'An excellent book ... sharp and sympathetic' - Sunday Times 'Why doesn't Matthew Arnold enjoy a higher reputation today? He wrote some of the most beautiful poetry of the Victorian period ... yet he distrusted his own poetic genius and effectively stifled it after its early blossoming, devoting his maturity instead to writing worthy but unexciting prose criticism. The reasons why he did this, and the extraordinary tension in the poetry he did write between outbursts of passion and fierce repression, are excellently handled ...
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'An excellent book ... sharp and sympathetic' - Sunday Times 'Why doesn't Matthew Arnold enjoy a higher reputation today? He wrote some of the most beautiful poetry of the Victorian period ... yet he distrusted his own poetic genius and effectively stifled it after its early blossoming, devoting his maturity instead to writing worthy but unexciting prose criticism. The reasons why he did this, and the extraordinary tension in the poetry he did write between outbursts of passion and fierce repression, are excellently handled in Ian Hamilton's critical biography.' - Adam Roberts As a youth, Matthew Arnold was an impassioned lyric poet, deeply at odds with his times. In his later years, he turned himself to more "purposeful" prose composition and became a social prophet and literary critic. This biography addresses some of the mysteries surrounding Arnold's life, and attempts to animate certain key moments, or turning points, in Arnold's passage from the poetic life to the prose of his later years.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine dust jacket. 0465044212. Fine hard back with fine unclipped dust jacket. No inscriptions.; Black & white plates; 8vo 8"-9" tall; 241 pages.
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Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall; Type: Book N.B. Previous owners inscription to ffep. Head and tail of spine a little bumped. Rubbing to head and tail of D/J spine and corners of D/J.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has soft covers. In fair condition, suitable as a study copy. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 300grams, ISBN: 9780747542872.
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Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
?The present book is an attempt to animate certain key moments, or turning points, in Arnold?s passage from the poetic life to the prose of his later years.?
The above is a very honest statement quoted from the book?s preface. Ian Hamilton is not trying to pull over the reader?s eyes by suggesting that his book is the complete and definitive life of Matthew Arnold.
This stamp of honesty is ingrained throughout the book, within his style of writing, his objectiveness and his refraining from turning the biography into a hagiography.
Ian Hamilton has created a remarkable piece of work. It is made even more remarkable as it appears Arnold did not leave behind a bounty of diaries, letters etc from which a biography could be constructed.
Unlike some of his contemporaries, Wordsworth, Browning and Tennyson, Arnold has all but been forgotten, his poetry no longer fashionable, consigned to be a poet only enjoyed by scholars.
While Arnold?s poetry never had the emotional charge of Wordsworth or the introspective humanity of Tennyson, it did have a grace and a force of nature. While the poetry of his contemporaries had all the beauty and style of a supermodel, Arnold?s poetry was the beauty of the soul, the person within not the external superficial beauty that one could tire of looking at.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
Dover Beach
Ian Hamilton does a great service to the memory of Matthew Arnold with his insightful, intelligent and penetrating analysis of Arnold?s verse. Hamilton shows us the development of Arnold?s poetry and as such puts that work in context biographically and historically.
If there is one thing that a biography of a poet?s life should try to attain is to have the reader want to read or reread the poetry of the biographer?s subject.
Arnold turned his back on the world of poetry to concentrate on prose during the last twenty or so years of this life. The nineteenth century and beyond was a poorer place because of this decision.
?He thrust his gift in prison till it died? W.H. Auden.
