Formation of Sulphurous Acid
Eliot uses the imagery of the formation of sulphurous acid in his essay, "Tradition and the Individual Talent". He uses the image of the chemical reaction to portray the working of an artist's mind. Oxygen and sulphur dioxide form sulphurous acid when platinum as a catalyst is present. He compares these two gases to emotions and feelings. Their product is nothing but the work of art itself. In this process the artist is a catalyst like platinum in the reaction.
Platinum as a Catalyst
While commenting upon the working of an artist's mind, Eliot uses the image of platinum used as a catalyst in the chemical reaction of oxygen and sulphur dioxide. A catalyst remains apparently unchanged after the reaction. Like this a writer should be present in the process of creating artistic works but he must not mix his personal emotions into the work. Eliot remarks, "The mind of the poet is the shred of platinum. It may partly or exclusively operate upon the experience of the man himself; however, the more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates; the more perfectly will the mind digest and transmute the passions which are its material." The imagery of platinum makes Eliot's argument more concrete and significant in the essay.
Mona-Lisa of Literature
In "Hamlet and His Problems", Eliot uses the image of famous "Mona-Lisa" to signify the importance of Hamlet in literary world. Like the portrait of Mona-Lisa, Hamlet has some hidden motifs which can only be deciphered by a critic's eye. Actually, the essayist uses this image of Mona-Lisa to criticize Hamlet as a play. Hamlet might be Shakespeare's major artistic success but for him it is an unfortunate artistic failure. He provides sufficient arguments to prove this fact.
"Blue-book of knowledge"
In his essay, Eliot uses the imagery of the blue book to refer to the scholarly resources of his age. A blue book is something which is important in sense and elegant in appearance. It also refers to the scholarly books which is not easy to digest. This imagery is used by the essayist in a humorous manner. He says, "if we seek not Blue-book knowledge but the enjoyment of poetry, and ask for a poem, we shall seldom find it."
