Summary of the study of poetry by matthew arnold sparknotes. The Study of Poetry by Matthew Arnold 2022-10-04
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In his study of poetry, Matthew Arnold focuses on the role that poetry plays in society and how it can serve as a means of self-culture and enlightenment. Arnold believes that poetry is a valuable form of art because it has the ability to convey universal truths and provide emotional and spiritual nourishment to the reader.
According to Arnold, the primary function of poetry is to serve as a "criticism of life." He argues that poetry should be used to examine and evaluate the values and beliefs of society, and to offer guidance and insight into the human experience. Arnold believes that poetry has the power to provide a perspective on the world that is not available through other forms of art or literature.
In addition to its role as a criticism of life, Arnold also sees poetry as a means of self-culture. He argues that reading and contemplating poetry can help individuals develop their own sense of self and broaden their understanding of the world around them. Arnold believes that poetry has the ability to refine and elevate the mind, and can help individuals gain a deeper appreciation for beauty and the good life.
Despite its importance, Arnold argues that poetry has become increasingly marginalized in modern society. He believes that the pursuit of science and technology has led to a neglect of the arts, and that poetry in particular has suffered as a result. In order to revitalize poetry and restore its place in society, Arnold suggests that poets should focus on creating works that are universal and timeless, rather than simply reflecting the concerns of their own time and place.
In conclusion, Matthew Arnold's study of poetry highlights the important role that poetry can play in society as a means of self-culture and criticism of life. Despite its current marginalization, Arnold believes that poetry has the potential to enrich and elevate the human experience, and he calls on poets to create works that are universal and timeless in order to restore its place in society.
The Study Of Poetry By Matthew Arnold • English Summary
Philosophy is also a charlatan because philosophy is unable to answer all questions. In this vein, criticism, culture, and poetry are transformed into means of interiority in order to negate the exteriority of bourgeois existence. He goes on to explain that because poetry nourishes man through times of adversity, he should be highly cautious and conscientious about what he reads. All our beliefs like religion and philosophy are but the shadows and dreams and false shows of knowledge And in order to highly determine the destinies of poetry, we must set certain standards of poetry high - high standard and strict judgment. Chaucer has not their helplessness; he has gained the power to survey the world from a central, a truly human point of view. In the twelfth century the bloom of this romance-poetry was earlier and stronger in England, at the court of our Anglo-Norman kings, than in France itself. The strongest part of our religion to-day is its unconscious poetry.
People then realize that she wears only a sackcloth robe, and Arnold uses the metaphor to express how poetry seems ornate but is quite simple. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem. He says that whatever a person reads or knows he always comes back to. His writing demonstrates an exceptional grasp of the language, but it lacks the "high seriousness" that is indicative of genuine sincerity. This is what is salutary, this is what is formative; this is the great benefit to be got from the study of poetry. Is this accent felt in the passages which I have been quoting from Burns? He says we should understand the importance of poetry as it is poetry that shows us the mirror of life.
Matthew Arnold: Poems “Bacchanalia” (1867) Summary and Analysis
The two superiorities are closely related, and are in steadfast proportion one to the other. Further, the repetition of "the famous" in the beginning of part II emphasizes that these authors, poets, critics, and players were characteristic of old society, but now have all run their course. The first stage is that of childhood and is represented by romantic descriptions of nature and an overall feeling of happiness. Many of his admirers will tell us that we have Burns, convivial, genuine, delightful, here— Leeze me on drink! True, we must read our classic with open eyes, and not with eyes blinded with superstition; we must perceive when his work comes short, when it drops out of the class of the very best, and we must rate it, in such cases, at its proper value. This period was a time of confusion and doubt. This language shaped Italian literature, the continent's first literature.
The personal Estimate is also fallacious estimate that deals with the contemporary poets. In contrast to Dante, whom Arnold regards as a classic poet, Chaucer lacks the seriousness that Aristotle attributes to excellent poetry. In this essay Arnold criticizes the art of poetry as well as the art of criticism. But Arnold also says that it is natural. According to him, Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Milton are classical poets because their poetry bears the universal criticism of life and high seriousness.
The Study of Poetry by Matthew Arnold Summary and Notes
And maintenance of grand style Here in this essay, Arnold means to say that by reading poetry the audience can identify their faults and mistakes for the purpose of rectification and they must apply the powerful ideas picked up through reading poetry. In the same century, the thirteenth, the French romance-writer, Christian of Troyes, formulates the claims, in chivalry and letters, of France, his native country, as follows:— Or vous ert par ce livre apris, Que Gresse ot de chevalerie Le premier los et de clergie; Puis vint chevalerie à Rome, Et de la clergie la some, Qui ore est en France venue. It's just a pretense that you know. Arnold similarly refuses to contextualise the poet and poetry. Side by side with the On the brink of the night and the morning My coursers are wont to respire, But the Earth has just whispered a warning That their flight must be swifter than fire. Then Arnold judges all the poets of English literature from Chaucer onwards whether they are classic or not.
Then Arnold evaluates all the poets of English literature from Chaucer onwards whether they are classic or not. Eventually, they decide that poetry is the most difficult and thorough of the arts. Arnold evidently inherited his concern with living a socially and morally engaged life from his father, who was an influential clergyman and reformist educator. Arnold drew on Aristotle's comparison of poetry and history, in which the ancient critic concluded that poetry was superior in terms of both truth and seriousness; Arnold hypothesised that the poem's high degree of matter and substance existed because it possessed a high degree of truth and seriousness. Arnold says that if a poet is truly a classic his poetry will give the reader real pleasure and enable him to compare and contrast other poetry which are not of the same high standard. The height of Chaucer's verse lies in his story and his style.
And all through the eighteenth century, and down even into our own times, the stereotyped phrase of approbation for good verse found in our early poetry has been, that it even approached the verse of Dryden, Addison, Pope, and Johnson. The study of the historical background of poetry and its development often leads to the critic skipping over the shortcomings because of its historical significance. As a critic Arnold is essentially a moralist, and has very definite ideas about what poetry should and should not be. The doctrine of the last-quoted lines coincides almost exactly with what was the aim and end, Xenophon tells us, of all the teaching of Socrates. For critics, it is imperative to apply such a method judiciously and rigorously in order to develop the ability to find real estimates of poetry. Learning about the historical background of poetry and its development often leads the critic to skip mistakes because of their historical significance. He comments that classics will remain supreme throughout all times.
For in poetry the distinction between excellent and inferior, sound and unsound or only half-sound, true and untrue or only half-true, is of paramount importance. The historic estimate is likely in especial to affect our judgment and our language when we are dealing with ancient poets; the personal estimate when we are dealing with poets our contemporaries, or at any rate modern. But for poetical success more is required than the verbose application of ideas to life; it must be an application under the conditions fixed by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. The speaker reveals that many common childhood experiences correspond to the purposes of writing poetry which he feels are important. Do you ask me whether the poetry of these men has either the matter or the inseparable manner of such an adequate poetic criticism; whether it has the accent of Absent thee from felicity awhile.
