Thinking Activity : Matthew Arnold

Hello Readers! 

We have a task on write about our understanding on Characteristic of good poetry and Criticism according to Matthew Arnold. Task given by Dilip Barad Sir head of English department Mkb university. 

Let's we look the short biography of Matthew Arnold before discuss the Arnold's views on good poetry and criticism. 

Matthew Arnold 

              (  Victorian poet and critic )

Victorian age has produced many outstanding critics, novelists, thinkers and philosophers. Among them Arnold occupied a respectable position as a poet and critic. We all are known that Arnold was greatest English Victorian writer. He was born on December 24,1822 ,England. As a poets,  the work that gives Arnold his high place in history of literature and the history of ideas was all accomplished in the time he could spare from his official duties. 

Among the major Victoria writers, Matthew Arnold is unique in that his reputation resets equally upon his poetry and his poetry criticism. Many readers have come to see Arnold as the most modern of the Victorians. Arnold himself defines "The Modern" in his first lecture as professor of poetry at Oxford in 1857, "On the modern element in literature". This lecture marked Arnold's  transition from poet to social and literary critic. 

•  Matthew Arnold As a critic :

Matthew Arnold was a good critic. A critic basically a teacher and he must keep in mind that literature is criticism of life. Arnold tries to elaborate the definition of criticism by saying that, 

" It is endeavour in all branches of knowledge like theology, philosophy, history, art and science to see the object as itself it is rarely".

Critic must be disinterested 

Arnold emphasizes upon the word 'Disinterested' , the critic must be impartial without any prejudices. Critic must be disinterested in evaluating and in giving judgment.

Matthew Arnold had essay called "Function Of Criticism". Matthew Arnold mention there that great epochs of creativity doesn't come often and he mentions for examples, renaissance was very high period then there has come subsequent law and in that context Arnold mentions that critic have a very important role to play and that role is that the critics should provide fresh ideas to the authors.

• Characteristic of Good poetry  : 

Arnold's poetry is considered, a different meaning must be applied to the term modern than that applied to the ideas of the critic, reformer and Prophet who dedicated most of his life to broadening the intellectual horizons of his countrymen of indeed, the whole English -speaking world.

Poetry is something more than Keats "Beauty is truth, truth Beauty ". of  which Arnold was later to say that is not "all ur need to know ", though it is much. It is source of moral therapy for the age and a surrogate for the weakening Christian faith. These views anticipate Arnold's lectures on Translating Homer(1861), in which "nobility" is seen as a major characteristic of Homer and "The study of poetry "(1880), which proclaims that the strongest part of our religion today is its unconscious poetry.

"poetry as a criticism of life" Arnold explains criticism of life as the application of nobel and profound ideas to life, and laws of poetic truth and 'beauty as truth, and seriousness of matter' and 'felicity and perfection of diction and manner'. Arnold believes that poetry does not represent life as it, rather poet adds something to it from his own noble nature and and this contributes to his criticism of life.

• Arnold's Touchstone Method :

Arnold's touchstone method of criticism was really a comparative method of criticism. He respected the ancient Greek, Roman and French author as the model to be followed. The old English authors like Shakespeare, Spencer, Milton were also taken as model. Arnold took selected passage from the modern author and compared them with ancient author and decided there merits. This method is called Arnold's "Touchstone method".


Thank you..... 

• References : 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matthew-Arnold

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/matthew-arnold