Matthew arnold essays in criticism. Essays in Criticism by Matthew Arnold 2022-10-29
Matthew arnold essays in criticism
Rating:
6,7/10
825
reviews
Matthew Arnold was a Victorian-era poet and critic who is best known for his influential works on literature, culture, and education. His most famous work, "Essays in Criticism," was published in 1865 and contained a series of essays that examined the role of criticism in society and the role of the critic in shaping cultural values.
Arnold argued that the role of the critic was to serve as a mediator between the poet and the public, helping to communicate the poet's message to a wider audience and to provide a framework for understanding the poet's work. He believed that the critic had a responsibility to be objective and to approach literature with a critical eye, rather than simply praising or condemning a work based on personal preference.
One of the key themes of "Essays in Criticism" is the idea of "culture," which Arnold defined as "the best that has been thought and said in the world." He argued that culture was the product of centuries of human thought and achievement, and that it was the responsibility of the critic to preserve and protect this cultural inheritance. In order to do so, Arnold believed that the critic must be well-educated and knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects, including literature, history, philosophy, and the arts.
Another major theme in "Essays in Criticism" is the idea of "sweetness and light," a term coined by Arnold to describe the ideal state of the critic's mind. He argued that the critic should strive for a state of balance and harmony, in which their understanding and appreciation of literature is informed by a wide range of knowledge and experience. In this way, the critic can help to promote the spread of culture and enlightenment throughout society.
In addition to his work on literature and culture, Arnold was also a prominent voice on educational reform. He argued that education should be about more than just practical skills and knowledge, but should also cultivate the mind and character of the individual. He believed that education should be focused on the development of the whole person, and that it should be accessible to all members of society.
In conclusion, Matthew Arnold's "Essays in Criticism" is a classic work that continues to be influential in the field of literary criticism. Through his ideas about the role of the critic, the importance of culture, and the value of education, Arnold has left a lasting legacy that continues to shape our understanding of literature and culture.
The literary criticism of Matthew Arnold
But Burns shines whenever he triumphs over his sordid, repulsive and dull world with his poetry. From non-Classical writers he selects from Henry IV Part II III, i , Henry's expostulation with sleep - 'Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast. What a reader wants is variety, which classical mythology with all its tradition and richness cannot provide. He became an advocate of 'touchstones'. As we have seen, as a classicist Arnold upheld the supreme importance of the architectonic faculty, then later shifted his ground. Arnold united active independent insight with the authority of the humanistic tradition. Essays in Criticism This reprint of Essays in Criticism by Matthew Arnold is essentially unchanged from the original 1865 edition.
Next
The Method of Arnold's Essays in Criticism
Return to Classical values Arnold believed that a modern writer should be aware that contemporary literature is built on the foundations of the past, and should contribute to the future by continuing a firm tradition. Hence the two, the nobility of subject matter, and the superiority of style and manner, are proportional and cannot occur independently. Scattered images and happy turns of phrase, in his view, can only provide partial effects, and not contribute to unity. What is ancient Greece to many of us? He also had a brother, William Delafield Arnold, who was a novelist and colonial administrator. There is largeness, benignity, freedom and spontaneity in Chaucer's writings. And sometimes his pathos is intolerable, as in Auld Lang Syne.
Next
Essays In Criticism By Matthew Arnold by Matthew Arnold
Writers must choose subjects from the world of their own experience. Arnold's method of criticism is comparative. His judgment that in his felicities of natural description Keats is with Shakespeare has been widely acclaimed as a gem of criticism. Wordsworth was a neighbor in 1834. The social role of poetry and criticism To Arnold a critic is a social benefactor. To Arnold poetry itself was the criticism of life: 'The criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty', and in his seminal essay The Study of Poetry' 1888 he says that poetry alone can be our sustenance and stay in an era where religious beliefs are fast losing their hold. In The Study of Poetry he also cautions the critic that in forming a genuine and disinterested estimate of the poet under consideration he should not be influenced by historical or personal judgements, historical judgements being fallacious because we regard ancient poets with excessive veneration, and personal judgements being fallacious when we are biased towards a contemporary poet.
