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Matthew Arnold

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Poet

The Resume

    (December 24, 1822-April 15, 1888)
    Born in Laleham-on-Thames, Middlesex, United Kingdom
    Wrote poems ‘Dover Beach’ (1851), ‘The Scholar Gipsy’ (1852) and ‘Thyrsis’ (1865)
    Wrote social critique ‘Culture and Anarchy’ (1869)
    Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools (1851-1886)

Why he might be annoying:

    He’s often dismissed as a preachy and earnest Victorian writer.
    He often complained about the ‘drudgery’ of working as a school inspector.
    He boasted that his poetry combined the best of Tennyson and Browning.
    He died of a heart attack while running to catch a tram.
    His best known poem ‘Dover Beach’ was parodied by Anthony Hecht as ‘The Dover Bitch’ (1969).

Why he might not be annoying:

    His father was Thomas Arnold, famous headmaster of Rugby School.
    He took up school inspecting so he could marry and support a family.
    He wrote frankly about his crisis of religious faith.
    He was the great-uncle of Aldous Huxley.
    His writing is often seen as a link between Victorian and modern literature.

Credit: Georgina


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 19 Votes: 47.37% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 68 Votes: 39.71% Annoying