RPO -- Selected Poetry of Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)

Selected Poetry of Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)

from Representative Poetry On-line
Prepared by members of the Department of English at the University of Toronto
from 1912 to the present and published by the University of Toronto Press from 1912 to 1967.
RPO Edited by Ian Lancashire
A UTEL (University of Toronto English Library) Edition
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries
© 2011, Ian Lancashire for the Department of English, University of Toronto

Index to poems

But often, in the world's most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;
A thirst to spend our fire and restless force
In tracking out our true, original course;
A longing to inquire
Into the mystery of this heart which beats
So wild, so deep in us--to know
Whence our lives come and where they go.
(The Buried Life, 45-54)

Index to prose

The Function of Criticism at the Present Time (1865)

Notes on Life and Works

Collini, Stefan. “Arnold, Matthew (1822-1888).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004.

Biographical information

Given name: Matthew
Family name: Arnold
Birth date: 24 December 1822
Death date: 15 April 1888
Nationality: English
Family relations
father: Thomas Arnold
mother: Mary Arnold
wife: Frances Lucy Arnold (from 1851)
brother: Thomas Arnold
Languages
English
French
German
Education
Balliol College, Oxford (lit. hum.): 1841 to 1844
Rugby: 1837 to 1841
Honours
Rugby prize: 1840
Newdigate prize: June 1843
Fellowship at Oriel: 1845
Literary period: Victorian
Occupations
School inspector: 1851 to 1883
Professor: 1857 to 1867
Residences
Harrow, England
London, England
Laleham, England: 1822 to 1828
Rugby, England: 1828 to 1830
Cobham, England: 1873 to 1888
Cause of death: Heart disease
Buried at: All Saints churchyard, Laleham-on-Thames
First RPO edition: 1994