Poetry as Criticism of Life

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its manner and style�, says Arnold. If a poem is lacking in the qualities of poetic truth and high seriousness, it cannot possess the excellence of diction and movement, and vice-versa.

In his estimate of Burns and Wordsworth, Arnold points out that another characteristic of great poetry is application of ideas to criticism of life. The greatness of Wordsworth lies in his powerful application of the subject of ideas to man, nature and human life. Ideas according to Arnold are moral ideas.

Another quality attributed to great poetry by Arnold is that of �high seriousness�. Although he does not fully explain the term, we gather quite a lot of information from his statement. Aristotle was of the view that poetry is superior to History due to the former�s qualities of higher truth and higher seriousness. What we judge from Arnold�s essay is that high-seriousness is concerned with the sad reality. This quality is possessed by poetry which deals with the tragic aspects of life. ...

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It is the power to look beyond boredom, horror and glory.

While teaching of the concept of poetic beauty, Arnold mentions excellence of diction but does not explain what it is. As regards the flow in verse or the fluidity in movement, Arnold probably does not realize that the use of coarseness is sometimes intentional to create a specific effect. Smoothness need not be the only one; harshness and ruggedness are equally great qualities, when used to create special effects.

Matthew Arnold does not fully explain the term �high seriousness�. It should also be remembered here that seriousness should not at all be considered synonymous with solemnity. The serious and humorous can ...

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