The Study of Poetry Terms

Arnold introduces the term “criticism of life” to describe a poet’s fundamental attitude towards the most significant matters in life: love, death, fate, free will, etc. In Arnold’s critical system, a poet’s criticism of life… read analysis of Criticism of Life

“High seriousness” is Arnold’s term for the most important feature of truly great poetry. A work with high seriousness presents a criticism of life that is capable of reaching the highest aspirations human beings are… read analysis of High Seriousness

The “historic estimate” is Arnold’s term for an evaluation of a poem that is based not on the poem’s timeless features or its presence or lack of high seriousness, but instead on its… read analysis of Historic Estimate

The “personal estimate” of a poem, according to Arnold, is the evaluation of a poem that a reader might arrive at by relying on personal tastes and predilections rather than the criteria of truly… read analysis of Personal Estimate