Matthew Arnold's Concept of Poetry as a Criticism of Life

Matthew Arnold's importance in the history of English literary criticism is acknowledged by one and all, even by his detractors. It was Arnold who influenced the academic literary opinions even in the 20th century. The literary criticism of Matthew Arnold was part of his wider criticism Study of Poetry, he has, again and again, reiterated his view that poetry is concerned with the most valuable parts of human nature and nothing but perfection is to be sought for when we are dealing with it. social and cultural. In his essay, Arnold had a very high conception of poetry.

The best poetry, he said, is a criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. The author of any literary piece is expected to be the man of high personal experience, with all his mental and intellectual faculties, highly developed by means of his vast reading and deep thinking.

The phrase criticism of life is elaborated by Arnold with the phrase application of ideas to life. Poetry is an application of ideas to life. The more powerful the application of ideas, the greater will be the poetry we understand what Arnold means by the phrase. He means that poetry is an interpretation of life as the poet experiences it and knows it bringing into play his intellect and mind matured by experience and reading.

According to Matthew Arnold, poetry is not, however, merely as intellectual exercise, it is subject to the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. And if poetry is a criticism of life, the laws, fixed by the poetic truth and poetic beauty, insist on one condition.

This condition of the quality of "high seriousness when comes out of the deepest sincerity with which the poet feels for his subject. And this quality of high seriousness is obviously found in the poetry of Homer, Dante and Milton and this is the quality which, Matthew Arnold says, gives their poetry its power. He says poetry, however, deals with ideas and not acts, and without poetry, science will remain incomplete, not only that much of religion and philosophy will be replaced by poetry.

Matthew Arnold believes that the highest type of poetry should deal with moral ideas not so much in its didactic character as in the dynamic way in which it fulfils the application of ideas to life. The word moral is used in its widest sense. The very question, how to live, is according to Matthew Arnold, a moral idea. Matthew Arnold declares that moral, should not be interpreted in a narrow series to mean a code of behaviour or a system of thought.

Finally, Arnold holds the view that a

poetry of revolt again moral ideas is a poetry of revolt against life

a poetry of indifference towards moral idea is a poetry indifference towards life. Criticism also means how a creative artist reacts to his experiences and gives expression to his ideal attitude to those experiences. Arnold is of the opinion that the qualities of high type of poetry can be found in its matter and substance and in its manner and style. However, Arnold's concept of poetry is really too high and Serious and in this lies its limitations. From the very first, Matthew Arnold is against art for art's sake. Many English critics have disagreed with Arnold's statement.

T.S. Eliot himself a good poet says that Matthew Arnold's view is 

frigid to any one who has felt the full surprise and elevation of a new experience of poetry.

 However, in the last word we can say that poetry is a criticism of life. The critic's duty is to examine poetry and life at the same time As we understand, Matthew Arnold had a broad conception of criticism - embracing religion, culture and education poetry. In this wider perspective, the aim of criticism is

in all branches of knowledge theology, philosophy history, art, science to see the object as in itself it really is.

of tragedy. In all comedy, there is the distribution of reward and punishment - comedy than to tragedy. something Aristotle states be more appropriate to Thus, though there are some similarities between tragedy and comedy in construction, they are different from each other.