Poems
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1849-1867
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 100 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendSelected PoemsPenguin Classics, 1994Timothy Peltason's selection contains everything the Harvard Classics prints and more.
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Arnold's verse, mostly written between 1849 and 1867 before he gave his energies to criticism. The best known poems are Dover Beach, with its retreating sea of faith, The Scholar-Gipsy, Thyrsis, an elegy for Arthur Hugh Clough, the Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse on wandering between two worlds, and the narrative poem Sohrab and Rustum. The mood is of doubt, isolation and stoic endurance in a world where old certainties have gone.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Poems are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.