Empedocles on Etna and Other Poems - Matthew Arnold

Advantages: A magnificent poem
Disadvantages: May seem too long for modern taste

...the Scholar, speaking to him, as the poem ends on a huge surge of strength and optimism. ‘Why faintest thou ? I wandered till I died. Roam on! The light we sought is shining still. Dost thou ask proof ? Our tree yet crowns the hill. Our Scholar travels yet the loved hill-side.’ Like many other lovers of Arnold’s writings, I have looked for the tree, but no-one has ever identified it. It was probably cut down in late Victorian times. Many of the rural walks he knew are housing estates now, but here and there I feel his presence, and you can still look down on the dreaming spires, still find unspoilt stretches of the river which must have been the same in Arnold’s day. This is an epic poem, almost Homeric, very long, complex, full of classical allusion, and I have been able to give no more than a taste of it. Students of English Literature... Read review

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Advantages: Nicely organised collection of great poetry
Disadvantages: Doesn't provide much detail about each poet/poem

...I have leafed through this collection countless times. It is versatile and diverse, which reflects the minds of the nation. This anthology is really more for pleasure than study, because it doesn't contain much commentary. The poems are organised in order of rating, and Rudyard Kipling's 'If' is the first entry. My personal favourite is Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, but there are also some great pieces by the likes of Yeats, Carol Ann Duffy and Matthew Arnold. The anthology is wide-ranging, but it is clear to see the prominence of certain genres within it. For instance, many of the poems are by well-reputed, canonical poets. There is a sprinkling of the contemporary, but very little of the very contemporary. When I read poetry, the thing that strikes me first is the form, and the content comes second. But it is the content that has... Read review

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Advantages: a perfect piece of literature, a wonderful wrting, highly poetic
Disadvantages: not known

...Mathew Arnold is an important name in the history of english literature in general and in poetry and criticism in particular. Mathew Arnold has many admirers who like his poetry both in content and style. His is a matter inspired by the classic and his is the manner fueld by the romantic. I personally admire Arnold as a critic rather than a poet. His critcism first and second series are real and great landmarks in the history of english literary criticism. Infact it is perfectly ture when someone said that when any reads Mathews criticism, he becomes a critic himself at the end. Although some may disagree for his criticism of the 18th century and the earlier 19th century poets, his touch stone method has been widely appreciated.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful