The Study Of Poets - Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold (1822 –1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. The Study of poetry is the first essay in 1888. It contains many of the ideas for which Arnold is best remembered.

According to Matthew Arnold, the first great principle of criticism is disinterestedness or detachment. Disinterestedness on the part of the critic implies freedom from all prejudices, personal or historical.

“Poetry is criticism of life, governed by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty”

As per Arnold, Poetry is "Criticism of Life". In poetry, this criticism of life must conform to the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. He was on the side of Art for Life’s Sake.

Matthew Arnold had a viewpoint that one should be free from historical and personal estimate to have a real estimate. For this he gave “Touchstone Method”.

I think the principle of 'Disinterestedness' or 'Detachment' given by Matthew Arnold is interesting and relevant in recent times.

A work of literature should be judged as an independent work rather than considering its effect on author or readers. It should be free from all the prejudices either historical or personal.

For example:- A doctor should detach the emotional self while operating patients, else the doctor might make mistake due to emotional attachment with patients.

The idea of 'The Touchstone Method' given by Arnold is not appropriate in recent times.

Comparing the best lines of the great poets with other poetry it is difficult way to pass judgement. The poet whose work is to be compared with the work of the great poets may differ in expression. I think this idea might create a difficulty to understand the real estimate of a work.

Comments

"RIP"; Rest in Peace those who are Alive....

Hello Friends, After a long time I am writing here. Hope you all are fine. This time I have come up with a different interpretation of the phrase “RIP”. Mostly this phrase “RIP”; Rest in Peace is used for the people who are no more. We use this phrase to give sympathy towards the departed soul. The soul may get peace wherever it travels. No one exactly knows where the soul travels. Sometimes this phrase is used out of care and sometimes just for show off on social media. While sitting alone near a cemetery, a thought struck in my mind. Why do we use RIP only for dead people????? We can also use it for those who are alive. Many time people use RIP when a person is dead. The same people might have harassed the dead person when he is alive. So what’s the point of “RIP”? Suppose in the day time you behave very badly with someone. Is he/she going to get sound and peaceful sleep at night? The dead person will never come back so we just say “RIP”. Of course ever...

"Hayavadana" - Girish Karnad

After a long hectic schedule, this Sunday I spared some time in reading an interesting play “ Hayavadana ” by Girish Karnad . Girish Karnad’s plays have always fascinated me. Last year, got a wonderful chance to see Karnad’s “ Nagamandala ” performed by college students during Youth Festival 2015. Click here to read the review of the play. Girish Raghunath Karnad (born 19 May 1938) is an Indian actor, film director, writer, playwright and a Scholar, who predominantly works in South Indian cinema. He rise as a playwright in 1960s, marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. For four decades Karnad has been composing plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary issues.(Wikipedia) Some of his well-known plays are “ Hayavadana”, “Tughlaq” , “Nagamandala ” and many more. The plot of Hayavadana comes from Kathasaritsagara, a...

" The Winged Word"- David Green

In my Graduation syllabus, I had a book named “ The Winged word”. This anthology is edited by David Green. It is anthology of poems compiled for the students of English literature in the B.A courses of Indian Universities. The chronological order, in which the poets are arranged in this book, helps the students to note the development of English poetry from one age to another. Referring to this book after a long time span, gives me a immense joy. There are many poems in this book. We were given some selected poems to study during three years of graduation. The poems which were in my syllabus are as follow:- 1.) I Find No Peace – Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42) 2.) My Friend, the Things That Do Attain –Henry Howard (1517- 47) 3.) The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd –Sir Walter Ralegh (1552-1618) 4.) The Nightingale – Sir Philip Sidney (1554- 86) 5.) Since There’s No Help – Michael...

Vaidehi Hariyani

Search This Blog