What makes the modern literature more modern?

Arnold’s Idealism: “On the Modern Element in Literature”

"On the Modern Element in Literature" by Matthew Arnold

         Literature is a one-way journey where people from different background or cultures getting resemble themselves for a perfect understanding of life. This journey confirms everyone’s feelings, emotions, and sufferings into its account just to make sure it is for global significance. Therefore, literary writers and their literary products are of great importance to enhance the human values into human beings. It is an empathetic tool acts as a lighthouse to enhance the cooperative mindset among one another throughout the world.

           Here literary writers have immense responsibilities to elevate the contemporary (Modern) relevance to the society of any age through his own society. Readers are of different types, some for sheer entertainment, others for full of expected contents. Whoever we are but once we get started reading any particular text, we intended to seek something from the chosen text. Further, if we get attached with any text in the sense, we have found some present relevance or oneness from the text. Therefore, it is clear that whatever the text it might be, it must fulfil the contemporary needs of the present readers. Even if it is a classical text, it must quench the thirst of contemporary readers.     

   

           In this regard, Is literature is considered as a tool to understand contemporary relevance? Only the modern elements seen in a literary text can make an entire text as good?. Apart from the usual definitions of Modern Literature, the defensive definition done by Matthew Arnold throughout his lecture is highly notable one from others. 

            As we discussed since the beginning that literature is a platform to give contemporary fulfil to the readers of any age and society. But here, Arnold is somewhat diverting from the usual ideas on literature rather focusing Modern literary works from modern society need to fulfil two important things, one is of moral deliverance and other is intellectual deliverance from which the modern age is considered as Modern or not. In this regard, here it would be useful to mention and elaborate Matthew Arnold’s ideas on “The Modern Element in Literature”.

            This entire furthermore ideas are Arnold’s eloquence for his inaugural lecture as a professor of poetry at Oxford University in 1857. This lecture is known for Arnold’s scholastic ideas on modern elements in literature. At present this is considered as an essay, but the fact is, it was not published. However, it was placed as a talking element by which many critics and authors have gone through many references with this lecture. 

Importance of moral and intellectual deliverance:

            Arnold begins his lecture by stating an anecdote from the ocean of Buddhist Literature. As an idealist and extremist, he always fond of Buddhism. Once Gautama Buddha thought to test the distinction of one of his disciples named Pourna who is a top master of preaching. Just by the desire of Pourna's preaching of his master's philosophy among people, Gautama Buddha represented to him as he was in the nest of obstacles and the abrupt abandonment of his further flow. This was perfectly replied by Pourna in a more detailed manner. Through which Buddha learnt a lesson and says as follows;     

       Buddha with Pourna

          "Go then, O Pourna," are his words; 
            having been delivered, deliver; 
            having been consoled, console; 
       being arrived thyself at the farther bank, enable others to arrive there also"

         However, here Arnold mentioned this story for insisting this as a perfect example to Moral deliverance. This deliverance is complete of all ages because each and every moral value have been extracting from the pride, the sloth, the anger, the selfishness which are the driving force of every human being and so everyone easily get attached with this type of deliverance. And this standstill and demand for all ages.

          But in the case of Intellectual deliverance, it is less celebrative, more unfamiliar portion of all the times. Here, Arnold says that the intellectual deliverance is highly important to nineteenth-century of his own time. Because intellectual deliverance is more indeed in concepts and with high flow ideas to human beings. Though it is tough to take into account it is the need of the hour was insisted by Arnold. Further, moral comes intellectual deliverance is necessarily needed to the period like the nineteenth century. The period of 19th century of his own times was a period had lost it's spiritual and moral values. 

           By this time, since we started discussing this deliverance we might have come up with a question that, " Why we need to get intellectual deliverance?". The sufficient reply will be the status and mindset of contemporary man. Arnold makes it clear that people of his times also getting confused by the complexity of past and present times of them. Modern man is said to be modern only he has a historical view of understanding human being.

    

           To imbibe the concept of both moral and intellectual deliverance, we must seek to pay back our attention towards the past, that is none other than the study of human history. Nothing will be the ideas of innovations without getting involved in the study of the past. Therefore classical and ancient ideas are the foundations of modern innovative ideas. Just by influenced this idea T.S. Eliot wrote a critical treatise titled"Tradition and Individual Talent" remarked one of the important critical pieces of Formalism. 

Intellectual deliverance:

              "An intellectual deliverance is the peculiar demand of those ages which are called modern, and those nations are said to be imbued with the modern spirit most eminently in which the demand for such deliverance has been made with most zeal, and satisfied with most completeness".