Next
Essays in Criticism
He ignored the importance of lyrical poems, which are subjective and which express the sentiments and the personality of the poet. When we compare Shelley's 'Pinnacled dim in the of intense inane' Prometheus Unbound III, iv with Burns's, 'They flatter, she says, to deceive me' Tam Glen , the latter is salutary. Scott James, comparing him to Aristotle, says that where Aristotle analyses the work of art, Arnold analyses the role of the critic. English Literature Essays Matthew Arnold as a Literary Critic by S. Lowry, Young, and Dunn London, 1952 , p. Arnold also wants the modern writer to take models from the past because they depict human actions which touch on 'the great primary human affections: to those elementary feelings which subsist permanently in the race, and which are independent of time'. Even a single line or selected quotation will serve the purpose.
Next
Essays by Matthew Arnold; including Essays in criticism, 1865, On translating Homer: by Matthew Arnold
Shakespeare's excellences are 1 The architectonic quality of his style; the harmony between action and expression. Arnold sometimes became a satirist, and as a satirical critic saw things too quickly, too summarily. In spite of their charm, the essays are characterised by egotism and, as Tilotson says, 'the attention is directed, not on his object but on himself and his objects together'. Classical literature, in his view, possess pathos, moral profundity and noble simplicity, while modern themes, arising from an age of spiritual weakness, are suitable for only comic and lighter kinds of poetry, and don't possess the loftiness to support epic or heroic poetry. Arnold on Shakespeare Praising Shakespeare, Arnold says 'In England there needs a miracle of genius like Shakespeare's to produce a balance of mind'. He had what Goethe called the architectonic quality, that is his expression was matched to the action or the subject. In other works, Arnold writes about God and heaven, but these subjects do not serve a literal function in this poem.
Next
Essays in criticism : Arnold, Matthew, 1822
To Arnold England is predominantly underprovided in criticism. By way of contrast, he says the Italian writer Boccaccio handled the same theme successfully in his Decameron, because he rightly subordinated expression to action. Take eld, for instance: when Shakespeare, reproaching man with the dependence in which his youth is passed, says: " all thy blessed youth Becomes as aged, and doth beg the alms Of palsied eld,". Only in Shakespeare and Keats do we find the same kind of fluidity, though they wrote without the same liberty in the use of language. According to Arnold, Homer is the best model of a simple grand style, while Milton is the best model of severe grand style.
Next
Essays by Matthew Arnold : including Essays in criticism, 1865, On translating Homer (with F.W. Newman's reply), and five other essays now for the first time collected : Arnold, Matthew, 1822
To him poetry is the criticism of life, governed by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. Arnold's limitations For all his championing of disinterestedness, Arnold was unable to practise disinterestedness in all his essays. Judged by Arnold's standards, a large number of poets both ancient and modern are dismissed because they sang with 'Profuse strains of unpremeditated art'. Steeped in classical poetry, and thoroughly acquainted with continental literature, he compares English literature to French and German literature, adopting the disinterested approach he had learned from Sainte-Beuve. Hence Boccaccio's poem is a poetic success where Keats's is a failure. In the present day with the literary tradition over-burdened with imagery, myth, symbol and abstract jargon, it is refreshing to come back to Arnold and his like to encounter central questions about literature and life as they are perceived by a mature and civilised mind. Stanle's lectures on the Jewish Church ; Dante and Beatrice ; On the modern element in literature ; Obermann ; Sainte-Beuve Addeddate 2008-01-12 08:26:27 Associated-names Newman, F.
Next
Essays in Criticism by Matthew Arnold
As such, it is a critique of contemporary life and the pressures it puts on men. Arnold's lack of historic sense was another major failing. But Arnold occasionally looked at things with jaundiced eyes, and he overlooked the positive features of Romanticism which posterity will not willingly let die, such as its humanitarianism, love of nature, love of childhood, a sense of mysticism, faith in man with all his imperfections, and faith in man's unconquerable mind. He acknowledges that his leading Essays were the source of much violent contention when first published. The extent to which the spirit of mankind finds its stay and consolation is proportional to the power of a poem's criticism of life, and the power of the criticism of life is in direct proportion to the extent to which the poem is genuine and free from charlatanism.
Next
Essays in criticism : Matthew Arnold : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The ancient Greece he has in mind is the century 530-430 B. His godfather was John Keble. In his essay on Keats too Arnold failed to be disinterested. Dante, however, is an example of both. His poems deal with Scottish dress, Scottish manner, and Scottish religion. Some critics considered them a French-style schooling of the English press.
Next