‘Arnold’s Poetry is at Bottom a Criticism of Life’

Matthew Arnold is the greatest elegiac poet in the world of poetry. His most famous elegiac poems are ‘The Scholar Gipsy’, ‘Thyrsis’, and ‘Dover Beach’. His elegiac poetry is more than a mere expression of sorrow. His poetry invariably becomes reflective and philosophical. Poetry, according to Matthew Arnold, is a criticism of life.

In ‘The Scholar Gipsy’ Arnold presents a detailed criticism of life of the Victorians. In the poem, the poet laments the life of the modern men who have no fixed purpose in life. They are fully materialistic and have very little faith in religion. They always run after money and spend all their energies on a thousand schemes.

Arnold’s Poetry is at Bottom a Criticism of Life

They cannot stick to anything for long. They are like rolling stones that gather no moss. As a result they receive a series of shocks and lose vitality of mind. They grow old and feeble going through many ups and down in course of their lives. They go through joys and sorrows of life, which has a tiring effect on them. They undertake too many works and do not attain fruition in any of them. Frustrations and disappointments are always in store for them. Thus, Arnold portrays modern life as a diseased one.

In ‘Dover Beach’ Arnold portrays a very sad and bleak picture of the Victorian society in which religion and traditional values are fast dying out. Because of Darwinism and the Industrial Revolution, the Victorians have lost faith in god and religion. Matthew Arnold believes that because of this loss of faith, humanity will begin to turn on one another out of confusion. In a world where there is no faith there can be no real happiness. Amid this situation, men can do one thing: they may turn to love which alone shines like a beacon torch amidst the encircling gloom. So, the poet asks his beloved to be true and sincere to each other. If they are false, their life will meet a disaster; they would not live happily.

‘Thyrsis’ is also Arnold’s criticism of life. In ‘Thyrsis’ he laments the death of a golden age. In the poem, he has touched his finger on the malady of the age. He complains that in the Victorian age, there has, no doubt, been the expansion of industry, science and commerce. But man has lost his moral ethical values. Truth has been sacrificed on alter of materialism. The seeker after Truth must shun human society which distracts his attention and leads him astray. Having infinite patience, courage and determination, one can have a momentary glimpse of Truth. Here we find Arnold’s criticism of life. He hints that the material minded Victorians are not likely to attain the ultimate Truth. He condemns the materialism of the Victorian Age and urges a spiritual outlook on life.

Thus, Arnold’s poetry is at bottom a criticism of life. But he took a fragmentary view of his time. Every change in the world destroys many things but creates new things also. Arnold’s age had many good things to offer but Arnold took no notice of them. So, his criticism of life appears to be one-sided.