Culture and Anarchy: An Essay in Political and Social Criticism

Introduction

Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy is an extended essay reflecting on the aims of culture and the dangers of the rising forces of industrialism, mercantilism, and political agitation in Victorian England. First serialized in 1867-1868 for Cornhill Magazine, a leading monthly journal at the time, Culture and Anarchy later appeared as a complete book in 1869.

Faced with the rapid political, economic, and cultural changes sweeping through Victorian society, Arnold penned Culture and Anarchy in defense of what he believed were the characteristics and aims of “true” culture. For Arnold, the essence of true culture can be summarized in the maxim “sweetness and light”—a harmonious union between the “sweetness” of beauty and the “light” of intelligence and reason. Culture, Arnold argues, inspires both individuals and society at large to strive for the perfecting of mankind, allowing men and women to elevate themselves above the tumultuous impulses of their ordinary selves.

Although distinguished as a poet as well as a prose writer, Arnold is now perhaps best known for Culture and Anarchy, which was the highpoint of his work as a literary and cultural critic. The work is valuable both for its influential conceptions of “true” culture and as a landmark text in the Victorian debates about culture and its role in society.