Write a short note on ‘structural emotion’. [2020] 

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), in his essay “Tradition and the Individual Talent” (1919), explains the idea of structural emotion. This concept illustrates how various emotions are combined in art. It is not a matter of personal emotion, but rather artistic balance. 

Meaning of Structural Emotion: Structural emotion means the emotional balance created by the dramatic situation in poetry. Eliot gives an example where two opposite emotions (love for beauty and hatred for ugliness) exist together. The positive and negative emotions are contrasted in one dramatic moment. This mixture forms a new emotional structure. This new structure belongs to the poem itself, not to the poet’s personal life. 

Balance of Contrasted Emotions: Eliot says that real art is not one simple feeling. It is a union of many opposite emotions. These emotions exist in the poem’s structure, not in the po