Paper no.6:-Victorian age:- Concept of culture and anarchy by Matthew Arnold

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH MAHARAJAH KRISHNAKUMARSINHJI BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY

Concept of culture and anarchy by Matthew Arnold

Semester:-M.A SEM 2       

 Paper no.6:-Victorian age

ROLL NO:-6

ENROLLMENT NO:- PG15101006

EMAIL ID:-cnbhungani7484@gmail.com

Blog id:- chintavanbhungani201517.blog.spot.com

Topic: - Concept of culture and anarchy by Matthew Arnold?

Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was one of the 19th century England’s most prominent poet and social commentators. He was for many years an inspector of schools. Later becoming professor of poetry at Oxford University. Amongst his books, perhaps the best known is culture and anarchy (1869), in which he argues for the role of reading ‘the best that has been thought and said’ as an antidote to the anarchy of materialism, industrialism individualistic self-interest. Arnold mounts a case in support of building and teaching a canonical body of knowledge:  

Nationality            : - British

Period                    :-Victorian 

Genre                     :-poetry, literary social and religious criticism

Notable works     :-“dove beach”, the scholar gipsy”, thyrsus, culture and anarchy literature and dogma.

• Introduction:-

                            Culture and Anarchy is a controversial philosophical work written by the celebrated Victorian poet and critic Matthew Arnold. Composed during a time of unprecedented social and political change, the essay argues for a restructuring of England's social ideology. It reflects Arnold's passionate conviction that the uneducated English masses could be molded into conscientious individuals who strive for human perfection through the harmonious cultivation of all of their skills and talents. A crucial condition of Arnold's thesis is that a state-administered system of education must replace the ecclesiastical program which emphasized rigid individual moral conduct at the expense of free thinking and devotion to community. Much more than a mere treatise on the state of education in England, Culture and Anarchy is, in the words of J. Dover Wilson, “at once a masterpiece of vivacious prose, a great poet's great defense of poetry, a profoundly religious book, and the finest apology for education in the English language.”

  1)-What is culture?

           The whole scope of the essay is to recommend culture as the great help out of our present difficulties; culture being a pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all the matters which most concern us, “the best which has been thought and said in the world”; and through this knowledge, turning a stream of fresh and free thought upon our stock notions and habits, which we now follow staunchly but mechanically, vainly imagining that there is a virtue in following theme staunchly which makes up for the mischief  of following them mechanically .

           According to Matthew Arnold culture is sweetness and light

                Arnold believed that culture is also connected with the ideas of sweetness help of Greek words aphasia & euphoria. The euchres stand for the man who tends towards sweetness and light; the aphis stands for Philistire. The immense spiritual significance of the Greeks is due to their having been inspired with this central and happy idea of the essential character of human perfection; and Mr. Bright misconception of culture as a smattering of Greek and Latin, comes itself. After this wonderful significance of the Greeks having affected the very machinery of over education and is in itself a kind of homage to it. Culture is of like spirit with poetry, follows one laws with poetry. In thus making sweetness and light, to be characters of perfection, culture shows its single minded love of perfection.

As we already saw that Arnold, in the first chapter- ‘sweetness and light’ has tried to show that culture is the study and pursuit of perfection; and sweetness and light are the main characters. But hitherto he has been insisting chiefly on beauty or sweetness, as character of perfection. To complete his design, it evidently remains to speak also of intelligence, or light, as a character of perfection.

What is anarchy?

                                      According to Arnold, freedom of doing as one likes, was one of those things which English thus worshiped itself without enough regarding the ends for which freedom is to be desired. Arnold also agrees with the prevalent notion that “it is a most happy and important thing for a man merely to be able to do as he likes, we do not lay so much stress.” Even though the British Constitution is a system which stops and paralyses any power in interfering with the free action of individuals...... that the central idea of English life and politics is the ascertain of person liberty, yet Arnold fames this very right and happiness of an Englishman to do what he likes may drift the entire society towards Anarchy.

