Sohrab and Rustum and Other Poems

by Matthew Arnold, Justus Collins Castleman (Introduction)

Work from the well known English poet and literary critic.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

236 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2012

About the author

Poems, such as "Dover Beach" (1867), of British critic Matthew Arnold express moral and religious doubts alongside his Culture and Anarchy , a polemic of 1869 against Victorian materialism.

Matthew Arnold, an English sage writer, worked as an inspector of schools. Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of rugby school, fathered him and and Tom Arnold, his brother and literary professor, alongside William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew...

Reviews

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out to read because C. S. Lewis mentioned how this poem came to life for him as he studied it in school in his book "Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life."

Though I have not read many of the other poems in this book, I thoroughly enjoyed Sohrab and Rustum. I found that I needed to read it aloud to fully appreciate it and my son decided to join me in reading this tragic tale.

Arnold makes some very striking analogies, many of them containing birds or flowers. Just amazing!

[Sparrow .]

Something about Arnold’s poems is both antique and fresh. He points a way forward – at least for me.

What is it about him? Not his style, certainly. I’m inclined to say his “dentition.”

He writes poems the same way he inspected schools, out of High Duty. In fact, as you read him, you feel faintly that he's inspecting your school.

No one has ever written so well about a inaccessible Swiss monastery.

Opening at random:

Hast labored, but with purpose; hast become
laborious, persevering, serious, firm, –
for this, thy track, across the fretful foam

[From “To the Duke of Wellington: On Hearing Him Mispraised”]

[RealDeadpool,The · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so

Read this book in relation to a reference made of it in a book by then, Madame Justice Louise Arbour. Namely War Crimes and the Culture of Peace, which was quite interesting given current events. This one though feels more like poetry and less timely than the book making reference to it. Without a doubt Matthew Arnold is a master at his art of crafting words. Just no longer a relevant critic.

[Blondy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The poets was in old English and difficult to understand.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Required reading in high schoold