The Study of Poetry

by

Matthew Arnold

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William Shakespeare Character Analysis

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English poet and playwright who is often considered the supreme poet and dramatist of the English language. Matthew Arnold produces extracts from Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Hamlet as examples of poetry that offers the high seriousness he considers characteristic of the greatest works of poetry.

William Shakespeare Quotes in The Study of Poetry

The The Study of Poetry quotes below are all either spoken by William Shakespeare or refer to William Shakespeare . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Poetry and the Human Spirit Theme Icon
).
 The Study of Poetry Quotes

Only one thing we may add to the substance and matter of poetry, guiding ourselves by Aristotle’s profound observation that the superiority of poetry over history consists in its possessing a higher truth and a higher seriousness… Let us add, therefore, to what we have said, this: that the substance and matter of the best poetry acquire their special character from possessing, in an eminent degree, truth and seriousness.

Related Characters: Matthew Arnold (speaker), Homer, Dante Alighieri , William Shakespeare , John Milton
Page Number: 337
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Study of Poetry PDF

William Shakespeare Quotes in The Study of Poetry

The The Study of Poetry quotes below are all either spoken by William Shakespeare or refer to William Shakespeare . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Poetry and the Human Spirit Theme Icon
).
 The Study of Poetry Quotes

Only one thing we may add to the substance and matter of poetry, guiding ourselves by Aristotle’s profound observation that the superiority of poetry over history consists in its possessing a higher truth and a higher seriousness… Let us add, therefore, to what we have said, this: that the substance and matter of the best poetry acquire their special character from possessing, in an eminent degree, truth and seriousness.

Related Characters: Matthew Arnold (speaker), Homer, Dante Alighieri , William Shakespeare , John Milton
Page Number: 337
Explanation and Analysis: