Matthew Arnold and American Culture

Matthew Arnold's writings had a significant impact on American intellectual life from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, shaping discourse and resonating with a nation grappling with its identity amidst rapid industrialization, westward expansion, and a growing literary consciousness. His emphasis on sweetness and light, critical detachment, and vision of culture as a vehicle for moral and societal improvement complemented and challenged the intellectual frameworks of American figures like Emerson and Lowell.

Format: Hardback
Length: 314 pages
Publication date: 13 May 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Matthew Arnold and American Culture explores the profound impact of Arnold's writings—spanning literary, social, religious, and cultural topics—on American intellectual life from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Arnold's influence is unmatched among foreign critics in the United States, shaping discourse in a way few domestic figures have. His critique of English culture, his promotion of culture as an antidote to social unrest, and his insistence on the value of morality and intellectual rigor found eager audiences, especially in a post-Civil War America seeking cultural maturity and intellectual direction. His ideas resonated with a nation grappling with its identity amidst rapid industrialization, westward expansion, and a growing literary consciousness. Despite initial resistance to English intellectualism in the wake of the Civil War and a strong sense of American self-sufficiency in the arts, Arnold's ideas found fertile ground, particularly among New England literati, cultural reformers, and critics like Henry James and Lionel Trilling. Arnold's emphasis on sweetness and light, his call for critical detachment, and his vision of culture as a vehicle for moral and societal improvement complemented and challenged the intellectual frameworks of American figures like Emerson and Lowell. While Emerson espoused self-reliance and transcendental ideals, Arnold offered a tempered, cosmopolitan perspective that advocated for measured engagement with European traditions and the cultivation of a cultural center. This interplay of ideas highlights the enduring relevance of Arnold's critique in shaping American cultural and critical thought during a transformative era. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's centennial.

Weight: 499g
Dimension: 203 x 133 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520359772