The concept of Objective Correlative

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An objective correlative is a common term in literature. It has become an important literary idea. It refers to a description that shows an emotion and makes the reader or viewer feel that emotion. Writers use it to describe objects, events, images, or settings that create a specific feeling. If a work of art makes people feel the right emotion, the writer has used the correct objective correlative. If it creates the wrong emotion, the objective correlative has failed.

The term “Objective Correlative” was first used by Washington Allston around 1840. In 1919, T. S. Eliot gave it a new meaning. In his essay “Hamlet and His Problems,” he wrote that the only way to express emotion in art is to find an objective correlative. This means using objects, situations, and events to create a specific emotion. An example of this can be found in Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The lines “Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels / And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells” show feelings of loneliness and sadness in modern city life.

In the same essay, Eliot discussed Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. He believed that Shakespeare did not fully develop Hamlet’s emotions. According to Eliot, Hamlet’s feelings do not match the story and the characters around him. He thought this happened because Shakespeare could not find the right objective correlative. Eliot’s idea of objective correlative is connected to his theory of “Dissociation of Sensibility.”

Eliot’s idea has received some criticism. Some people question whether a writer or reader can truly be objective. Michael Witkoski, a critic, said that the objective correlative can create more abstract and less clear connections.





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