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Part of the book: Matthew Arnold and Goethe

James Simpson

MHRA Texts and Dissertations 11

Modern Humanities Research Association

GermanPoetryopen

Abstract.  Matthew Arnold, 1853-88. Goethe may not have been the original influence behind Arnold's questionings about the poet's relationship to his age, but his role was nevertheless important. It is hardly necessary to prove that Goethe's comments on subjects so closely related to one of Arnold's deepest concerns must have had a special interest for Arnold. Even if he did reach his conclusions independently of the German poet, the similarity of their views must inevitably have constituted one of the sources of Goethe's attractiveness for him. It is more likely, however, that the similarities are not coincidental, and, if this is so, then it is no exaggeration to say that Arnold received from Goethe's critical writings a number of fundamental insights which he eventually developed more fully and in ways not directly suggested by his source. Note cues in this chapter refer to endnotes in the end matter of the book.

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