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Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) was an English poet, cultural critic, and education advocate whose varied writings deeply engage with the question of how to live a meaningful life in a rapidly industrializing society. Arnold evidently inherited his concern with living a socially and morally engaged life from his father, who was an influential clergyman and reformist educator. After a brief period of youthful rebellion during his studies at Oxford, Arnold followed in his father’s footsteps by taking a career in education. He initially worked as an inspector of schools, and later he became a professor of poetry at Oxford. Despite his professional duties, Arnold wrote prolifically. He drafted “Dover Beach” in the early years of his literary career, and it expresses a deep sense of uncertainty and alienation in the face of industrialization. These are subjects that he would go on to address in a more direct and pragmatic manner in his later-career essays on literature, culture, religion, and education. His varied writings showcase an enduring belief in the value of “culture,” understood as an amalgam of art, literature, philosophy, and history. Culture, he believed, could defend against ignorance and help develop a robust, civilized society.

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