Selected Poems by Matthew Arnold

Selected Poems by Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold is not only a significant poet, but also a critic of the Victorian age. It is partly because a prose-writer's intelligence shapes his finest poetry that he is set "somewhat apart". Believing that poetry should be "a criticism of life", in his poetry Arnold often explores personal responses to the society he critizes in his prose. The characteristic notes, in major poems such as "Dover Beach" or "Thyrsis", are meditative and elegiac, informed by doubt and by the conflict between necessity and desire. For this edition, Timothy Peltason has selected poems written mostly by the time Arnold has reached his mid-thirties, but also including the three elegies for family pets that Arnold wrote near the end of his life. The volume also prints the full texts of the long poems, "Empedocles on Etna", "Sohrab and Rustum" and "Tristram and Iseult".

Matthew Arnold (1822-88) was the son of the famous Dr Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School. After studying at Oxford, Arnold spent several years travelling and writing experimental verse. Having established his reputation with his poetry, Arnold went on to writing prose. His influence as a social and literary critic and a controversial thinker on religious and educational issues has been felt throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780140423761
ISBN 10	0140423761
Title	Selected Poems
Author	Matthew Arnold
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd
Year published	1994-05-26
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable