Arnold was born in Laleham, Surrey, in 1822. He was educated at Rugby School, where his father was headmaster, and at Balliol College, Oxford. In 1843, he won the Newdigate Prize for poetry. In 1847, he became private secretary to the Viscount of Lansdowne. In 1851, he married Frances Lucy Wightman. He was appointed Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857. Arnold published many works, including "The Strayed Reveller" (1849), "Empedocles on Etna" (1852), and "Sohrab and Rustum" (1853). He also wrote critical essays, such as "Essays on Criticism" (1865) and "Culture and Anarchy" (1869). Arnold died in Liverpool in 1888, aged 65.
Poems List
Thou waitest for the spark from heaven: and we, Light half-believers of our casual creeds, Who never deeply felt, nor clearly willed… Who hesitate and falter life away, And lose tomorrow the ground won today— Ah! do not we, wanderer! await it too?
7
And long we try in vain to speak and act Our hidden self, and what we say and do Is eloquent, is well—but ’tis not true!
3
But often in the world’s most crowded streets, But often, in the din of strife, There rises an unspeakable desire After the knowledge of our buried life.
5
Yes, in the sea of life enisled, With echoing straits between us thrown, Dotting the shoreless watery wild, We mortal millions live alone .
5
The day in its hotness, The strife with the palm; The night in her silence, The stars in their calm.
4
Is it so small a thing To have enjoyed the sun, To have lived light in the spring, To have loved, to have thought, to have done; To have advanced true friends, and beat down baffling foes?
6
So, loath to suffer mute, We, peopling the void air, Make Gods to whom to impute The ills we ought to bear.
4
We do not what we ought; What we ought not, we do; And lean upon the thought That chance will bring us through.
5
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