Worried about being seen as a "snobby intellectual"

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We have an end of year concert at uni and weve all been asked to compose experimental pieces. . The point is that im basing it on TS Eliot's Four Quartets. Each section is accompanied by lines from each quartet chosen by my group members (who later on start playing) but for a minute or so its just me on the piano and them declaiming verse.

Im worried that im going to look like a pretentious dilettante. My lecturers will have no doubt read the poem and im a little concerned that theyll be rolling their eyes. My piece is very different to everyone else's too so it will stand out... im not toooooo worried about it. Just is this something to be concerned about?

You have nothing to be concerned about. Anybody who thinks that counts as snobby intellectualism would never assign experimental composition in the first place, or take a class where that is an assignment. I don't think it counts as pretentious either, given that TS Eliot got dragged into the mainstream by the record breaking success of the Cats musical.

Dilettante? Possibly. But being a dilettante is strongly encouraged in college and possibly essential. You need to be one to get the most out of college. The kinder term for doing this in college is "well rounded". I disapprove of the term "dilettante" on principle because it implies that a person shouldn't even try something unless they are prepared to go all-in. Given that you were assigned to experiment, don't worry at all about the fact that you did, in fact, experiment.

You don't have anything to worry about. In composing an experimental composition based on T.S. Eliot, one can't avoid intellectualism. You would look like a fool if you composed a "pop cultural" piece based on the above.

I'd mostly worry that it's going to be unbearably dreary. And do not under any circumstances go in there with your trousers rolled.

corduroy patches and a silk handkerchief tucked into my breast pocket

thanks for setting that to rest. I love the quartets. Its more than a pretty poem. Its a meditation on time stasis impermanence eternity and so much more. Ive only read burnt norton so far!

Sounds Prufrockian to me!

No worries, binaryodes, in fact, make the most of your choice and really showcase your talent. You'll do great! (And no worries what somebody else *might* think). Flaunt those corduroy patches and silk handkerchiefs!

Ultimately, in any class, you only need to impress one person, right?

As far as other students go, I have trouble with that too, but even though haters are gonna hate, they seem to have short memories. Since they don't pay much mind to their bitterness, it makes sense that no one else should pay it much mind either.