Matthew Arnold
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| - | '''Matthew Arnold''' ([[24 December]] [[1822]] – [[15 April]] [[1888]]) was an [[England|English]] poet and [[cultural critic]], who worked as an inspector of schools. He is best remembered for his defense of [[high culture]], ''[[Culture and Anarchy]]'' (1869). | + | '''Matthew Arnold''' ([[24 December]] [[1822]] – [[15 April]] [[1888]]) was an [[England|English]] poet and [[cultural critic]], who worked as an inspector of schools. He is best remembered for his defense of [[high culture]], ''[[Culture and Anarchy]]'' (1869). |
| + | ==Literary career== | ||
| + | In [[1852]], Arnold published his second volume of poems, ''[[Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems]]''. In 1853, he published ''[[Poems: A New Edition]]'', a selection from the two earlier volumes famously excluding "[[Empedocles on Etna]]", but adding new poems, "Sohrab and Rustum" and "The Scholar-Gipsy". In 1854, ''Poems: Second Series'' appeared; also a selection, it included the new poem, "Balder Dead". | ||
| - | == ''Culture and Anarchy'' (1869)== | + | Arnold was elected [[Oxford Professor of Poetry|Professor of Poetry]] at Oxford in 1857. He was the first to deliver his lectures in English rather than Latin. He was re-elected in 1862. ''[[On Translating Homer]]'' (1861) and the initial thoughts that Arnold would transform into ''Culture and Anarchy'' were among the fruits of the Oxford lectures. In 1859, he conducted the first of three trips to the continent at the behest of parliament to study European educational practices. He self-published The ''Popular Education of France'' (1861), the introduction to which was later published under the title "Democracy" (1879). |
| - | ''Culture and Anarchy'' is a book by [[Matthew Arnold]], first published in [[1869]]. | + | |
| - | Arnold's famous piece of writing on culture established his High Victorian cultural agenda which remained dominant in debate from the 1860s until the 1950s. | + | In 1865, Arnold published ''[[Essays in Criticism: First Series]]''. ''[[Essays in Criticism: Second Series]]'' would not appear until November 1888, shortly after his untimely death. In 1866, he published ''[[Thyrsis]]'', his elegy to Clough who had died in 1861. ''Culture and Anarchy'', Arnold's major work in social criticism (and one of the few pieces of his prose work currently in print) was published in 1869. ''[[Literature and Dogma]]'', Arnold's major work in [[religious criticism]] appeared in 1873. In 1883 and 1884, Arnold toured the United States delivering lectures on education, democracy and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]]. |
| - | According to his view advanced in the book, "Culture [...] is a study of perfection". He further wrote that: "[Culture] seeks to do away with classes; to make the best that has been thought and known in the world current everywhere; to make all men live in an atmosphere of sweetness and light [...]". | + | In 1886, he retired from school inspection and made another trip to America. Arnold died suddenly in 1888 of heart failure, when running to meet a tram that would have taken him to the Liverpool Landing Stage to see his daughter, who was visiting from the United States where she had moved after marrying an American. |
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| - | This passage is often misquoted as "[culture is] the best that has been thought and said". | + | |
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Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic, who worked as an inspector of schools. He is best remembered for his defense of high culture, Culture and Anarchy (1869).
Literary career
In 1852, Arnold published his second volume of poems, Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems. In 1853, he published Poems: A New Edition, a selection from the two earlier volumes famously excluding "Empedocles on Etna", but adding new poems, "Sohrab and Rustum" and "The Scholar-Gipsy". In 1854, Poems: Second Series appeared; also a selection, it included the new poem, "Balder Dead".
Arnold was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857. He was the first to deliver his lectures in English rather than Latin. He was re-elected in 1862. On Translating Homer (1861) and the initial thoughts that Arnold would transform into Culture and Anarchy were among the fruits of the Oxford lectures. In 1859, he conducted the first of three trips to the continent at the behest of parliament to study European educational practices. He self-published The Popular Education of France (1861), the introduction to which was later published under the title "Democracy" (1879).
In 1865, Arnold published Essays in Criticism: First Series. Essays in Criticism: Second Series would not appear until November 1888, shortly after his untimely death. In 1866, he published Thyrsis, his elegy to Clough who had died in 1861. Culture and Anarchy, Arnold's major work in social criticism (and one of the few pieces of his prose work currently in print) was published in 1869. Literature and Dogma, Arnold's major work in religious criticism appeared in 1873. In 1883 and 1884, Arnold toured the United States delivering lectures on education, democracy and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
In 1886, he retired from school inspection and made another trip to America. Arnold died suddenly in 1888 of heart failure, when running to meet a tram that would have taken him to the Liverpool Landing Stage to see his daughter, who was visiting from the United States where she had moved after marrying an American.
