What Makes A Book Great?

Colin Stott critiques the critical thinking of Matthew Arnold and F.R. Leavis.

- Colin Stott

We commonly associate the Victorian era with religious revivalism, yet many underwent a crisis of faith during this period. The poet and critic Matthew Arnold (1822-88) realised that established religion could no longer counter the impact that rapid industrialisation and trade cycles were inflicting on the poor, nor could it resist the incessant drive for material gain amongst the powerful. Religion, for many, was failing to invest life with purpose:

The sea of faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl'd; But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

(From Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold, c.1851.)

Arnold championed literature as the new channel for moral development, convinced of its importance in defining cultural identity and reinforcing social cohesion. He believed that poetry in particular could become the new scripture and elevate literary critics into a new priesthood. His vision introduced an enlightened paternalism into literary criticism, since he expanded the role of critic to include the guardianship of morality and good taste: to introduce, propagate and elucidate great poetry.