Mathew Arnold: Thinking Activity

Q1- Write about a Idea of  Matthew Arnold which you find interesting and relevant in our times.
A study of poetry ' is a critical essay by Mathew Arnold.  In this he criticises upon Art of poetry and Art of Criticism. He gives definition of poetry that " Poetry is the criticism of life " . It is true that poet is critic of life and after criticising the life he became a poet .  So this thing is also relevant and true that poet is critic of life .
In his essays Arnold used word "Disinterestedness" has been the subject of controversy .
Arnold's idea of disinterestedness in criticism is interesting and relevant for all times. In criticism it is always happen that writers judges the work by some kind of theories given by earlier writes. We have so many theories for evaluating any work, but Arnold says we should be detached from any kind of theories or prejudices, personal or historical. The best way for judging art is remain away from these things and telling your experience with the work. Time changes, literature changes. So disinterestedness  is necessary in criticism..

Q2- Write about one idea of Matthew Arnold which you found out of date and irrelevant in our times.

Matthew Arnold's Touchstone method of criticism was really a comparative system of criticism. Arnold was basically a classicist. He admired the ancient Greek , Roman and French authors as the models to be followed by the  modern English authors. The old English like Shakespeare , Spenser or Milton  were also to be taken as models.

Arnold took selected passages from the modern authors and compare them with selected passages from the ancient authors and then decided their merits. This methods was called Arnold's Touchstone method.

However this system of judgement has its own limitation.  The method of comparing passage with a passage is not a sufficient test for  determining the value of a work as a whole.

SO we can say that Mathew Arnold 's idea about " Touch - Stone  Method "  is out of date and irrelevant in our time. Because it providing comparison and analysis as the two primary tools for judging individual poet by comparing with the old authors . It is not fair thing because of the time and situations are keep changing on. May be the literature written in the old times is  right according to the situation and the time of that era but now it is not appropriate to comparison with the current literature or literary writer with the old literature or writer. Because the situation is changed

.

Ex:-  

          

‘Madhav  Kyay nathi’  is written by  Harindra Dave.કૃષ્ણાયન  Written by well known writer Kajal Oza Vaidya... હરિન્દ્ દવેના કૃષ્ણ ને કાજલ ઓઝા ના કૃષ્ણ અલગ છે. so we can not comparison both . because krishna are  different from both writer's  perspective