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The 3 Estimates

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Kazuma Sato
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140 views2 pages

The 3 Estimates

Uploaded by

Kazuma Sato
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE THREE ESTIMATES

In his essay “The Study of Poetry”, Arnold is fundamentally concerned with


poetry’s “high destiny;” he believes that “mankind will discover that we have to
turn to poetry to interpret life for us, to console us, to sustain us” as science and
philosophy will eventually prove flimsy and unstable.
Arnold criticizes the art of poetry as well as the art of criticism. He talks about
setting our standard for poetry high. We must accustom ourselves to HIGH
STANDARD and STRICT JUDGEMENT and there is no place for
CHARLATANISM in poetry. Charlatanism is for confusing the difference
between excellent and inferior, sound and unsound, true and untrue. So there is
no place for charlatanism in poetry. Arnold says that when one reads poetry he
tends to estimate whether it is of the best form or not.
Arnold says that when one reads poetry he tends to estimate whether it is of the
best form or not. It happens in three ways- the real estimate, the historic
estimate, and the personal estimate.
Real Estimate is the only true estimate which is not affected by any kind of
estimate. It is present in our minds and governs our estimates of what we
read. The benefit of Real Estimate is high and it is the benefit of clearly
feeling and deeply enjoying the real excellence, the true classic in poetry.
Everything depends on the reality of a poet’s Classic Character. Arnold says
that if a poet is truly a classic, his poetry will have the reader real pleasure and
enable him/her to compare with other poetry which are not the same high
standard
The historic and personal estimate often overshadows the real estimate. But
Arnold also says that it is natural. The study of the historical background of
poetry and its development often leads to the critic skipping over the
shortcomings because of its historical significance. Historic estimate raises
poetry to a high pedestal and thus hinders one from noticing its weaknesses. It is
the historic estimate that leads to the creation of classics and raises the poet to a
nearly God like standard. Arnold says that if a poet is truly a classic his poetry
will give the reader real pleasure and enable him to compare and contrast other
poetry which are not of the same high standard. This according to Arnold is the
real estimate of poetry. Thus Arnold appeals to his readers to read classics with
an open eye and not be blind to its faults. This will enable one to rate poetry
with its proper value.
Arnold here speaks about the idea of imitation. He says that whatever one reads
or knows keeps on coming back to him. Thus if a poet wants to reach the high
standards of the classics he might consciously or unconsciously imitate them.
This is also true for critics who tend to revert to the historic and personal
estimate instead of an unbiased real estimate. The historic estimate affects the
study of ancient poets while the personal estimate affects the study of modern or
contemporary poets The Personal Estimate is also fallacious estimate that deals
with the contemporary poets. Our personal affinities, likings and circumstances
have great power to sway our estimate. Due to our personal likings we give
more importance to that poetry which does not deserve that much importance.
So, second fallacy in our poetic judgment is caused by Personal Estimate
To find which poetry is the best, Matthew Arnold suggests a method known as
‘touchstone method’. This method was introduced in “The Study of Poetry”.
The purposes of this Method is to: Select some best lines from the well-
known poetry; Compare it with other poets; Define and evaluate with
different measurement; and Pass the judgment
Basically, the method is being used to comparing and evaluating. Some
model lines from the great masters of the past will be used as touchstones to test
new poems. He quotes from Homer, “In his will is our peace”. From
Shakespeare, “If though didst ever held me in thy heart/Absent thee from
felicity awhile/And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain/To tell my
story…” From Milton, “And the courage never to submit or yield/And what
is else not to be overcome….” These lines may be different, but there is one
thing common in them, “the very highest poetic quality”. These few lines can
guide us properly to judge our own and others poems properly.
For Arnold, feeling and sincerity are paramount, as is the seriousness of
subject: “The superior character of truth and seriousness, in the matter and
substance of the best poetry, is inseparable from the superiority of diction and
movement marking its style and manner.” At the root of Arnold’s argument is
his desire to illuminate and preserve the poets he believes to be the touchstones
of literature, and to ask questions about the moral value of poetry that does not
champion truth, beauty, valor, and clarity. Arnold’s belief that poetry should
both uplift and console drives the essay’s logic and its conclusions.

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