Culture and Anarchy

Hello Friends,

We used to call ourselves 'cultured'! When we see people coming from tribal area or from any backward areas they are seen as 'not cultured'. Worthy to note, may  they are not civilized as we are, but it doesn't mean they haven't culture. Everyone has their own culture. Thus, this is vital point to discuss about but we should not forget that culture is something which is difficult to define in perfect definition.

As Ruskin has occupied authoritative position in the world of art, Arnold has also headed over heel for many years an authoritative position as critic and teacher. His primary arguments of criticism is neither to find fault nor to display the critic’s own learning or influence; it is to know “the best which has been thought and said in the world”,  and with this knowledge to create a current of fresh and free thought. In his essay Culture and Anarchy Arnold tries to define culture. Though his many ideas seems old but not all.

If we look at Culture and Anarchy which are now associated with Arnold’s work and influence these are Terms - culture, sweetness and light, barbarian, philistine, Hebraism and many others too.

Critique	Key points	How do I understand it
Culture	(1)Harmonious expansion of human capacities (2)Study of perfection	Arnold defines culture in class division, what aristocrats do is only culture as is ‘best which has been thought and said in the world’
Sweetness and Light	(1)Sense of beauty (2)Active intelligent (Battle of books)	Pursuit of perfection is the pursuit of sweetness and light
Doing as one likes	Liberty for the sake of liberty	It is most important and happy thing for a man merely to be able to do as he likes but the question is, ‘on what he is to do when he is thus free  to do what he likes, we do not lay so much stress’
Barbarians, Philistines and Populance	(1)aristocrat/privilege people (2)money minded people (3)working Class	(1)Champions of personal liberty/ Lack of resistance (2)original German sense/ Uncultured people /worldly-wise men (3)poverty and squalor have dogged the footsteps of the populace wherever they are engaged in running the wheels of industry  According to him, every walk of life some chosen people must dedicate themselves to the pursuit of perfection
Hebraism and Hellenism	(1)Obedience (2)Spontaneity	(1)Hebrew/ God’s language/ Inbuilt but not found (2)Pagan/ Aesthetic sense of life/ Helps everybody/ Clearness/ Greek literature
Porro Unum est Necessarium	(1)Strictness of rule (2)fine balance	Possession of sufficient measure of light to guide us
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