mathew arnold

1. MATHEW ARNOLD
(1822-88)

2. BIOGRAPHY:
 Matthew Arnold (24
December 1822 – 15 April
1888) was a British poet and
cultural critic who worked as
an inspector of schools.
Matthew Arnold is a well-
known figure of Victorian Age.
Matthew Arnold has been
characterized as a sage
writer, a type of writer who
chastises and instructs the
reader on contemporary

3. 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.

4. LITERARY CRITIC:
 Arnold's work as a literary critic began with
the 1853 "Preface to the Poems". In it, he
attempted to explain his extreme act of self-
censorship .
 He discusses serious subject matters like
morality and religion in his works.
 He remained pessimist in age due to a
conflict between religion and science.

5. Arnolds career as a prose writer divided into three
phases:
1) early literary criticism that begins with his preface to
the 1853 edition of his poems and ends with the
first series of Essays in Criticism (1865);
2) a prolonged middle period (overlapping the first and
third phases) characterized by social, political and
religious writing (roughly 1860–1875);
3) a return to literary criticism with the selecting and
editing of collections of Wordsworth’s and Byron’s
poetry and the second series of Essays in Criticism

6. DEATH:
 He died suddenly in
1888 while walking
with his wife to catch
a tram in Liverpool to
meet his daughter,
who was arriving on
a boat from the USA.

7.  Introducing Culture and Anarchy
 Culture and anarchy is a
notorious philosophical work
written by the celebrated
Victorian poet and critic Mathew
Arnold. This essay was first
published in ‘Cornhill
Magazine’ during 1867’-68.
 Its full name is “Culture and
Anarchy: An Essay in Political and
Social Criticism”.

8. THIS ESSAY IN CHAPTER
Chapter 1:
Sweetness
and Light
Chapter 2 :
Doing as
One like
Chapter 3:
Barbarians,
Philistines
,Populace
Chapter 4:
Hebraism ,
Hellenism ,

9.  ARNOLD’S VIEWS ON CULTURE
According to his views, he says that,
“Culture is a study of perfection”
Culture is the process,
means it is always going on. And also
it is not static but it is changeable. It is
study of social and moral perfection.
And Arnold says that culture is internal
thing. As power of God remains within,
similarly culture also remains within.

10.  ARNOLD CLASSIFIED ENGLISH SOCIETY
Barbarians[Artistocracy]
Philistines[Middle
Class]
Populace[working
Class]
T
H
R
E
E
C
L
A
S
S
Rich become more Rich and Poor become more
poor

11. COMMON THINGS OF ALL
CLASSES
Philistines Populace
o Free minded
o Liberty
o Rich
o Fashionable
o Free to live /think
o High thinking
o Looking good
/more civilized
o Hard workers
o Narrow minded
o Bad Activity
o Poverty
o Slum area
o Orthodoxy
o Firmness
o Money makers
o Commerce
o Idea about
business
o Industrialist
o Tea- Meeting
Love, Feelings, Respect, Desire, Dreams,
Happiness
Barbarians

12. View of about Hebraism or
Hellenism
Hebraism Hellenism
o Spirit of thought
o Spirit of Bible
o Narrow mindedness
o Religious
o Thought only for God
o Follow the biblical idea
o Spirit of mind
o Spirit of Greek
o Open minded
o Knowledge
o Though with practical
o Follow the platonic idea

13. Hellenism and Hebraism both are directly connected
to the human life of human beings. Hellenism keeps
emphasis knowing or knowledge. Where as Hebraism
fasten its faith in doing.

14. HE TALKS ABOUT THE GREAT IDEA TO
KNOW AND GREAT ENERGY TO ACT, BOTH ARE MOST
POTENT FORCES , AND THEY FORCES, THEY SHOULD BE IN
HARMONY BY THE LIGHT OF REASON. SO, THEY ARE
CALLED HEBRAISM AND HELLENISM.
The supreme idea with
Hellenism of the Greek spirit is too see thing as they
really are , and the supreme idea of Hebraism the
sprite of Bible is conduct and obedience.
The Point Out that the Greek
Philosophy considers that body and its desires are an
weakness to right thinking , where as Hebraism
consider that body and its desire are an obstacle to
right.

15. ANARCHY
Anarchy means “utopian societies of individuals who enjoy
complete freedom without government. the term ‘anarchy’
refers to a society without a publicly enforced government or
violently enforced political authority. When we use in this
sense, anarchy mayor may not be intended to imply political
disorder or lawlessness.
Arnold in this chapter he talks of one’s
freedom. And this freedom is sung very much by Englishmen.
But yet, they never thought about end of such freedom for
which it is to be desired. Arnold accepts the idea of personal
freedom, but he tells about complete freedom.

16. In the essay Matthew
Arnold categorizes six different terms such Culture,
Anarchy, Sweetness, Light Hellenism and Hebraism so
with the help of these different terms he has described his
views on Culture in which he also says that Culture and
Anarchy both are different thing and at last he also
explains the difficult terms like Hellenism and Hebraism.