The Study of Poetry

Essay | Matthew Arnold
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Why does Arnold call the 18th century an age of prose and reason

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Why does Arnold call the 18th century an age of prose and reason?

In his essay “The Study of Poetry” (1880), Matthew Arnold (1822 – 1888) describes the 18th century as an "age of prose and reason." This period is popularly known as “The Neo-classical Age” (1660-1785). During this time, people cared more about clear thinking, order, and reason in poetry than about deep feelings and imagination. 

Focus on Logic and Order: In the 18th century, writers focused a lot on logic, clear thinking, and balance. They liked everything to be neat and organized. Arnold says writers like Pope and Dryden wanted, 

regularity, uniformity, precision, balance.

While this made the writing clear, it made poetry less imaginative and less emotional.

Prose Over Poetry: People started to prefer prose writing during this time. Arnold says that even the poetry of this age was more like prose with r

hymes. He explains, 

Dryden and Pope are not classics of our poetry, they are classics of our prose.

This means their writing was more about clear and careful expression than the beauty of poetry.

Shift from Imagination to Reason: The 18th century shifted from the imaginative poetry of earlier times to rational thought. Arnold states, 

We are to regard Dryden as the puissant and glorious founder, Pope as the splendid high priest, of our age of prose and reason.

This shows that even though they wrote in verse, their work was more focused on logical argument than poetic inspiration.

In conclusion, Arnold calls the 18th century an "age of prose and reason." Literature then focused on logic and clear thinking. Imagination and emotion were secondary. Structured thought was valued more than the beauty of true poetry.

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