• B. Set of images/events that creates the emotions
• C. Ignoring emotions
• D. Using bibliography to explain emotions

Hint:

Objective correlative means presenting objects, images, or situations that evoke the intended emotion.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1 : Understanding the Question:
This question asks us to identify the correct definition and function of the literary term "Objective Correlative" as formulated by T.S. Eliot in his critical essays.

Step 2 : Key Formulas and Approach:
The approach involves analyzing the aesthetic theory behind Eliot's "Objective Correlative" (specifically from his essay "Hamlet and His Problems"). We evaluate how an author evokes emotional responses in readers through sensory and situational imagery.

Step 3 : Detailed Explanation:

• T.S. Eliot introduced the term "Objective Correlative" to the field of literary criticism in his 1919 essay "Hamlet and His Problems."

• According to Eliot, a poet cannot simply state or describe an emotion directly to the reader; doing so fails to create an authentic artistic experience.

• Instead, the artist must construct a "set of objects, a situation, a chain of events" which serve as the formula for that particular emotion.

• When these external factors are presented in the text, they immediately evoke the corresponding sensory experience, leading directly to the intended emotional response in the reader.

• This makes the objective correlative an artistic mechanism for rendering abstract emotions concrete through objective, sensory-rich scenarios, distinguishing it from direct telling or ignoring emotions.

Step 4 : Final Answer:
T.S. Eliot's objective correlative refers to a set of images or events that create emotions, which corresponds to option (B).
The correct option is (B) Set of images/events that creates the emotions.