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| Nature and Function Of Poetry Based on Matthew Arnold |
According to Arnold, poetry occupies the most important place in life. It has a unique nature and function. Because the high position of poetry in philosophy and religion is placed beyond poetry. This opinion of Amold although objected to by critics involves serious risk. Critics like TS Eliot, Trilling, and Jump find his conception inadequate and limited. But what Arnold asserts about poetry is consistent and not ambiguous at all.
The best poetry, as Arnold finds, is a criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. It means the interpretation of life by the poet as he sees it through a mature mind and intellect. But Arnold does not clarify what ‘poetic truth’ and ‘poetic beauty’ mean.
He simply says that the true quality of poetry is to be found in its matter or substance as well as in its style or manner of writing. The substance, if it is really true to life in an eminent degree, possesses truth and seriousness. The manner or style of writing becomes great only when the diction and movement become great. In short, greatness in poetry consists of weighty subjects and high diction.
Poetry is an application of ideas to life. If the application of ideas is powerful, the poetry will be great. Great poetry was never written without strong ideas. T.S. Eliot makes fun of this remark of Arnold that poetry is an application of ideas to life. According to Eliot, Armold has thought of ideas as some ointment to be applied on the inflamed skin of suffering humanity.
As a matter of fact, Eliot fails to understand what Arnold means by the phrase “application of ideas to life” what Arnold means is that poetry is an interpretation of life that the poet experiences and knows of it. The poet brings into play his Observation of life with the help of his intellect, yet Arnold does not consider poetry to be merely an intellectual exercise of mind. It is the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. He uses the tic only to include imagination and emotion to turn his experience into poetry.
Poetry can be a criticism of life or application of ideas to life only when it 1s purified by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty. Poetry must be serious to interpret life. This quality of seriousness can be achieved through the deepest sincerity of the poet’s heart for the life he interprets in his poetry.
This ‘seriousness’ which the poet genuinely tries to endow his poetry, is found in the poetry of Homer, Dante, Virgil, and Milton. This is the element of their poetry that makes their creations powerful. This sincerity of the poet comes from his speaking from the depths of his soul. And this sincerity should be consistent throughout the poem.
About morality in poetry, Arnold is very clear. It is linked with his concept of poetry as an ‘application of ideas to life. He declares that the treatment of moral ideas in poetry means the same thing as a noble and deep application of ideas to life. The very question, how ta live, is, according to Arnold, a moral idea. Shakespeare expresses a moral idea when he says:
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
Thus, Arnold does not want to confine the term “morality” to a code of behavior or a system of thought. Arnold takes a revolt against moral ideas in poetry as a revolt against life itself. In this sense, poetry can replace religion in life but this poetry should deal with the problems of life with the utmost sincerity of his heart.
Arnold’s concept of poetry is not universally accepted to be a valid one. It has some restrictions too. Yet .its value lies in its sincerity. We agree with Lionel Trilling’s opinion that Arnold “is stating the functions of poetry, at least what he considers to be its chief function”.
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