Matthew Arnold
English poet and cultural critic (1822–1888); a school inspector for 35 years; wrote Culture and Anarchy.
At a glance
Main ideas
Culture as the best that has been thought and said, Philistines, Disinterested criticism …
See all 4Books to start with
Essays in Criticism: First Series, Culture and Anarchy, Literature and Dogma …
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John Henry Newman, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Culture and Anarchy
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Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Arnold was an English poet and critic, the son of Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School.
- He worked as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools from 1851 to 1886 and supported state-regulated secondary education.
- As Oxford's Professor of Poetry he was the first to lecture in English rather than Latin.
- His Essays in Criticism shaped how critics see their role, and Culture and Anarchy (1869) attacked the "Philistine" middle class.
- He rejected the supernatural in religion, defining it as "morality touched with emotion".
Why it matters
- He is sometimes called the third great Victorian poet, with Tennyson and Browning, and his idea of culture as "the best which has been thought and said" dominated debate for nearly a century.
Key facts
- Born
- 24 Dec 1822, Laleham-on-Thames, Middlesex, England1
- Died
- 15 Apr 1888, suddenly, of heart failure1
- Education
- Winchester College; Rugby School; Balliol College, Oxford, BA 1844; Fellow of Oriel College from 18451
- Inspector of schools
- From 1851 to 1886; he travelled for Parliament to study European schooling, the first trip in 18591
- Professor of Poetry, Oxford
- Elected in 1857 and re-elected in 18621
- Lecture tours
- The United States and Canada in 1883 and 1884, on education, democracy and Ralph Waldo Emerson1
- Coined
- "New Journalism", in 1887, about the sensational Pall Mall Gazette under W. T. Stead1
Main ideas
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Culture as the best that has been thought and said2
Culture is the pursuit of perfection through knowing the best which has been thought and said in the world.
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Philistines1
The middle class were "humdrum people, slaves to routine, enemies to light" who measured England's greatness by wealth.
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Disinterested criticism1
England needed disinterested and intelligent criticism, though "the critical power is of lower rank than the creative".
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Religion as morality touched with emotion1
He rejected miracles and the supernatural, treating "God" as a term of poetry rather than of science.
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
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Essays in Criticism: First Series1
Opens with "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time", one of the most influential essays on the critic's role.
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His major work of social criticism.
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Literature and Dogma1
His major work of religious criticism.
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Essays in Criticism: Second Series1
Published shortly after his death.
Connections
Links
Sources
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