Arnold, Matthew. (1822 - 1888).

L i f e

- son of Dr Thomas Arnold (1795 – 1842): a clergyman, headmaster of the Rugby School, and the godfather of Victorian earnestness

- preoccupied with creating a system of education for the middle classes

- an anti-Victorian figure x but: characteristically Victorian in his assumption the puritan middle classes can be changed

W o r k

- concern: how to live a full life in a modern industrial society?

P o e t r y :

- concern: his loneliness as a lover, longing for a serenity not to be found, and despair in a universe with humanity’s role seeming incongruous

- dissatisfied with his poems (“Empedocles on Etna”), attempted to meet his own requirements x but: failed (“Balder Dead”) and abandoned poetry

“The Scholar Gypsy”:

- a joyful celebration of the freedoms of a student’s escape from routine

“Thyrsis”:

- an elegiac monody on the dead Arthur Hugh Clough (1819 – 61, poet)

P r o s e :

- concern: to formulate ‘ideals’ to ‘heal’ a sick society

- culture = an open-minded intelligence to view life in all its aspects, the social, political, and religious, and to cure the ills of a sick society

Essays in Criticism (1865, 1888):

- a 2-volume collection of literary critical essays

- argues for the virtues of a plain style and for ‘high seriousness’: the poet as a serious thinker offering a guidance for his readers

“The Study of Poetry”:

- criticizes the uncultured England x praises the European cultural heritage

“The Function of Criticism at the Present Time”:

- literature and literary criticism serve to produce a cultured society

Culture and Anarchy (1869) and Friendship’s Garland (1871):

- provocative socially critical tracts

- criticizes the ‘Philistine’ bourgeoise for their dullness and ignorance

- uses cajolery, irony, satire, quotations from the newspapers, and memorable catchwords (‘sweetness and light’)

Literature and Dogma (1873):

- a religious critical tract

- the Church should serve to produce a civilized society