             Achieving intellectual deliverance is possible only if a man comes to understand the perfect degree of both past and present prevailing history. In order to get cleared the complexity of past and present history, it is highly recommended by Arnold to compare and contrast the past and present history. Here Arnold uses words of chancellor of Cambridge University for justifying his points,

             "We must compare the works of other ages with those of our own age and country; that, while we feel proud of the immense development of knowledge and power of production which we possess, we may learn humility in contemplating the refinement of feeling and intensity of thought manifested in the works of the older schools".

            Just like the words of Chancellor of Cambridge, Arnold stresses the perfect degree of understanding both past and present history by compare and contrast with one another makes us rectify our present mistakes through which we can consolidate our present state of position. Intellectual deliverance is strictly according to the present age and it aims two levels of study. Achievement can be made only by two levels of study, they are;

               * Culminating epoch
               * Literature

            "In this case, the epoch, the nation itself, will still be an object of the greatest interest to us; but the literature will be an object of less interest to us: the facts, the material spectacle, are there; but the contemporary view of the facts, the intellectual interpretation, are inferior and inadequate". 

            Usually, a society is said to be "the developed society" only by means of political and Cultural maturity not in the scales of intellectual advancement. It is highly condemned by Arnold that society is said to be modern and developed one by means of intellectual and moral fulfilment. Because man's happiness enfolded with these two extremes. For attaining the climbs of intellectual deliverance, it is a duty of the writer to follow the culminating epoch which means the already existing social, political and cultural patterns of a society. On the other hand, literature is also a helping tool to encompass upliftment of human being. However, these two types of intellectual study are very much important and collaborative function of these two studies will pave the way to intellectual deliverance. 

         Intellectual deliverance would probably possible when culminating epoch will be the object of study which concentrates the social, political and cultural patterns. Through which writers of that particular age choose his concepts just to concern his intellectual deliverance to his society. If a writer chooses literature as the object of the study, he may have plenty of sources to withstand the concept of intellectual deliverance. Indeed, the poetical side of the literature of the age would add treasures to understand the aesthetic side of society. Because poetry has the ability to record general facts about its society. Sometimes literary writings have reverse effects because that particular writer thinks more beyond the present prevailing age so it would not be highly accurate to record flawless details of the age. So maintaining an equilibrium of both culminating epoch and Literature have equally important to attain intellectual deliverance for the betterment of society.

        However, it is apparent that since the beginning of the essay he stresses the analogies and tales from age-old Buddhism, concerning the matter of importance on both past and present history which signifies that Arnold always giving a special place to classical in-depth ideas and make the most to present age. Here he lists out certain examples from classical history to give weightage to his own points.

         * Country without inner violence and civil wars and people can enjoy the utmost stage of freedom can able to produce intellectual ideas to the fruitfulness of society. If people in the country in the pressure of physical violence, their mental state will definitely be in the cage. Therefore the country should advisable to encourage for the culminating epoch. Just as the points, he insisted before that intellectual deliverance is possible by getting understand the importance of both past and present history.

Comparison between ancient and modern history

         It is even important to compare and contrast the past and present history of one another, he makes a comparison between Elizabethan age with age of Pericles. One of the cultures of Greek civilization named Pericles was known for its intellectual property and culminating epoch. So they could produce amazing intellectual products to society. Although the city quoted here is a classical place but it is still remarkable for modern thoughts and practice. Whereas on the other hand, Elizabethan age is known for high-class lifestyle and people of Elizabeth era concentrated materialistic life by concentrate the external appearance rather than internal intelligence. Arnold putting forward the example from Sir Walter Scott's "Kenilworth" for Elizabethan lifestyle.

         * Comparison is made between Elizabethans and Athenians. At the time of Thucydides, Athenians were not used to wear arms in public places which means they did not use to carry weapons in public places whereas Elizabethans had a habit of carrying out weapons even in public places. Ultimately, the overall comparisons explaining that even people in classical times followed perfect ethnicity and also fulfilled in intellectual advancements. Therefore those people from classical age are considered as Modern people, also they are the modern people from classical times. 

      

Conclusion:

               As a Victorian author, Matthew Arnold seriously condemns the modern practices followed by Victorians. Insisting even the modern people in modern era need to delve deep into study of past, because Modernity is an amalgamation of classical things. Whatever things we purusing at present are the ideas prevailing in the late past. Hence past is the mother of present.

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