A CRITICAL INSIGHT INTO MATTHEW ARNOLD’S “THE SCHOLAR-GIPSY”

Abstract

Matthew Arnold, one of the representative figures of the Victorian age, a period of transition and transformation as well as of scientific and technological developments, presents the characteristics of his age by means of his poetry. In this regard, he illustrates a wide range of topics such as isolation, alienation, frustration, the condition of the modern man, and faith in his poems. His poem, “The Scholar-Gipsy” deals with such themes through the wanderings of an Oxford student that joins the gypsies in order to learn their secret. It is a pastoral poem that draws a detailed picture of the landscape and is narrated from the poet’s point of view. He talks to the shepherd and addresses the scholar. Modern life is depicted in its negative aspects, and the mortal men suffer in this modern life. The poet is presented as a figure that might have psychological crisis and feels alienation, loneliness, and frustration. His personality is split in a state of loss and looks for the spiritual harmony. This paper will in this respect discuss Matthew Arnold’s attitude towards his age and the poet’s desire to escape from modern life in the light of the critical analysis of Arnold’s poem, “The Scholar-Gipsy.”