This text is a speech broadcasted in a German Radio after World War II. It is an essay that deals with the evolution of language and literature and is aimed at demonstrating that Europeans have the same origins and that every country needs others.

 

This text can be divided into paragraphs to better understand the development of the argumentations proposed by T. S. Eliot, the essayist.

 

In the first lines Eliot states "English...is the richest [language] for the purpose of writing poetry". This statement could be misunderstood therefore he immediately qualifies it saying that he does not mean that England has produced the greatest poets (because for instance Dante is as great as Milton or Shakespeare) or has produced more poetry, but that English is the richest language for poetry because of his large vocabulary that according to Eliot "the command of it by any one poet seems meagre in comparison with his total wealth".

 

Later on Eliot explains the reason of the richness of English: the variety of elements of which it is made up. In fact in English language many different language coexist: the Germanic foundation (element that the writer/speaker and the reader/listener have in common) that brought the German element, the Scandinavian element caused by the Danish conquest, the Norman French element, French influences, Latin words and lastly the Celtic element.
However, Eliot wants to highlight how not only the variety of languages but also the rhythmic variety is important for the development of poetry. To support the thesis that English is rich in his rhythmic variety Eliot provides some examples: the Saxon verse, the rhythm of Norman French, the rhythm of the Welsh, the influence of generation of study of Latin and Greek poetry and the refreshment from other countries that share with England the language.

 

After this clear and satisfactory argumentation Eliot restate his thesis that English is a good language for poetry because of his rich language and that England has not necessarily produced the greatest poets. This restatement is aimed at introducing a new topic that Eliot wants to refute: the belief that only a country excel in one art, for example Italy and France in painting, Germany in music and England in poetry. However, according to Eliot the art is not an exclusive possession of a country and every poet or artist owe something to the influences of other countries' poets. To support this thesis Eliot provide the example of the Romanticism in 19th century when the English Romantic movement dominated Europe in the first half of the century, but in the second half French poetry was very important for the development of the movement.

 

In the following paragraph Eliot demonstrates how a nation which leads in a particular form of art in a period does not necessarily produce the greatest artists. For instance no poet can be compared to Goethe even if he was German and during Goethe's life England led in poetry.

 

The last part of the essay is aimed at summing up the conclusion drawn by Eliot that every European nation owe to other European nations his poetry and art and that the ability of European literature to renew itself depends on the ability to receive and assimilate influences from abroad and its ability to learn from his own sources.