Matthew Arnold , short note for UP PGT English

                                                                      Matthew Arnold

        Personal Life and Education

1. Matthew Arnold was born on December 24, 1822.
2. His birthplace was Laleham, England.
3. He is known as a prominent Victorian Poet and Critic.
4. His father was Dr. Thomas Arnold, the famous Headmaster of Rugby School.
5. His mother’s name was Mary Penrose.
6. Arnold was the eldest son but the second child of his parents.
7. He was very close to his elder sister, Jane.
8. From a young age, his father taught him the Latin language.
9. In 1828, his father became the Headmaster of Rugby School.
10. In 1833, his family moved to a house in the Lake District, where he met William Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth.
11. He attended Winchester School in 1836 but was unhappy there due to the unfriendly atmosphere.
12. He returned to Rugby School in 1837 to continue his education.
13. He won a prize at Rugby School for his poem "Alaric at Rome".
14. This poem, "Alaric at Rome," is specifically known as his Prize Poem.
15. He attended Balliol College, Oxford, for his higher education.
16. He passed his Matriculation from Balliol College in 1840.
17. At Oxford, he formed a deep, lifelong friendship with Arthur Hugh Clough.
18. He was known to have a passion for fishing during his university days.
19. He won an Open Scholarship to Balliol College in 1841.
20. In 1842, his father, Dr. Thomas Arnold, died of heart failure.
21. He won the Newdigate Prize in 1843 for his poem "Cromwell".
22. He began his professional career as a teacher at Rugby School in 1844-45.
23. He was elected a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, in 1845.
24. In 1847, he became the Private Secretary to Lord Lansdowne (Lord President of the Council).
25. He married Frances Lucy Wightman (whom he called 'Flu') in June 1851.
26. He was appointed as the Inspector of Schools in 1851, a post he held for 35 years.
27. He retired from the post of Inspector of Schools in 1886.
28. He was elected the Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857.
29. He visited America on a lecture tour in 1883.
30. Matthew Arnold died on April 15, 1888.
31. The cause of his death was heart failure (heart attack).
32. He suffered the heart attack in Liverpool while running to catch a train.
33. He was buried in Laleham, the place of his birth.

Key Literary Works & Poetry Volumes

34. His first volume of poetry, "The Strayed Reveller and Other Poems," was published in 1849.
35. This 1849 volume was published anonymously under the initial "A.".
36. His second volume, "Empedocles on Etna and Other Poems," appeared in 1852.
37. His third volume, titled simply "Poems," was published in 1853.
38. The 1853 volume included two famous new poems: "Sohrab and Rustum" and "The Scholar-Gipsy".
39. "New Poems" was published in 1867.
40. He wrote a tragedy titled "Merope" in 1858.
41. "Essays in Criticism" (First Series) was published in 1865.
42. "Culture and Anarchy", one of his most famous prose works, was published in 1869.
43. "Literature and Dogma" was published in 1873.
44. "The Study of Poetry" was published in 1880.

The Scholar-Gipsy (1853)

45. It tells the story of an Oxford scholar who leaves his studies to seek Truth.
46. The source of the poem is Joseph Glanvill’s book, "The Vanity of Dogmatizing".
47. The poem contains 25 stanzas.
48. Each stanza in the poem has 10 lines.
49. The scholar joins a group of Gipsies to learn their "lore" (traditional knowledge).
50. It reflects Arnold’s disapproval of the Victorian age's "sick hurry" and "divided aims".
51. The poem is full of melancholy and pessimism.
52. It has a pastoral setting.
53. It is considered a companion piece to the poem "Thyrsis".
54. Famous line: "One aim, one business, one desire".
55. Opening line: "Go, for they call you, shepherd, from the hill".

Dover Beach (1867)

56. It is a famous lyric/elegy written by Arnold.
57. The central theme is the loss of religious faith in the Victorian Age.
58. Arnold uses the Sea of Faith as a metaphor for religion.
59. He describes the "melancholy, long, withdrawing roar" of the Sea of Faith.
60. The poem expresses deep nostalgia and sadness.
61. He addresses his wife (or a loved one), pleading for faithfulness in a world without joy or peace.
62. Famous line: "Ah, love, let us be true to one another!".
63. Opening line: "The sea is calm tonight. The tide is full...".
64. It highlights how man has become more materialistic.

Thyrsis (1867)

65. This poem is a pastoral elegy.
66. It commemorates his friend Arthur Hugh Clough, who died in 1861.
67. Clough died at the age of 42.
68. The poem is described as a "monody" (an ode/elegy sung by one person).
69. In the poem, Thyrsis represents Arthur Hugh Clough.
70. Corydon in the poem represents Arnold himself.
71. It is frequently compared to and paired with "The Scholar-Gipsy".
72. Opening line: "How changed is here each spot man makes or fills!".

Sohrab and Rustum (1853)

73. It is a narrative poem written in blank verse.
74. It is written in a Homeric/Epic style.
75. The source of the poem is the "Shahnameh" (Book of Kings) by the Persian poet Firdausi.
76. The story features a tragic battle between a father (Rustum) and his son (Sohrab).
77. Rustum kills Sohrab in battle, only realizing it is his son after the fatal blow.
78. Ruksh is the name of Rustum’s horse in the poem.

