On Arnold

Arnold’s beliefs were vastly different from the ideas of Mallarmé, especially when looking at what he thought about literature regarding to the creation of ideas. Both Baudelaire and Mallarmé thought about poetry and literature in general to be something that people could use to create new pieces, new ideas, new structures, etc. However, according to Arnold, “The grand work of literary genius is a work of synthesis and exposition, not of analysis and discovery” showing how much disdain he had for newness (697). When looking at the way that literature differs in America and much of the Western world in comparison to the rest of the world, it is clear to see the effect that Arnold had. This outlook of placing new ideas, or as Ardold would call them “premature” ideas, as far inferior to the regurgitation of older ideas that are based solely on facts and evidence has led to much of American education diminishing the arts and humanities (697). The arts and humanities are all about creation and in this day and age, society places those in STEM fields far above the rest of us. Even our popular literature has a sense of this. There is so much literature now that is being recreated over and over again. Even popular shows like Supernatural or Good Omens are strongly based on Biblical texts. While, yes, they are very different from the Biblical stories they are based on, it’s clear that society often favors regurgitation as opposed to originality.