Matthew Arnold-A Moral Conscience In The Transitional Era

This thesis aims to interpret Arnold's poems and critical works in a traditional Chinese perspective—the golden mean. Instead of criticizing the defects and fallacies in Arnold's works as some western critics did, I tried to approach Arnold in a positive way and appreciate his works to "assimilate the essence and reject the dross". In this way, the spirit of Arnold the moral conscience in the transitional era is elicited from the interpretation of his poems and critical works.The introduction seeks to shed light on the characteristics of the Victorian England where Matthew Arnold spent his whole lifetime, introducing my traditional Chinese perspective which will be employed in this thesis and challenging various ways in which Western critics interpret Arnold in a negative perspective, and then to bring forward my own plan of interpreting Arnold.The first chapter "Moral Concerns in Arnold's Criticism on Poetry" traces the development from tinges of moral concern in the "1853 Preface" to the deep moral concern in "The Study of Poetry" in 1888, Arnold's sincere concern over young writers, his sincere expectation of pleasure brought by poetry, and his sincere anticipation of filling up the moral void left by God by means of poetry combine to demonstrate Arnold's sincere moral concern over the people and the society in the transitional era.In the second chapter "The Emotional Journey of Arnold the Poet", Arnold's emotional journey from "Plight of Urban Being" through "A Wanderer Wondering His Way Out" to "The Way Out" is traced. Arnold's unfading search for the gleam of hope in the arid and vile darkness can be discerned in a traditional Chinese perspective.The third chapter "The Rational Journey of Arnold the Critic" traces his rational journey from his moral demand on critics in "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time" to his dynamic interpretation of "culture" in Culture and Anarchy. Arnold's earnest hope to wake up the soul of the modern people and to remind them not to mistake means for ends in life is thus brought to light. The moral enlightening effect upon modern critics and mass members of the society is therefore gradually manifested.The conclusion traces Arnold's journey from poet to critic as a whole. Arnold deserves the title "a moral conscience in the transitional era", if examined from a traditional Chinese perspective—the golden mean.