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About this quote

What does it mean?
Oxford is described as a beautiful city that does not need summer to be lovely.
In plain terms
Oxford is beautiful even when it is not summer.
What can you take from it?
True beauty exists independently of temporary conditions like season.

Where it applies

  • describing cities
  • appreciating architecture
  • seasonal comparisons

Putting it to work

  • praising a location
  • discussing aesthetic value

Questions to consider

  • What makes a place beautiful?
  • Does beauty depend on the season?

Another view

Beauty is subjective, and some might argue weather greatly affects a city's appearance.

More from Matthew Arnold

  1. Are ye too changed, ye hills? See, 'tis no foot of unfamiliar men> Tonight from Oxford up your pathway strays! Here came I often, often, in old days; Thyrsis a…

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  2. He went; his piping took a troubled sound Of storms that rage outside our happy ground; He could not wait their passing, he is dead!

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  3. The great apostle of the Philistines, Lord Macaulay.

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