The Function of Criticism

Name: The Function of Criticism
Author: Matthew Arnold

by Matthew Arnold

Essays on the proper method of literary and cultural criticism

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About the author

Matthew Arnold

Victorian poet and cultural critic whose Culture and Anarchy defined culture as 'the best that has been thought and said' and argued for its role in ameliorating the chaos of industrial society. Dover Beach is one of the great Victorian poems. His criticism shaped English literary education for a century.

More by Matthew Arnold

Dover BeachPoem expressing doubt about faith in an uncertain modern world
The Scholar-GipsyReflective poem about a lost youth and Oxford memories
ThyrsisElegy mourning a friend and celebrating their shared Oxford years
Empedocles on EtnaPhilosophical drama exploring despair and the limits of thought
Essays in CriticismCritical essays examining standards of literary taste and judgment
Culture and AnarchyEssays arguing for culture as a civilizing force in society