says that in the past people had strong faith But now the sea of faith is gone People feel lonely and lost Arnold writes The Sea of Faith Was once too at the full He shows that modern life has no joy peace or faith in God People live in confusion and fear He shows this using a serious image where the ignorant armies are fighting against each other in the darkness They do not know why or against whom they are fighting In the end Arnold suggests that love is the only hope in a world full of pain We must be true to each other The Scholar Gipsy Search for Purity and Peace In The Scholar Gipsy Arnold shows the story of an Oxford student He left Oxford to live among the gipsies He wanted to find peace purity and deep knowledge by living in close contact with nature Arnold compares the peaceful life of the scholar with the restless and tired modern people He says modern people live with confusion doubts and worries He writes Each strives nor knows for what he strives This means people try many things but they do not know what they really want So Arnold criticises modern life for being busy restless and without purpose He shows the scholar s life as an example of peace purity and a search for deep knowledge Thyrsis Loss Memory and Hope Thyrsis is an elegy to mourn the death of Arnold s friend Arthur Hugh Clough In this poem Arnold remembers his friend and the beautiful Oxford countryside they enjoyed together They enjoyed hearing sheep bells and watching mowers cutting grass But now everything has changed He writes Where are the mowers They all are gone and thou art gone as well But even in sadness Arnold finds hope in the elm tree on the hill The poet and his friend used to watch the elm tree together Though his friend is gone the tree is still there So the tree becomes the symbol of both memory and hope The poet feels that their dreams of finding peace and truth are still alive like the elm tree So Arnold teaches us to hold on to hope even in sorrow In conclusion Matthew Arnold s poetry truly acts as criticism of life He shows us the loss of faith the problems of modern life and the need for spiritual hope He uses nature and simple life to teach us to find peace He teaches us to find truth and purpose in life Arnold helps us to understand that even in a restless world we can live with love hope faith and spiritual strength