TS Eliot's essay "Tradition and Individual Talent" incorporates many ideas sympathetic to those found in Pound's poetry, thus allowing Pound to be understood more fully from one who read Eliot's essay first. If one were to read Eliot's essay, one might grasp fundamental ideas for understanding Pound's poetry, such as: the importance of tradition and the classics for poetry, the reader's knowledge of the great works of the past and the fact that an author's poems are often made up of ideas and feelings foreign to them. If one kept these general ideas in mind while reading Pound's poems, one's understanding would be much more complete, and one would get there sooner than the reader who has not prepared himself with Eliot's essay. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the first aspects of Eliot's essay that might help those preparing to read Pound is the emphasis on the importance of tradition and the classics to poetry. Pound believes that being totally alien to tradition is one of the worst things a poet can do. There is a sense that tradition is a rich part of every poem. Eliot states that “…the historical sense compels a man to write…with the feeling that all European literature since Homer and within him all the literature of his country has a simultaneous existence and composes a simultaneous order.” Eliot states that the poet should write with all the influence he has acquired through his experiences and teachings, and then he can create masterly poetry. Eliot's essay encourages the reader to learn and embrace the classics, which in turn are very helpful in understanding and reading Pound's literature. Eliot's refers to the classics, just like Pound, only on a smaller scale, thus acclimating the reader to Pound's technique. Eliot even goes so far as to include a quote in Greek, just as Pound does on several occasions. He states: "...[a poet's] significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists." In this statement he insinuates that the reader must have sufficient knowledge of “dead poets and artists” to truly appreciate the value of a poet's work. Eliot also states that the author's work must be compared to the works of past authors in order to fully see its greatness. Eliot's use of seductive statements like the one mentioned above actually persuades his reader to develop a richer knowledge of the classics, and thus coincides with Pound's goal. When reading Eliot's essay you can notice that Eliot believes that a poet's real feelings and emotions are not necessarily the emotions he portrays in a particular poem. This is certainly true in Pound's work, as can be clearly seen in his poem "The River Merchants Wife". This work is a modified version of an 8th century poem, which was actually written by a Chinese poet named Li Taipo. Of course, since the poem is not his originally, it is not possible that it is about his feelings and emotions, although he may partially agree with it. Eliot makes a good example of this in his essay with an example dealing with chemistry and a catalyst. Since the catalyst is likened to the poet's mind, it is separate from the feelings and emotions contained in a poem and remains completely unchanged from the process the poet goes through in creating a poem. Pound is famous for using this style in creating poetry, often taking plots from past literary works and molding them into his art. Keep in mind:.