MATTHEW ARNOLD

 

MATTHEW ARNOLD

Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator. He has been characterised as a sage writer, a type of writer who chastises and instructs the reader on contemporary social issues.

Literary career:  

·       In 1852, Arnold published his second volume of poems, Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems.

·       In 1853, he published Poems: A New Edition, a selection from the two earlier volumes famously excluding Empedocles on Etna, but adding new poems, Sohrab and Rustum and The Scholar Gipsy.

·       In 1854, Poems: Second Series appeared; also a selection, it included the new poem Balder Dead.

·       Arnold was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857, and he was the first in this position to deliver his lectures in English rather than in Latin.

·       He was re-elected in 1862. On Translating Homer (1861) and the initial thoughts that Arnold would transform into Culture and Anarchy were among the fruits of the Oxford lectures.

·       In 1859, he conducted the first of three trips to the continent at the behest of parliament to study European educational practices.

·       He self-published The Popular Education of France (1861), the introduction to which was later published under the title Democracy (1879).

·       In 1865, Arnold published Essays in Criticism: First Series. 

·       Essays in Criticism: Second Series would not appear until November 1888, shortly after his death.

·       In 1866, he published Thyrsis, his elegy to Clough who had died in 1861. 

·       Culture and Anarchy, Arnold's major work in social criticism (and one of the few pieces of his prose work currently in print) was published in 1869. 

·       Literature and Dogma, Arnold's major work in religious criticism appeared in 1873.

·            In 1883 and 1884, Arnold toured the United States and Canada delivering lectures on education, democracy and Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1883.

·            In 1886, he retired from school inspection and made another trip to America. An edition of Poems by Matthew Arnold, with an introduction by A. C. Benson and illustrations by Henry Ospovat, was published in 1900 by John Lane.

Matthew Arnold was a British poet and critic who wrote many famous works, including: 

  • Culture and Anarchy: Published in 1869, this work of criticism contrasts culture with anarchy. Arnold argues that culture is a collective pursuit that requires practicality and novelty. 
  • Essays in Criticism: Published in 1865, this work of criticism reflects the values of the Victorian era. 
  • Literature and Dogma: Published in 1873, this work argues that religion is still relevant despite scientific discoveries that challenged its authority. 
  • The Scholar Gipsy: Published in 1853, this poem features an intricate stanza form. 
  • Rugby Chapel: Published in 1867, this elegy mourns the loss of Arnold's father. 
  • A Southern Night: This elegy is dedicated to Arnold's son. 
  • Stanzas in Memory of the Author of "Obermann": Published in 1849. 
  • The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems: Published in 1849. 
  • Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems: Published in 1852. 
  • Sohrab and Rustum: Published in 1853. 
  • Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse: Published in 1855. 

Matthew Arnold, a Victorian poet and critic, was known for his fluid and lyrical style, and for his humanistic view of the world. His writing often expressed a pensive, sorrowful tone, and explored themes of isolation, loneliness, and the lack of goodness in the world. 

Style 

  • Fluid diction: Arnold's poetry was known for its smooth and flowing style.
  • Imagery: Arnold's poetry often used imagery.
  • Allusiveness: Arnold's writing was often allusive.
  • Tone: Arnold's poetry often had a pensive, sorrowful tone.

Content

  • Humanistic viewpoint: Arnold's poetry often expressed a humanistic view of the world. 
  • Isolation and loneliness: Arnold's poetry often explored themes of isolation and loneliness. 
  • Romantic regret: Arnold's poetry often expressed romantic regret. 
  • Sentimental pessimism: Arnold's poetry often expressed sentimental pessimism. 

Reputation 

  • Arnold's reputation rests equally on his poetry and his poetry criticism.
  • Arnold's prose was often urbane, didactic, and satirically witty.

Matthew Arnold: Quotes

  • Culture

Culture has one great passion—the passion for sweetness and light. It has one even yet greater, the passion for making them prevail.Matthew Arnold: Culture and Anarchy

  • Despair

And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
Matthew Arnold

  • Discontent

And sigh that one thing only has been lent
To youth and age in common—discontent.
Matthew Arnold

  • Memory

And we forget because we must
And not because we will.
Matthew Arnold

  • The Self

Resolve to be thyself; and know that he,
Who finds himself, loses his misery!
Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) was a Victorian critic who believed that criticism should be an art form that aims to share the best ideas and help people understand great writing. He is often called "the critic's critic" for his influential contributions to the field. 

Arnold  about criticism:

·        Objectivity

Arnold believed that critics should be impartial and objective in their analysis. He thought that critics should focus on the intrinsic qualities of a work, rather than its historical, sociological, or psychological context. 

·        Dissemination

Arnold believed that criticism should spread the best ideas and help people understand great writing. 

·        Art form

Arnold believed that criticism should be treated as an art form, on par with other creative art forms. 

·        Role of literature

Arnold believed that literature should propagate moral values and serve as a guide for society. 

Arnold's criticism include:

·        The Function of Criticism at the Present Time

In this 1864 essay, Arnold argued that criticism should be a disinterested pursuit of learning and sharing the best ideas. 

·        Touchstone theory

Arnold suggested that critics should use the works of great masters of literature, like Shakespeare and Milton, as a yardstick to evaluate other works. 

·        Classicist stance

Arnold believed that classical literature was superior to modern literature because it appealed to human passions and emotions that are eternal. 

What did Arnold's criticism cover? literature, society, politics, and religion. 

 

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