Mathew Arnold :Thinking Activity.

* Write about one idea of Matthew Arnold which you found interesting and relevant in our times.

                         The idea of 'Disinterestedness' and 'Detachment' are very interesting and relevant today, because Arnold puts stress on impartiality to criticize any work of art.He said,' first duty of Critic is to make a disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world and thus to establish a current of fresh and true ideas'.Critic shouldn't bias in favour of any writer like the contemporary writer Chetan Bhagat wrote many books but by his other books we can not judge that whatever he wrote or will write it is  also not good.Many writers,actors,painters and other artists who fail at some point they can be successful at other point. so,by the writer or actor we can not judge that any book or movie is good or not.Arnold discussed this idea very well in his essays like'Culture and Anarchy' and 'Function of criticism at present time' in which he said that the Curiosity should be disinterested that is being Objective.He places Critical power lower than Creative power.


* Write about one idea of Matthew Arnold which you found out-of-date and irrelevant in our times.

                       Arnold writes that in "The study of poetry" ,'religion and philosophy will be replaced by poetry' he depicted poetry as superior. But the idea would not be acceptable in our time.
                      Though poetry contains too much seriousness, morality and "criticism of life" but it is not enough able to take place of Religion and philosophy.
The method of "touchstone" is also not relevant for our times, it is not appropriate to judge any work by only 'Short passages or even single lines' comparing with greate works.