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ARNOLD'S BOOKS
Culture and Anarchy
St. Paul and Protestantism
An archive of articles about Arnold
MY SUMMARIES OF ARNOLD'S BOOKS
Arnold's 1865 Function of Criticism at the Present Time
Culture and Anarchy
"St. Paul and Protestantism" is Arnold's first book on religion. It asks that the Puritans give up dogma, read Paul with a sense of development and join the Church of England.
'Literature and Dogma: An Essay Towards a Better Apprehension of the Bible,' explains Arnold's vision of looking at the Bible as literature, in order to make it an appropriate guide for England.
"God and the Bible" is a sequel to Literature and Dogma. In it, he develops Literary Darwinism and goes deep into how to read the 4th gospel.
In "Last Essays on Church and Religion" Arnold touches on the status of the Church of England and Burial Laws.
Reports on Elementary Schools 1852 - 1882
Discourses in America
MY SUMMARIES of BOOKS ABOUT ARNOLD
Brown's, 'Matthew Arnold: A Study in Conflict,' is perhaps the best book on Arnold ever written! I looks at the tension between pure disinterested art and political activism throughout Arnold's career.
'A Gift Imprisoned: The Poetic Life of Matthew Arnold' argues that his marriage to Flu sapped his poetic energy. I disagree. I see his switch to prose as a mature decision.
apRobert's masterful book, 'Arnold and God,' links Arnold to German philosophers and 'bildung' (self-development) that leads to cultural evolution writ large. Wow!
John Henry Raleigh's 1961 "Matthew Arnold and American Culture" largely looks at how Arnold impacted literary critics in America.
Stuart P. Sherman wrote "Matthew Arnold: How to Know Him." Sherman himself was a leader in the New Humanism movement which pushed Arnold's agenda in America's literary circles. So, you get two generations of Arnoldian thought in this well-rounded look at Arnold.
"Overcoming Matthew Arnold: Ethics in Culture and Criticism," by James Walter Caufield is an exceptionally beautiful book. He makes renunciation to achieve our best selves the central theme of Arnold's writing
Matthew Arnold - A Life - My Murray
Matthew Arnold by Lionel Trilling
The Cultural Theory of Matthew Arnold by Carroll
'Evolution and Literary Theory' is also by Carroll. And, though about literary criticism, not Arnold, it has enough references to Arnold to merit inclusion herein.
Matthew Arnold and His Critics by Coulling
Irving Babbitt's 'On Being Creative' is not just about Arnold. But, his 'New Humanist' literary critics considered their criticism an extension of Arnold's views. So, in a way, it is nearly an Arnold book!
An Entire Dissertation on Arnold in America (not by me)
My notes on the dissertation linked above