criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty the spirit of our race will find its consolation and stay The Role of Poetic Truth For Arnold poetic truth is essential in making poetry valuable Poetic truth refers to the accurate portrayal of life s experiences and emotions Poetry should speak honestly about life He argues that without truth poetry loses its value He highlights that poetry must possess a high seriousness Arnold finds this quality in poets like Dante who combine deep truth with artistic beauty The Importance of Poetic Beauty While truth is vital Arnold insists that it must be delivered beautifully The phrase poetic beauty refers to the pleasing form and language of poetry He notes that true poetry blends serious ideas with graceful expression Arnold uses Milton s poetry as an example where truth and beauty blend smoothly to create powerful verses that remain timeless He 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 High Seriousness in Poetry Arnold introduces the idea of high seriousness as a key feature of great poetry High seriousness means that the best poems talk about serious and deep topics in a way that makes us think and feel Poets like Shakespeare and Dante achieved this balance making their works timeless He writes The accent of high seriousness born of absolute sincerity is what gives to such verse its power This seriousness adds depth to poetry allowing it to resonate with readers across time Avoiding Historical and Personal Estimates Arnold warns against judging poetry based on historical importance or personal selections He calls these judgments The Historic Estimate and The Personal Estimate He argues that these approaches often lead to misjudging the true value of poetry 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 The Lasting Power of Poetry Arnold believes that poetry has an important role in society especially when other sources of guidance like religion fail to provide comfort or answers He argues that poetry with its combination of truth beauty and seriousness will always have a place in human culture He says The future of poetry is immense because in poetry our race as time goes on will find an ever surer and surer stay In conclusion Matthew Arnold s view of poetry as a criticism of life highlights the importance of combining truth beauty and seriousness in poetic works Through this balance poetry can provide meaningful insights into life It also delights the reader and fulfills its high purpose