The document discusses Matthew Arnold's views on poetry criticism as presented in his essay "Three Estimates of Matthew Arnold". Arnold describes three types of estimates used to evaluate poetry: the Real Estimate, which judges a work based solely on its artistic merit; the Historic Estimate, which overvalues a work due to the poet's historical context; and the Personal Estimate, which is swayed by personal biases towards contemporary poets. Arnold advocates for his "touchstone method" to properly analyze poetry by comparing excerpts to established classics and evaluating them based on their highest poetic quality.

1. “Three Estimates
of Matthew
Arnold”
Department of
English
Port City International
University, Chittagong
Three Estimates of
Matthew Arnold
Presented by:
Tanni Das

2. ‘A Study of Poetry’ | Matthew Arnold
 “A Study of Poetry” is a critical essay by Matthew
Arnold. In this essay Arnold criticizes the art of poetry
as well as the art of criticism.
 He talks about setting our standard for poetry high.
We must accustom ourselves to HIGH STANDARD
and STRICT JUDGEMENT and there is no place for
CHARLATANISM in poetry.
 Charlatanism is for confusing the difference between
excellent and inferior, sound and unsound, true and
untrue. So there is no place for charlatanism in poetry.
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Matthew Arnold | Prepared by Tanni Das

3. Three Estimates by Matthew Arnold
Arnold says that when one reads poetry he tends to estimate whether it is of the
best form or not. Arnold tells about three kinds of Estimates and these estimates
are related to poetry and its reading. These estimates are:
 The Real Estimate;
 The Historic Estimate; and
 The Personal Estimate
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4. 1. The Real Estimate
 Real Estimate is the only true estimate which is not affected by any kind of
estimate.
 It is present in our minds and governs our estimates of what we read.
 The benefit of Real Estimate is high and it is the benefit of clearly feeling and
deeply enjoying the real excellence, the true classic in poetry.
 Everything depends on the reality of a poet’s Classic Character.
 Arnold says that if a poet is truly a classic, his poetry will have the reader real
pleasure and enable him/her to compare with other poetry which are not the
same high standard.
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5. 2. The Historic Estimate
 The Historic Estimate places the historic context
above the value of the art itself. The Historic and
Personal Estimates often overshadows the Real
Estimate. But Arnold also says that it is natural.
 It is fallacious estimate that deals with the poets
of past. When we are affected by a poet’s
historical background, we may easily consider
his poetry of more importance than in reality it
is.
 We must over rate it. So, this this type of fallacy
is caused in judgment by Historic Estimate.
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6. 3. The Personal Estimate
 It also fallacious estimate that deals with the
contemporary poets. Our personal affinities,
likings and circumstances have great power to
sway our estimate.
 Due to our personal likings we give more
importance to that poetry which does not
deserve that much importance.
 So, second fallacy in our poetic judgment is
caused by Personal Estimate.
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7. Touchstone Method
To find which poetry is the best, Matthew Arnold suggests a method known as
‘touchstone method’. This method was introduced into his work “The Study of
Poetry”.
Purposes of his Method:
 Select some best lines from the well-known poetry;
 Compare it with other poets;
 Define and evaluate with different measurement; and
 Pass the judgment
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8. Touchstone Method (Cont’d)
 Basically, the method is being used to comparing and evaluating.
 Some model lines from the great masters of the past will be used as touchstones to
test new poems.
 He quotes from Homer, “In his will is our peace”.
 From Shakespeare, “If though didst ever held me in thy heart/Absent thee from
felicity awhile/And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain/To tell my story…”
 From Milton, “And the courage never to submit or yield/And what is else not to be
overcome….”
 These lines may be different, but there is one thing common in them, “the very
highest poetic quality”. These few lines can guide us properly to judge our own
and others poems properly.
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Matthew Arnold | Prepared by Tanni Das

9. References
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 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69374/the-study-of-
poetry
 http://learningliteratureoverhere.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-study-of-
poetry-matthew-arnold.html
 https://sites.google.com/site/naineducationcom/literary-theory-
and-criticism/an-article-on-arnold-s-the-study-of-poetry
 http://ebinsliterature.blogspot.com/2016/08/touchstone-method-
matthew-arnold.html

10.  THE FUNCTION OF POETRY is to
interpret life for us, to console us,
to sustain us.
Matthew Arnold | Prepared by Tanni Das
 If SCIENCE IS APPEARANCE
then the POETRY IS
EXPRESSION, and there is no
appearance without expression.
© Disclaimer: The data in this presentation has
been
collated from various online portal and articles.