Culture and Anarchy by Metthew Arnold critical study

M.K. Bhavnagar University

Department of English

Name:- Parmar Milankumar

Roll no.:- 14

Enrollment no.:- 14101026

Course:- Victorian literature

Topic:- Culture and Anarchy critical study

Introduction

Matthew Arnold was cultural critic and poet during Victorian age. “For him poetry is interpretative by having natural magic in it and moral profundity” he was born in 1822. He was the son of headmaster of Rugby.  Arnold was appointed as inspector of school. He worked for twenty five years at this position. Arnold’s literary work can be divided into three periods, which are poetical, the critic and the practical.

a.       In his poetical period he had written poetry since his school days. In 1853 to 1855 he published his last “poems” v. after that he abandoned poetry for critical work.

b.      In his critical period his lectures on translating “Homer” and the two “volume of essays in criticism”

c.       After critical period he turned to practical questions. His friendship and Garland 1871, was satire on and also wants to reform the great middle class of England.

d.      Culture and Anarchy appeared in 1869 and it was the most characteristic work of his practical period. The other four book published were based on religious subject.

Ø  Protestantism-1870

Ø  Literature and dogma-1873

Ø  God and Bible-1875

Ø  Essay in on Church and religion-1877

Arnold was the first critic who gave the definition of culture. He was the father of modern criticism. His fame as cultural critic always same as it was. Culture and anarchy was first published in 1869, the essay contains most of the terms. Many of these terms are given by him these terms are culture, sweetness and light, barbarian, philistines, Hebraism, Hellenism and many others. And all these are now associated with Arnold’s work and influence.

Culture and Anarchy:- it contains five essays. Arnold didn’t give name to these essays, but we can give it accordingly to the points which are discussed in each essay. They are as below

1.     Sweetness and Light

2.     Doing as one likes

3.     Three English class ( Barbarian, Philistines, populous)

4.     Hebraism and Hellenism

5.      One thing is necessary (the real need)

Definition of culture :- for him culture is the great help 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”            

What is culture?

What good can it do to society?

Why do we need it?

1^st

Culture as study in total perfection :- Culture, harmonious perfection, developing all sides of humanity, developing all parts of our society; as a general perfection. Culture is a harmonious perfection It should help to development all the parts of society. If one member of it suffers the other must suffer. It means equality. If one is happy the other must be happy. One must see and learn culture. It is the religion The kingdom of God is within you. The church is in itself a lesson of religious moderation, and a help towards culture and harmonious perfection. Culture is manner, places human perfection in an internal condition, in the growth and predominance of our humanity proper, as distinguished from our animality. It is the individual’s march towards perfection. Arnold talks about the great idea to know and the great energy to act. They should be in harmony by the light of reason. He insists on the balance of the both thought and action.

Perfection, as culture conceives it, is not possible while the individual remains isolated. The individual is required, under pain of being stunted and enfeebled in his own development if he disobeys, to carry others along with him in his march towards perfection.

Sweetness and light:- the notion of perfection, a perfection which consist of  beauty and sweetness both are present there. “which unites two noblest things as Sweeft happily calls them in his book ‘Battles of  the Books’ ‘the two noblest of things sweetness and light. To explain this term he takes two Greek words aphuia and euphuia.

Aphuia means without natural talent or dull

Euphuia means well grown, sharply, goodly, graceful, of good natural parts, clever, witty, also of good disposition and a finely tempered nature.

What Arnold suggests is that there should be combination of both the things in order to bring total perfection. Thus for him the pursuit of total perfection is the perfection of sweetness and light. He who works for sweetness and light, works to make reason and the will of the god prevail. Culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.

2^nd

Anarchy (doing as one likes)

 From where anarchy derives/ what is the reason behind anarchy in society ? Doing as one likes may become an anti social activity. Then liberty becomes license and in an organized society anarchy breaks out.  If this culture is blind to the existing evils of society or if the culture is in danger of being and enemy to become all moonshine. Arnold’s critics believe in action and not in aesthetic detachment.

