Question:medium

Who coined the term "Objective Correlative" in his essay 'Hamlet and His Problems'?

Show Hint

Remember: T. S. Eliot introduced the concept of Objective Correlative in the essay *Hamlet and His Problems* (1919), emphasizing that emotions in literature should be conveyed through concrete situations or objects.
Updated On: Mar 10, 2026
  • T. S. Eliot
  • Matthew Arnold
  • I. A. Richards
  • F. R. Leavis
Show Solution

The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
This question asks to identify the literary critic who introduced the specific literary term "Objective Correlative" and the essay in which it was introduced.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
This is a fact-based question from the field of literary criticism and theory, requiring knowledge of key concepts and their proponents.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
- The term "Objective Correlative" was coined by the influential modernist poet and critic T. S. Eliot.
- He introduced this concept in his critical essay titled 'Hamlet and His Problems,' which was published in his collection of essays, The Sacred Wood (1920).
- Eliot defined the objective correlative as "a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked."
- In simple terms, it is the artistic method of evoking emotion in the audience through external, concrete symbols or events rather than by describing the emotion directly. Eliot famously criticized Shakespeare's Hamlet for being an "artistic failure" because he believed it lacked a sufficient objective correlative for Hamlet's intense emotions.
Step 4: Final Answer:
T. S. Eliot coined the term "Objective Correlative" in his essay 'Hamlet and His Problems'.
Was this answer helpful?
0