Culture and Anarchy

By the middle of the nineteenth century culture was often considered to be nothing but a meaningless 'smattering of Latin and Greek'. In this work first published in 1869 Matthew Arnold (1822â88) redefines culture as a striving for 'the best that has been thought or said' and as a contrast to 'philistinism' and the over-valuation of the practical. Critical of the uninspiring lifestyles of many of his religious and non-religious contemporaries he raises the controversial issue of how to lead a good life aesthetically intellectually and morally. He introduces a middle road between classical and Judaeo-Christian ideals ('Hellenism' and 'Hebraism') which promotes the state over the individual a position that has often prompted his critics to consider him an authoritarian thinker. A fascinating piece of social and political criticism and an adjunct to Arnold's poetry this work was both controversial when it was first published and enormously influential thereafter. Language: English