It is important, therefore, to hold fast to this: that poetry is at bottom a criticism of life; that the greatness of a poet lies in his powerful and beautiful application of ideas to life - to the question: How to live.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Poetry fundamentally critiques life by applying ideas to guide how we live.
- In plain terms
- Poetry uses ideas to help us understand how to live.
- What can you take from it?
- Use poetry to explore life's big questions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does poetry guide your life?
- What ideas do you apply to living?
Another view
Not all poetry focuses on practical life guidance.
More from Matthew Arnold
A beautiful and ineffectual angel [Shelley], beating in the void his luminous wings in vain.
Permalink to quote #117 The crown of literature is poetry.
Permalink to quote #119 Coleridge, poet and philosopher wrecked in a mist of opium.
Permalink to quote #116
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