06 Jul Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold (1822-88) was one of the greatest Victorian poets, arguably on a par with Tennyson and Browning. Dover Beach (1867), probably written in 1851, the year of his marriage, is a particular favorite. The poem is a melancholy, even pessimistic, reflection on modern life. It takes the form of a plea to his new bride: “Ah, love, let us be true To one another” in a world of sadness, where even religious faith has ebbed away. In 1931 Samuel Barber set the poem to music for string quartet and baritone.

Arnold entered Balliol College, Oxford in 1840. He graduated in 1844 and was elected Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford the following year.  In 1857 he was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford. Arnold died at the age of 65 while running to meet a train in Liverpool. His body was returned to his birthplace, Laleham (20 miles southwest of London), for burial in All Saints’ Church. In London, he is commemorated by a bust and memorial tablet in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.