                                     Doing as one likes may become an anti social activity. Then liberty becomes license and in an organized society anarchy breaks out. Arnold’s ‘culture’ may bring about a spirit of cultivated inaction. If this culture is blind to the existing evils of society or if this culture is in danger of being and enemy to all reforms and reformers, then that culture is bound to become all moonshine. Arnold’s critics believe in action and not in aesthetic detachment.

 

Plot and Major Characters

                                                      Although Arnold does not create specific fictional characters to express his ideas in Culture and Anarchy, he does infuse his essays with a narrative persona that can best be described as a Socratic figure. This sagacious mentor serves as a thematic link between each of the chapters, underscoring the importance of self-knowledge in order to fully engage the concept of pursuing human perfection.

 

Major themes

Arnold introduces the principal themes of Culture and Anarchy directly in the essay's title. Culture involves an active personal quest to forsake egocentricity, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness and to embrace an equally balanced development of all human talents in the pursuit of flawlessness. It is a process of self-discipline which initiates a metamorphosis from self-interest to conscientiousness and an enlightened understanding of one's singular obligation to an all-inclusive utopian society.

 According to Stefan Collin, culture is

“An ideal of human life, a standard of excellence and fullness for the development of our capacities, aesthetic, intellectual, and moral.”

Three classes (the Barbarians, the Philistines and the populace):

In the third chapter of ‘culture and anarchy’ Matthew Arnold gave his views on the three classes of society. These three classes of England are the Aristocrats, the Middle class and the Working class. He shows the virtues and defects of all three classes in the essay.

The Aristocrats (Barbarians):

Arnold calls this class the ‘Barbarians’. They have personal liberty and anarchical in their tendencies. They have their own individualism. Outwards qualities like politeness grace in manners come directly inculcated by the Aristocrats from the Barbarians. Their culture is skin-deep, external and lacking in inwards virtue.

The Middle class (Philistine):

In a German sense, Philistine means the uncultured people. They are worldly-wise men, busy in trade and commerce. They have brought all economic prosperity and progress in the country. Thus, they are the empire builders in long; they would bring all material prosperity.

The Working class (Populace):

The working class is helper of the empire builders. They are raw and half developed. They are being exploited by the Philistine and the Barbarians so long. Because of their awakening, their poverty and squalor dawned. They become politically conscious and coming out from obscurities.

Thus, Arnold finds a sort of caste system in England consisting of the Barbarians, the Philistine and the Populace. Yet there is something common factor in all the three classes is a common basis of human nature. From above the basis of culture must be founded- sweetness and light.

View about Hebraism or Hellenism

Hebraism	Hellenism
·       Spirit of thought	·       Spirit of mind
·       Spirit of bible	·       Spirit of Greek
·       Narrow mindedness	·       Open minded
·       Religious	·       knowledge
·       Thought only for god	·       Though with practical
·       Follow the biblical idea	·       Follow the platonic idea

Hellenism and Hebraism both are directly connected to the life of human being. Hellenism keeps emphasis on knowing or knowledge, where as Hebraism fastens its faith in doing. Socrates, as Hellenic, states that the best man is he who tries to make himself perfect, and the happiest man is he who feels that he is perfecting himself. He does not tell us how it is to be done, and how to see things in their reality and beauty.

  Aim of Hebraism and Hellenism

                        The final aim of both is man’s perfection or salvation so the aim and end of both is admirable. And Hellenism is too seeing things as they are and Hebraism is conduct and obedience. Right thinking and right acting both are motivated by the desires of the body; and at the bottom of his design lurks a desire in man for reason and the will of god and thus to acquire the love of god. So in the ultimate analysis Arnold find that “the governing idea of Hellenism is spontaneity of consciousness; that of Hebraism, strictness or conscience”

Conclusion:-

                   So in this essay we study  four chapter :1)sweetness and light 2)doing as one like 3)barbarians, philistines, populace 4)Hebraism and Hellenism. Matthew Arnold describes all four chapters according to society and his own views. At the end we can say that Arnold describes culture and anarchy as different term both are not equal but some different meaning. Thus we can conclude we may say that the men of culture are the true apostles of equality.