a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty the spirit of our race will find its consolation and stay High Seriousness Arnold argues that the best poetry is marked by high seriousness which he traces back to Aristotle High seriousness refers to the treatment of important themes with seriousness and deepness According to Arnold poets like Homer Dante and Shakespeare possess this quality in abundance He writes The substance of Chaucer s poetry his view of things and his criticism of life has not this high seriousness For Arnold without high seriousness poetry cannot achieve the greatness that makes it timeless Poetic Truth and Poetic Beauty Matthew Arnold says that great poetry needs both Poetic Truth and Poetic Beauty Poetic truth means showing life honestly and with deep meaning Poetic beauty is how the poem sounds and looks its style and language Arnold says The best poetry is what we want the best poetry will be found to have a power of forming sustaining and delighting us as nothing else can This means that when a poem has both truth and beauty it becomes powerful and lasting Superior Style and Language Arnold says the style and words of a poem should be clear beautiful and powerful The way a poet writes is as important as what they write about He says that the diction and movement of a poem must match the truth and seriousness of its message He uses lines from poets like Shakespeare to show how great poets use both style and substance together Focus on Real Estimate Arnold warns against the dangers of the historic estimate valuing a poem because of its historical significance and the personal estimate valuing a poem based on personal preferences He argues that these approaches often lead to misjudging the true value of poetry For example just because a poem is old doesn t mean it s great And just because we like a poem doesn t mean it s really good Instead he encourages readers to focus on The Real Estimate This estimate criticizes life according to the principles of poetic truth and beauty He argues Our estimate of poetry should be governed by the real estimate based on the presence or absence of high poetic quality Focusing only on a poem s truth beauty and seriousness can help us better appreciate its real value In simple words Matthew Arnold teaches us that good poetry is more than just nice words It should talk about deep and serious topics show truths about life and be written in a beautiful way Arnold s ideas show us that poetry has the power to guide and comfort us when it is written with true excellence