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Ø Prepared by : KAVITABA P. GOHIL
Ø Roll No : 19
Ø Paper – 6 : THE VICTORIAN LITERATURE
Ø TOPIC: THREE CLASS OF SOCIETY BY MATTHEW
ARNOLD
Ø M.A (English) : Sem
-2
Ø Enrollment No: 2069108420180018
Ø Batch :
2017-19
Ø Email :
kavitabaprahaladsinhjigohil@gmail.com
Ø Submitted to : Smt
.S. B Gardi, Department of English, MKBU.
THREE CLASS OF SOCIETY BY MATTHEW ARNOLD
Ø MATTHEW
ARNOLD:
Matthew Arnold (1822–88) was one of 19th-century England’s
most prominent poets and social commentators. He was for many years an
inspector of schools, later becoming professor of poetry at Oxford University.
Amongst his books, perhaps the best known is Culture and Anarchy (1869), in
which he argues for the role of reading ‘the best that has been thought and
said’ as an antidote to the anarchy of materialism, industrialism and
individualistic self-interest. Arnold mounts a case in support of building and
teaching a canonical body of knowledge.
Ø Brief
look on Culture and Anarchy:
Culture and Anarchy is a
series of periodical essays by Matthew Arnold, first published in Cornhill
Magazine 1867-68 and collected as a book in 1869. The preface was added in
1875. Arnold's famous piece of writing on culture established his High
Victorian cultural agenda which remained dominant in debate from the 1860s
until the 1950s. According to his view advanced in the book, "Culture is a
study of perfection". He further wrote that: "[Culture] seeks to do
away with classes; to make the best that has been thought and known in the
world current everywhere; to make all men live in an atmosphere of sweetness
and light. (contributors)
§ What
is culture according to Arnold?
The whole scope of the essay
is to recommend culture as the great help out 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, which we now follow staunchly but
mechanically, vainly imagining that there is a virtue in following them
staunchly which makes up for the mischief of following them mechanically. (contributors)
According to him culture is
a way of life of a group of people. Culture is a collective programming of the
mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from
another. Matthew Arnold is really a great fighter for prevailing real culture
in the society of London. He finds the kingdom of materialism that trying to
strangle real culture. In this chapter, Arnold divides the society of England
into three classes- The Aristocrat Class, The Philistines, and The Populace. He
finds Anarchy very common in this class of his time as The Barbarians, The
Philistines as The Middle class and The Populace as The Working class. His
scrutiny of three classes of his time proves him a good experienced critic.
Ø Three
class of English society:
Arnold’s most cogent
observations about society come in three chapters of his 1869 book Culture and
Anarchy—Chapter 1: “Sweetness and Light,” Chapter 3: “Barbarians, Philistines,
Populace,” and Chapter 4: “Hellenism and Hebraism.” Of these, Chapter 3 seems
the most relevant to our times. In it, Arnold renames the social classes of
English society. He calls the aristocracy, the Barbarians; the middle class,
the Philistines; and the working class, the Populace. Arnold’s nomenclature
emphasizes the tendency of social classes to reduce themselves to stereotypical
interests. He maligns all three of them for embracing what he calls
“bathos”—sentiment undiluted by facts, judgment, or taste. (Cohen)
1] The Barbarians or the
Aristocrats:
The aristocratic class
Arnold calls them Barbarians. They are champion of personal liberty and often
anarchical in their tendencies. Yet they have their own individualism, field
sports and manly exercises are the fashion among them. All these outward qualities
such as politeness and grace in manners come directly inculcated by the
Aristocrats from Barbarians. Even the culture of the aristocrats is skin-deep,
external, lacking in inward virtues. The sense of chivalry of the Barbarians
makes the aristocrats practice politeness in action and manners.
2] The Philistines or the
Middle class:
The Philistines are the
middle class, according to Arnold. By philistine it is original German sense,
is meant the uncultured person like most of the shopkeepers. The Philistines
are worldly-wise men, captains of the industry busy in trade and commerce. As a
nation of shopkeepers, Philistines have brought all economic prosperity and
progress in the country. They have built cities, they have made railroads, and
lastly they have produced the greatest mercantile navy the world has ever seen.
Thus they are the empire builders in long as the working class would join
forces with them, they would bring to the land all material prosperity.
3] The Populace or the
working class:
The Populace are The Working
class who help the empire builders in Arnold’s parlance. Poverty has
dogged the footsteps of the Populace whenever they are engaged in running the
wheels of industry. They are raw and half-developed. They are being exploited
by the Philistines and the Barbarians so long. Now there is a stir and an
awakening among the Populace. Democratic awakening has dawned upon their
poverty. The people of this class are becoming politically conscious and are
coming out from the obscurities to asserts, the idea of personal freedom
is brought up by Englishman. And with it they have the concept of anarchy
inherently. “Everyman for himself in
business and everyman for himself in religion.”
Thus Arnold finds a sort of
caste-system in England consisting of the barbarians, the philistines and the
populace. Yet there is something of common value in all three classes ‘A common
basis of human nature.’ From that above the basis of human culture
must be founded – a sweetness and a light. Arnold considers that, Culture is
also connected with the idea of Sweetness and Light the Greek word ‘aphuia’
means well grown or graceful. He connects the idea of culture with sweetness
and light. He explains the idea with the help of Greek words ‘aphuia’ and
‘euphuia’. Here the man ‘euphyes’ is going towards ‘sweetness and light.’
Arnold also says that all these three classes are honest, they have got the
‘sweetness’ essential for ‘culture’ but what they lack in different proportions
is ‘ light’. Despite of such class system, Arnold finds a common basis of
nature in all. So, the spirit of sweetness and light can be founded. Arnold
himself belongs to the Philistines; He is rising above his own surroundings of
birth and social status in his pursuit of perfection, of sweetness and of light
and culture.
Now Barbarians like honours
and consideration, field sports and pleasure. Philistines like money marketing
and comforts and tea-meetings. The Populace like bombing, hustling and smashing
and beer.
So, Arnold’s way of
attainment of culture is initially to believe in paramount authority of right
reason, to recognise the best self and to rise above the nation of “An ordinary
self”.
Ø Conclusion:
Finally, to conclude that we
can summaries that from every walk of life some people must dedicate themselves
to the pursuit of perfection. The doors of perfection and culture are wide open
to any really dedicated soul from any three great divisions which Arnold finds
proper to sort out the people of England.
But then it is essential
that man must strive to seek human perfection to establish his best self, and
culture would in the end, can find its public recognition.
Bibliography
Cohen, Paula Marantz. The American Scholar. 3
January 2013. 4 april 2018 <https://theamericanscholar.org/returning-to-matthew-arnold/#>.
contributors,
wikipedia. "Culture and Anarchy." Wikipedia. 23 january
2018. 4 april 2018 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_and_Anarchy>.
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