Culture and Anarchy," Matthew Arnold's series of essays comment on the status of culture throughout the late nineteenth century. Arnold saw culture as the "pursuit of total perfection. " It was then, he believed, the practice of all to accept that perfection and further achieve it throughout all of life. Culture, he believed was the essence of our beings, culture brings together all the issues that concern people in society, all the knowledge which we possess and all the freedom and thought to come.
[...] On an aesthetic level, the work is erratic and not effectively organized. The ideas read as still indented thoughts, not fully conceived or articulated. While this does detract from the general conversation level, it also has an added bonus. This stream of consciousness, thought-like writing allows the reader to establish his or her own questions, as one reads along with Arnold's ever-evolving concepts. The fact that he composes clear thoughts only sporadically shows the very difficult nature of the topic he is tackling. [...]
[...] Sweetness and light, as the author sees them are modes of poetry, if people choose to employ them within their everyday life, (the characteristics of these two virtues,) they will then succeed in making a much more desirable culture. Thus, as he spends page upon page pondering the practical application of these attributes what he decides upon is that culture should best emulate the qualities that make poetry so loved.[5] Culture, in Arnold's view, has created methods and patterns, now understood as accepted forms of thought and interaction. [...]
[...] Culture exists within anarchy and it is because of culture that we have anarchy. Theorists of every generation will attempt to answer questions of social conformity. Through “Culture and Anarchy,” Arnold showcases that culture can be a harmony between beauty and conflict.[8] Arnold's postulate is less easy to understand, modernly. Perhaps in a time dominated by Victorian principles it was simpler to think in terms of sweetness and light, but there are too many cultural differences, too vast a knowledge of the evils existing within our own culture. [...]
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