Matthew Arnold

Birth: 1822-12-24 , Laleham

Death: 1888-04-15 , Liverpool

Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford from 1857 to 1867. Arnold is remembered today for his poetry and for his critical insights into the social and religious trends of his time. He is also one of the most influential examiners of the 19th century. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School and historian.

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Be neither saint- nor sophist-led, but be a man!

Calm Soul of all things! make it mine To feel, amid the city’s jar, That there abides a peace of thine, Man did not make, and can not mar.

Hither and thither spins The windborne, mirroring soul; A thousand glimpses wins, And never sees a whole.

Yet they, believe me, who await No gifts from Chance, have conquered Fate.

We cannot kindle when we will The fire that in the heart resides, The spirit bloweth and is still, In mystery our soul abides.

Fate gave, what Chance shall not control, His sad lucidity of soul.

The world in which we live and move Outlasts aversion, outlasts love: Outlasts each effort, interest, hope, Remorse, grief, joy.

Where great whales come sailing by, Sail and sail, with unshut eye, Round the world forever and aye.

Come, dear children, let us away; Down and away below! Now my brothers call from the bay, Now the great winds shoreward blow, Now the salt tides seaward flow; Now the wild white horses play, Champ and chafe and toss in the spray.

Others abide our question. Thou art free. We ask and ask: Thou smilest and art still, Out-topping knowledge.

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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.