“DOING AS ONE LIKES.”:- English were believe in freedom of doing as one likes., without regarding the ends for which freedom is to be desired. He agrees that it is most happy and important thing for a man merely be able to do as he likes. But the problem is on what he is to do, when he is thus free to do as one likes, we do not lay so much stress”

Mr. Bright say that “British constitution is system which stops and paralyses any power in interfering with the free action of individual, the central idea of English life and politics is the assertion of personal liberty ” and Arnold see it as drift which will sunk down the entire society.

What is the urgent need of society according to Arnold is that need of authority

Who should be given authority?

Aristocrats, Middle class or working class?

Arnold found inability in every class. What he found is that they have “sweetness” of culture but they lack the best “light” the intelligence. The idea of anarchy is dangerous because people can’t move towards right direction. At the end of this chapter Arnold suggest that the authority should be given to one’s self.

3^rd

Three English Classes

Arnold divides English society in three classes they are

The Barbarian

The philistines

The Populous 

The Barbarians:- they bring staunch individualism in life. Individualism is good thing but staunch made them selfish. And if there is staunch individualism there will be chaos in society. Their manly exercise, their strength and their good looks are definitely found in aristocratic class of his time. Their politeness resembles the chivalry. Barbarian and their external styles in manner accomplishments and powers are inherited from the barbarian. They found happiness in honor and consideration, field sport and pleasure.

The Philistines:- it is the German word which means uncultured people like most of the shopkeeper. They are wise men, captains of industry, busy in commerce and trade. Philistines deep in self love, they like fanaticism, business and money making and comfort and tea meeting. They brought all economic prosperity and progress in the country. They have built cities, they made rail road and in last they invented mercantile navy.    

The Working class:- working class people are who help to empire builders. Dirtiness and poverty is their trademark, they are raw and half developed. They are being exploited by the philistines and barbarians. “an Englishman’s have born privilege of doing as one likes, meeting where he likes, bawling what he likes, braking what he likes”. Populous class hated by both the class they like shouting, hustling and smashing and beer.     

4^th

Hellenism and Hebraism

Both the terms Arnold discusses in the fifth essay. He says Englishman usually prefers doing then thinking. This is outlook of their national characteristics. Arnold talks about the great idea to know and the great energy to act. Arnold would distinguish from the mental energy to know; and these energies are the first one is Hebraism and the second is Hellenism. The final aim of the both is human perfection.  Both are the most potent forces and both should be in harmony by the light of reason.

Bishop Wilson “first, never go against the best light you have; secondly, take care that your light be not darkness.”

Hellenism:- the supreme idea with the Hellenism or Greek spirit is to see things as they really are, he points out that Greek philosophy considers that the body and its desires are an impediment to right thinking. It desires for reason and the will of the god, and desire of love of god. It acquires spontaneity of consciousness with a clearness of mind, it emphasize on knowing or knowledge. 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.”

Hebraism:- Hebraism is the spirit of the bible is conduct and obedience. It considers human body and its desires are obstacle in right act. Hebraism studies the universal order and observes the magnificence of god apparent the order. it achieves a strictness of conscience with its clarity of thought. It shows stress on doing rather than knowing. Its primary idea is absolute obedience to the will of god. It fastens its faith on doing.

The aim of the both is partaking of divine life with knowledge and action. Hebraism as Mr. Sidgwick points out is manful walking by the best light one has fire and strength as he calls it. This Hebraism must join hands with Hellenism the culture which endeavors to see things in their beauty and truth, the pursuit of sweetness and light.     

5^th

‘Porro Unum Est Necessarium’:- this title means one thing is necessary. One banal system of action, issuing out of the very concept of democratic existence is the liberal notion of doing freely as one likes. This idea issues from the sense of liberty democracy inculcates and when pushed to the extreme liberty is often turned in to anarchy.  

What Arnold calls “instead of our ‘one thing needful’ justifying in us vulgarity, hideousness, ignorance, violence are really so many touchstones which try our one thing needful, and which prove that in the state, at any rate, in which we ourselves have it, it is not all we want” In the above quotation Arnold wants to convey us that all these things which we never want, but we should know about those things that we can keep aw yourself from those things.

Conclusion :- Arnolds essay Culture and anarchy ifs the foundational work in the study of culture. His ideas can bring perfection in human society, but at the present time we can’t follow it completely, because of privatization, industrialization, and globalization. One can follow his ideas but he himself have to suffers in society.