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Matthew Arnold's Touchstone Method is a comparative approach to literary criticism. This method, proposed by Arnold, suggests that to properly evaluate a poet's work, critics should compare it to passages from the works of renowned poets and use these passages as touchstones to assess other poetry. Even a single line or a selected quotation can serve this purpose. If a contemporary work evokes the same emotions and resonates in a similar manner as these established literary passages, then it can be deemed a great work; otherwise, it falls short.
Arnold advocated for this method to address the limitations of personal and historical assessments of poetry.
Both personal and historical assessments of poetry have their shortcomings. Personal estimations are inherently subjective, as they are influenced by the individual critic's personal preferences and biases. These estimations often fail to provide an objective evaluation of a poem's merit. On the other hand, historical estimations can be misleading, as they tend to overrate works based on their historical significance rather than their literary quality.
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A piece of literature may be considered significant due to its historical context, but it might not necessarily be a masterpiece in terms of literary craftsmanship.
Matthew Arnold believed that a genuine classic belongs to the category of the very best works of literature. Such a work can be identified by placing it alongside established classics from around the world. These renowned classics serve as touchstones against which contemporary poetic works can be measured.
This forms the core principle of Arnold's Touchstone Method. The idea is to use these established classics as benchmarks to assess the merit of modern poetry.
Matthew Arnold's approach to literary criticism was fundamentally classicist. He held great admiration for the ancient Greek, Roman, and French authors, viewing them as models to be emulated by modern English writers. Additionally, he regarded older English poets such as Shakespeare, Spenser, and Milton as exemplars for contemporary authors. Arnold's Touchstone Method involved selecting passages from modern authors and juxtaposing them with chosen passages from classical authors to evaluate their respective merits. Through this comparative analysis, Arnold sought to determine the literary quality of the modern works.
While Arnold's Touchstone Method offers valuable insights into comparative criticism, it has its limitations. Comparing isolated passages is not always sufficient to assess the overall value of a literary work. Arnold himself emphasized the importance of judging a poem based on its "total impression" rather than isolated fragments. However, it is possible to extend the comparative approach beyond passages to encompass entire poems as complete artistic units. Comparative analysis remains a valuable tool for appreciating various forms of art, helping us differentiate between masterpieces and lesser works, sincerity and insincerity, and quality literature from the mediocre.
While some critics argue that Arnold's comparative method is overly stringent and demanding when comparing modern poets to ancient master poets, it serves a significant purpose. This method allows us to distinguish between genuine literary achievements and superficial or insincere attempts at literature. By employing the comparative approach, we can separate the vibrant, sincere, and authentic works from the superficial, flashy, and insincere ones, ultimately contributing to a more discerning evaluation of literature.
Matthew Arnold's Touchstone Method of Criticism offers a comparative framework for evaluating literary works. By employing renowned classics as touchstones, this method helps critics assess the literary merit of contemporary poetry. While it has its limitations and critics who find it too exacting, the comparative approach provides a valuable tool for distinguishing between works of enduring quality and those that fall short of achieving literary greatness.
Arnold's Touchstone Method of Criticism. (2016, Nov 30). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/arnolds-touchstone-method-essay
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