Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold was a poet and literary critic whose reputation as a leading figure in the literary culture of Victorian-era England rests on his lyric poetry and, above all, his cultural criticism, which defended high culture from the growing materialism of Arnold’s day and affirmed the vital importance of intellectual integrity to a healthy democratic society. Born into an intellectual family, Arnold was educated at Oxford and published his first book of poetry in 1849 before taking a position as an inspector of schools—a job that not only allowed him to support his family but enabled him to visit many far-flung areas of England and to develop his unconventional views on the direction English society was taking in the Victorian era. While Arnold’s poetry was generally, if not universally, admired, his reputation as a leading critic grew with the publication of Essays in Criticism (1865) and Culture and Anarchy (1869), in which Arnold argued passionately for the importance of upholding the highest standards in art and society, respectively. It was in the latter work that Arnold offered his memorable definition of culture as “the best which has been thought and said.” By the time of his death in 1888, Arnold was regarded as one of England’s most important critics, and his views on the function of art in a democratic society continue to have significant influence among cultural critics and political philosophers.