Name : Makwana
Ankita m.
Presentation Topic:Matthew Arnold?
Paper No :6.
Roll No :2.
Year :2013-14.
Semester: 2.
Guidance: Dilip Barad and Heenaba Zala
Presentation Topic:Matthew Arnold?
Paper No :6.
Roll No :2.
Year :2013-14.
Semester: 2.
Guidance: Dilip Barad and Heenaba Zala
v Introduction.
Matthew Arnold
Ø
Born
: 1822
Ø
Died
: 1888
Ø
Education:
University of Oxford.
Ø
Occupation:
poet.
Ø Matthew
Arnold was a British poet and Critic who worked as an inspector of schools
Matthew Arnold has been characterized as a sage writer.
Cultural
and Anarchy is a series of periodical essay by Matthew Arnold first published
in Cornhill Magazine 1867-68.
The preface was added in 1875.to show the importance
of culture Arnold has given an example of American culture because…..
“America, without religious establishments”
Matthew
Arnold a believer in culture what culture really is , what good it can do, what
is our own special need of it.
v Culture: Various meaning of culture.
Ø Culture is
symbolic communication.
Ø Culture is
the system of knowledge.
Ø By the
nineteenth century in Europe it meant the habits and custom.
Ø It also
meant ‘ to honour’ and ‘project ’.
Ø According to Arnold….
“
Culture is the great
help out of our present difficulties ; Culture being a persuite of our total
perfection by means of getting to know, on all the matters which more concern
us, the best in the world…”
v According to Raymond Williams.
Ø Culture –
ideal
Ø Culture –
timeless
Ø Culture –
documentary.
v Culture as a study in perfection.
Ø According to Arnold…..
“ Morality
and concept of good or bad ‘ culture is a study of perfection ”
Ø On the other side Religion says…
Ø The kingdom of God within you ; and culture , in like
manner, places human perfection in an internal condition.
v Culture : Sweetness and Light.
Ø For Arnold
culture is also connected with the idea of sweetness and Light. He tries to
explain this idea with the help of Greek words aphuia and euphuia. He also speak
about intelligence or light as a character of perfection.
Ø For
example..
In
‘ Battle of the Book ‘ by Jonathan Swift is one of the best example of
Sweetness and light present very well.
Ø Perfection
will be both –social and professional.
Ø Culture
also asks what Greatness is.
Ø Greatness
is a spiritual condition worthy to exite Love, interest and admiration.
Ø Culture
says…..
“ Consider these
people , them their way of life , their habits, their voice….”
v Its outcome on Middle and working Class.
Ø Again, Arnold gives an example of Middle Class and
Working Class and also he prove let see how….
Ø ‘ Doing as one likes may bring chaos and anarchy in
society. He write in this essay.Our Middle Class, the great representative of
trade and Dissent.The philistines
Ø Are the middle class according to Arnold.
v Three great class of England….
England
v 1.Aristocrats class.
The
aristocratic class Arnold calls the Barbarians. They are champion of personal
liberty and often anarchical in their tendencies. Aristocratic people normaly
follows rich class. Evan the culture,lacking in inward virtue.
v 2.Middle class.
The
philistines are the middle class according to Arnold.In its original German
sense is meant the uncultured people like most of the Shakespeare’s. The
philistines are wordly wise men, captains of industry busy in trade and
commerce.
Again the puritans Arnold’s
complain is that they care more for sweetness and light and also care for fire
and strength.
v Malaise of the age.
Arnold also
point out to the very malaise of his age when he says…..
“ Instead
of our ‘ one thing needful ’, justifying in us vulgarity, hideousness,
ingnorance, violence-our hideousness, ingnorance are really so many touchstone
which try our one thing needful…”
Ø If Hebraism
means only the knowledge of the Bible and word of God.
Ø According to Arnold….
“
No man, who knows nothings else,
Knowns
even his Bible ”
Ø On the other hand Hellenism means is the impulse to
the development of the whole man.
Ø Plato says…..
“
Forever through all the universe tends towards that which is lovely ”
v Arnold Deplores the Age.
Arnold deplores the confusion of thought and of practice in
his age among all classes of people in England. And the rightly boasts of
British freedom, British industry and British muscularity.
v According to Arnold….
“ What we want, is a fuller harmonious development of our
humanity a free play of thought upon our routine notions, spontaneity of
consciousness, sweetness and light….”
Ø The moral
issue implies an implicit faith in the
word of God.
v Mental Energy.
Ø The Englishmen usually, prefers doing the thinking
Bishop Wilson Says…..
“ First
never go against the best light you have ; secondly take care that you light be
not darkness ”.
Ø Englishmean’s
one of the best and strong point in this character is his physical energy than
mental intelligence. Arnold adds another quality to be hardnessed with the
mental energy to know ; and the first is Hebraism and the second is Hellenism.
v Aim of Hebraism and Hellenism.
Ø He insist
on the balance of the both thought and action the final aim of Hebraism and
Hellenism is the same as man’s perfection and salvation so the aim and end of
both Hebraism and Hellenism is admirable.
Ø The root
idea of the both is the desire for reason and the will of God and the desire of
love of God.
Ø So in this
analysis Arnold finds that…..
“ The
Governing idea of Hellenism is spontaneity of consciousness ; that of Hebraism,
Strictness or conscious ”
Ø Hellenism
and Hebraism both are directly connected to the life of human beings.Hellenism
keeps emphasis on language knowledge knowing the things, where Hebraism doing
in Christianity is doing the will of God.
Ø Hebraism
again thinks that of the original sin of man.The discipline of the holly
scripture teaches how to avoid and stop the sin.
Ø Hebraism is
a great movement of Christianity.
Ø Hellenism
is a great movement of Renaissance.
Ø Arnold
asserts that there is enough of Hellenism is the English notion. He emphasizes
on Hebraism become it is based on self – control.
Ø In
Reformation, there was the influence of Hebraism than Hellenism.
v Renaissance and Reformation.
Ø England we
find both moral and intellectual awareness shared by Reformation and
Renaissance. Reformation was a cry to return to the Bible and a movement to do,
form the heart, the will of God.
Ø Renaissance
and Reformation in England brought in their wake humanism born of the great
reawakening of Hellenism. So Arnold
thinks that as Hellenism is of Indo-European growth, Hebraism is of Semitic
growth.
v Personal Liberty.
Ø Again,
freedom is worshipped in itself. Arnold also finds that it is a most happy and
important thing for a man merely to do as he likes. British constitution
fosters this idea of personal liberty. Therefore the danger of drifting towards
anarchy is inherent in the very British constitution.
v Effect on working class.
Ø The poor
working class passed by the hard work daily compulsion of material wants is
lured by the political idea of personal liberty.
v The Rioters.
Ø Arnold
point out to the Hyde Park Riots What is Rioters.
Ø The Rioters
are Englishman and as such they are to be treated differently from the
Irishmen. Personal liberty is a birthright of Englishman. But the danger is
favoritism.
Ø Freedom of
doing as one likes-according to Arnold…
Ø He agrees
with the prevalent notion that it is a most happy and important thing for a man
merely to be able to do as he likes. But the main problem is…..
“On
what he is to do when he is thus free to do as he likes, we do not lay so much
stress.”
Ø On the
other side Mr. Bright say that…
“British
constitution is system which stops and paralyses any power in interestin with
the free action of individuals…that the central idea of English life and
politics is the assertion of personal liberty...”
v Conclusion.
Ø Culture and
Anarchy contains most of terms like…culture, sweetness and light, Barbarism,
Philistine, Hebraism, and many others which are now associated with Arnold work
and influence.Arnold also talk about industrial development.Culture and Anarchy
is major work of criticism.