Memorial Verses (1850)

79. It is an elegy written on the death of William Wordsworth.
80. It was published in Fraser’s Magazine.
81. Arnold wrote it at the request of Wordsworth's son-in-law, Edward Quillinan.
82. Though primarily for Wordsworth, it also pays tribute to Goethe and Lord Byron.
83. Arnold refers to Goethe as the "Physician of the Iron Age".
84. He notes that while Byron taught us "force" and Goethe taught us "wisdom," Wordsworth taught us "feeling".
85. The poem contains 74 lines.

Rugby Chapel (1867)

86. It is an elegy written in memory of his father, Dr. Thomas Arnold.
87. Though his father died in 1842, the poem was published much later in 1867.
88. It expresses high moral and lofty ideas.
89. Opening line: "Coldly, sadly descends / The autumn evening".

Other Notable Poems

90. "Shakespeare" (1849): A famous sonnet paying tribute to the Bard.
91. The sonnet "Shakespeare" was actually written in 1844 but published in 1849.
92. Famous line from "Shakespeare": "Others abide our question. Thou art free.".
93. Another line from the sonnet: "Self-school'd, self-scann'd, self-honour'd, self-secure".
94. "The Forsaken Merman" (1849): Based on a Danish folklore.
95. It tells of a relationship between a Merman and a human woman named Margaret.
96. Margaret leaves the Merman and their children to return to the human world and the Church.
97. The "Church bells" in the poem symbolize the call of religion.
98. "A Summer Night" (1852): A philosophical poem.
99. It describes a moon-blanched street and the moon.
100. It presents Arnold’s concept of an "ideal life".
101. "Empedocles on Etna" (1852): A poetic drama based on classical themes.
102. Empedocles is a philosopher who commits suicide by jumping into the crater of Mount Etna.
103. "Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse": Reflects the "two worlds" Arnold felt he lived between [Source implies conflict].
104. "Marguerite" poems: Inspired by his love for a woman he met in Switzerland.
105. These poems express a deep sense of isolation.

Literary Criticism & Philosophy

106. Arnold is famously defined as a "Critic's Critic" [Source context].
107. He defined poetry as a "criticism of life".
108. He believed poetry must be governed by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty.
109. The Touchstone Method: A comparative method of criticism introduced in "The Study of Poetry".
110. It involves comparing the work under study with short, high-quality passages from great masters like Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, or Milton.
111. He argued that this method helps avoid personal or historical estimates and find the "real estimate" of poetry.
112. Culture and Anarchy (1869): His major work on social and political criticism.
113. In this work, he divided English society into three classes: Barbarians, Philistines, and the Populace.
114. Barbarians: The Aristocracy, known for their high spirit and fine manners but lacking ideas.
115. Philistines: The Middle Class, characterized by their mundane, money-making spirit and lack of "Sweetness and Light".
116. The Populace: The Working Class, described as raw and blind.
117. "Sweetness and Light": A famous phrase Arnold used to define Beauty and Intelligence (Culture).
118. Hebraism vs. Hellenism: A key concept in "Culture and Anarchy" dealing with the conflict between moral conduct and intellectual clarity.
119. Arnold famously criticized Chaucer for lacking "high seriousness".
120. He called the 18th Century (Dryden and Pope) an "age of prose and reason" rather than poetry.
121. He viewed the Romantic poets (except Wordsworth) as failing because they did not know enough.
122. He stated that "Religion is morality touched with emotion".
123. He believed that the "Secret of Nature" is Peace, whereas Wordsworth believed it was Joy.
124. He called himself a "disciple of Wordsworth" but preferred nature's silence over her voice.

Critical Opinions on Arnold

125. T.S. Eliot called Arnold an "Academic Critic" [Source context].
126. Saintsbury described him as the "last great neo-classic".
127. Some critics say that "With him (Arnold), our real poetry is born".
128. He is often noted for his melancholy and Victorian angst.
129. His criticism is often called "creative criticism" because of its influence on the reading public.

Miscellaneous Facts for Exams

130. Arnold’s nickname for his wife was "Flu".
131. He was the first Professor of Poetry at Oxford to deliver his lectures in English instead of Latin.
132. The term "Grand Style" was frequently used by Arnold to describe the highest form of epic poetry [Source context].
133. He believed that for a great work of art to be created, "the power of the man" must meet "the power of the moment" [Source context].
134. "Literature and Dogma" was a work of religious criticism dealing with the interpretation of the Bible.
135. "Friendship’s Garland" (1871) is another of his satirical prose works [Source context].
136. He was deeply influenced by the Greek Classics and the works of Senancour.
137. He considered Homer the ultimate model for the "Grand Style".
138. The poem "Resignation" shows his early stoic philosophy and influence of Wordsworth.
139. His poem "The Strayed Reveller" is a dialogue between a youth, Circe, and Ulysses.
140. "Tristram and Iseult" (1852) was the first modern English version of the Arthurian legend [Source context].
141. He viewed the Victorian age as a period of "spiritual transition".
142. Arnold’s prose is known for its clarity, elegance, and urbanity.
143. He often used the term "Disinterestedness" to describe the ideal quality of a critic [Source context].
144. He believed a critic should see the object "as in itself it really is" [Source context].
145. "Philistinism" became a common term thanks to Arnold’s use of it to describe narrow-mindedness.
146. He is often called the "apostle of culture".
147. His work "On Translating Homer" (1861) discusses the requirements for a good translation [Source context].
148. He criticized the English for being too provincial in their literary tastes [Source context].
149. "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time" is one of his most influential essays [Source context].
150. Matthew Arnold remains a central figure for PGT English exams due to his dual role as a bridge between Romanticism and Modernism.