The idea of order: literary and cultural theories of Matthew Arnold and T.S. Eliot

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dc.contributor.advisorMcCallum, Pamela M.
dc.contributor.authorBuck, Elizabeth J.
dc.date.accessioned2005-07-21T21:30:31Z
dc.date.available2005-07-21T21:30:31Z
dc.date.issued1986
dc.descriptionBibliography: p. 109-113.en
dc.description.abstractEthical criticism has steadily lost status and influence since the time of Matthew Arnold. Structuralism and deconstruction have removed the experience of literature from critical consideration and turned criticism and literature into products of the mind, empty of spiritual qualities or ultimate meaning. Matthew Arnold's experiential approach to literary criticism represents the zenith of an ethical criticism. Arnold believed literature to be a new, secular religion which had the power to establish order in the universe and lead men towards perfection. Arnold's humanism allows him to posit a perfectible human nature and a temporal society in which complete order is possible. Literature and literary criticism are the vehicles by which this order is brought about. Ethical criticism is severely, albeit unintentionally, weakened by T. S. Eliot. Eliot rejects the possibility of literature functioning as a secular religion and insists instead on an orthodox Christianity that the modern world has rejected. Eliot's philosophical roots in F.H. Bradley's Absolute Idealism join with his orthodox religious outlook to form a belief in a limited human nature and a temporal order that can never be known. Literature changes from an ethical force, able to effect great change in the individual and society, to a chronicle of modern anxiety. The thesis looks at the idea of order, both individual and corporate, in the writings of Matthew Arnold and T. s. Eliot and explores the implications of Arnold and Eliot's perspectives for ethical criticism. The introduction defines the concept of ethical criticism and establishes the contemporary critical situation. Chapters two and three respectively examine Arnold's cultural and literary order; chapters four and five respectively examine Eliot's cultural and literary order. The conclusion looks at a contemporary critic's call for a return to an ethical criticism, and speculates on the possibility of such a return.
dc.format.extentvi, 113 leaves ; 30 cm.en
dc.identifier.citationBuck, E. J. (1986). The idea of order: literary and cultural theories of Matthew Arnold and T.S. Eliot (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/13482en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/13482
dc.identifier.isbn0315326794en
dc.identifier.lccPR 4024 B775 1987en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/23644
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject.lccPR 4024 B775 1987en
dc.subject.lcshArnold, Matthew, 1822-1888 - Criticism and interpretation
dc.subject.lcshEliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965 - Criticism and interpretation
dc.subject.lcshCulture in literature
dc.titleThe idea of order: literary and cultural theories of Matthew Arnold and T.S. Eliot
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineEnglish
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
ucalgary.thesis.accessionTheses Collection 58.002:Box 573 215772176
ucalgary.thesis.notesoffsiteen
ucalgary.thesis.uarcreleaseyen
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