The Function of the Journey in Matthew Arnold’s Poetry
The Function of the Journey in Matthew Arnold’s Poetry We can see that much of Matthew Arnold’s poetry contains the imagery of a journey. Stefan Collini suggests that this is a three-stage journey “represented by a river, which rises in a cool, dark glade, flows out on to the fierce, hot plain, and then finds its way to the wide calm sea” (54). The first stage is that of childhood and is represented by romantic descriptions of nature and an overall feeling of happiness. This stage can be referred to as ‘The Forest Glade’. The second stage describes a period of suffering, brought on by the loss of religion, and the trials that are placed upon the individual by a progress-minded Victorian society. This stage can be referred to as ‘The Burning Plain’. The third stage, referred to as ‘The Wide Glimmering Sea’, is that of final transcendence. We have surpassed the innocence of childhood and the turmoil of the social life to reach that final happiness of general fulfillment; it is obvious that this is Arnold’s ultimate goal, though it may never be achieved.
. Arnold’s ‘Forest Glade’ region clearly refers to his youth, and the Romantic era. This was a time of extreme happiness for Arnold; a time when he could truly feel and understand the beauty of nature as represented by Wordsworth and the other Romantics. This was also a time when Arnold and the majority of society still believed in God and religion, and it is this belief which allowed that profound joy of nature which was still seen as a spiritual realm. This is because scientists had not yet shown nature to be ‘red in tooth and claw’, simply fighting for resources and struggling for its own existence, as does mankind. This makes the ‘Forest Glade’ a very special place for Arnold, one that he longs for, yet knows that he can never revisit:
For rigorous teachers seized my youth,
And purged its faith, and trimmed its fire,
Show’d me the high, white star of Truth,
There bade me gaze, and there aspire
. Arnold’s ‘Forest Glade’ region clearly refers to his youth, and the Romantic era. This was a time of extreme happiness for Arnold; a time when he could truly feel and understand the beauty of nature as represented by Wordsworth and the other Romantics. This was also a time when Arnold and the majority of society still believed in God and religion, and it is this belief which allowed that profound joy of nature which was still seen as a spiritual realm. This is because scientists had not yet shown nature to be ‘red in tooth and claw’, simply fighting for resources and struggling for its own existence, as does mankind. This makes the ‘Forest Glade’ a very special place for Arnold, one that he longs for, yet knows that he can never revisit:
For rigorous teachers seized my youth,
And purged its faith, and trimmed its fire,
Show’d me the high, white star of Truth,
There bade me gaze, and there aspire
Cited: Arnold, Matthew. “Empedocles on Etna”. Victorian Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Walter E. Houghton and G. Robert Stange. Arnold, Matthew. “Resignation”. Victorian Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Walter E. Houghton and G. Robert Stange. Arnold, Matthew. “Stanzas from the Grand Chartreuse”. Victorian Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Walter E. Houghton and G. Robert Stange. Collini, Stefan. Arnold. Poetry Criticism 5. 1992: 53-60.