Tag Archives: Matthew Arnold

My “Last Lecture”

I share here my “last lecture” from my retirement ceremony. (But rest assured: I will not be retiring from this blog.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Theories about Lit’s Impact

A transcript of a talk given at the University of Ljubljana on “how literature changes lives.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Does Studying Lit Truly Change Things?

Some claims for literature’s power have been inflated, such as those of F. R. Leavis, and sometimes lit has failed to change bad people. Still, it can play an important role in our lives.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Liberal Arts–Only for Elites?

Frank Bruni and Fareed Azkaria may be guilty of Matthew Arnold-type class superiority as they argue that a liberal arts education is useful for power elites.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

How Poets Are the Legislators of the World

Shelley saw great literature as changing the way we see reality. Sometimes, however, it takes hundreds of years for this to be evident.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , | Comments closed

Coming Home Like a Lamb to the Fold

Ruth Pitter’s “Estuary” works as a response to Matthew Arnold’s crisis of faith in “Dover Beach.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

The End of the World As We Know It?

A number of poets have written poems about the apocalypse. But it’s always figurative, never literal.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed