Arnold, Matthew

Arnold, Matthew
(1822-1888)
   Poet and critic, s. of Dr. A., of Rugby (q.v.), was b. at Laleham and ed. at Rugby, Winchester, and Balliol Coll., Oxford, becoming a Fellow of Oriel in 1845. Thereafter he was private secretary to Lord Lansdowne, Lord President of the Council, through whose influence he was in 1851 appointed an inspector of schools. Two years before this he had pub. his first book of poetry, The Strayed Reveller, which he soon withdrew: some of the poems, however, including "Mycerinus" and "The Forsaken Merman," were afterwards republished, and the same applies to his next book, Empedocles on Etna (1852), with "Tristram and Iseult." In 1857 he was appointed to the Professorship of Poetry at Oxford, which he held for ten years. After this he produced little poetry and devoted himself to criticism and theology. His principal writings are, in poetry, Poems (1853), containing "Sohrab and Rustum," and "The Scholar Gipsy;" Poems, 2nd Series (1855), containing "Balder Dead;" Merope (1858); New Poems (1867), containing "Thyrsis," an elegy on A.H. Clough (q.v.), "A Southern Night," "Rugby Chapel," and "The Weary Titan"; in prose he wrote On Translating Homer (1861 and 1862), On the Study of Celtic Literature (1867), Essays in Celtic Literature (1868), 2nd Series (1888), Culture and Anarchy (1869), St. Paul and Protestantism (1870), Friendship's Garland (1871), Literature and Dogma (1873), God and the Bible (1875), Last Essays on Church and Religion (1877), Mixed Essays (1879), Irish Essays (1882), and Discourses in America (1885). He also wrote some works on the state of education on the Continent. In 1883 he received a pension of £250. The rationalistic tendency of certain of his writings gave offence to many readers, and the sufficiency of his equipment in scholarship for dealing with some of the subjects which he handled was called in question; but he undoubtedly exercised a stimulating influence on his time; his writings are characterised by the finest culture, high purpose, sincerity, and a style of great distinction, and much of his poetry has an exquisite and subtle beauty, though here also it has been doubted whether high culture and wide knowledge of poetry did not sometimes take the place of the true poetic fire.
   There is a bibliography of A.'s works by T.B. Smart (1892), and books upon him have been written by Prof. Saintsbury (1899), H. Paul (1902), and G.W.E. Russell (1904), also papers by Sir L. Stephen, F. Harrison, and others.

Short biographical dictionary of English literature . . 2011.

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  • Arnold,Matthew — Arnold, Matthew. 1822 1888. British poet and critic whose poems, such as “Dover Beach” (1867), express moral and religious doubts. His Culture and Anarchy (1869) is a polemic against Victorian materialism. * * * …   Universalium

  • Arnold, Matthew — (1822–88)    Poet.    The son of the schoolmaster Thomas arnold, Matthew Arnold was educated at his father’s school and at Oxford University. For much of his adult life he was an Inspector of Schools but in 1857 he was elected Oxford Professor of …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Arnold, Matthew — born Dec. 24, 1822, Laleham, Middlesex, Eng. died April 15, 1888, Liverpool English poet and literary and social critic. Son of the educator Thomas Arnold, he attended Oxford and then worked as an inspector of schools for the rest of his life.… …   Universalium

  • Arnold, Matthew — ► (1822 88) Literato británico. El mejor crítico literario de su tiempo (Cultura y anarquía, 1869) y poeta de gran lirismo filosófico (Empédocles en el Etna, 1852). * * * (24 dic. 1822, Laleham, Middlesex, Inglaterra–15 abr. 1888, Liverpool).… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Arnold, Matthew — (1822 1888)    English Victorian poet, literary and social critic, the eldest son of Dr. Thomas Arnold, famous as headmaster of Rugby School. His poem Alaric at Rome won him a place at Rugby, and from there he went to Balliol College, Oxford. In… …   British and Irish poets

  • ARNOLD, MATTHEW —    poet and critic, eldest son of Thomas Arnold of Rugby; professor of Poetry in Oxford from 1857 to 1867; inspector of schools for 35 years from 1851; commissioned twice over to visit France, Germany, and Holland, to inquire into educational… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • ARNOLD, Matthew — (1822 1888)    son of THOMAS ARNOLD he was an English poet, essayist, and critic who has been described as the great English APOSTLE of CULTURE. Although he professed an INTELLECTUAL appreciation for the ideals of the French REVOLUTION, he was… …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • Arnold Matthew — n. (1822 1888) English poet and literary critic …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Matthew Arnold — Matthew Arnold. Matthew Arnold (* 24. Dezember 1822 in Laleham, Middlesex; † 15. April 1888 in Liverpool) war ein englischer Dichter und Kulturkritiker …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Matthew Arnold — Matthew Arnold. Matthew Arnold (n. 24 de diciembre de 1822 – † 15 de abril de 1888) fue un poeta y crítico inglés, que trabajó como inspector escolar. Era hijo de Thomas Arnold, afamado director de la Escuela de Rugby a quie …   Wikipedia Español

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