This essay by Arnold was published in "Essay in criticism" in the year 1865 the major point of concern in essay was the preveling attitude that creative and constructive ability is more important than critical ability.
Arnold here traise to alabrated on the definition of criticism by saying that it is the endeabour in all the branches of knowledge, philosophy, history, art, science to see the object as in it self it really is.
There for it can be said that in order to create anything which is valuable one required to have the necessary mind set to understand.
According to Arnold criticism is all about generating idea during a specific time and place in history. He further goes on and argues that emotional experience in writing criticism and emotional experience in writing. Creative work this is all most equal, he is again the opinion of people who undermine criticism.
He continuosly tries to define criticism by saying that the affect that goes in to it is all most the same as any creative activity. Further in this essay he makes a comparison between Goethe and Byron according to him both of them had equal creative and productive poet but Goethe had the strong backing of critical afford through the rich knowledge of cultural background and that is why Goethe as a writer is concider and raited highly as against Lord Byron.
True this example Arnold wants to say that every poet should first try to understand the world in which he or she lives and than be creative.According to Arnold any criticism is an out come of extreme quriocity which is the stepin stone to knowledge. The quriocity should be disimprested that is being objective it can be free from any external influence and it should be given important as a discipline in it self.
Criticism should not be allow it self to be submitted any political consideration and it should serve nothing but it self. The function of criticism there for his to give way to the flaw of ideas and it should there for be followed by a lot of honesty and self duty.
Criticism should not be having and practical considerate it should be alone without looking for any ends and should in vole it self in the process which is extremely creative and never ending.
Arnold also talks about skepticism and this mind set set came in to existisant because of the development of science during this period. Arnold believe that production of good literature is depended on the generation of contextual idea.
In order to support this argument Arnold gives a lot of importance to culture by calling it study of perfection it should be taken as a aremonious link between literature and the thought process.
In this essay Arnold further deals with the important of criticism in education because through criticism understanding of surtain aspect with regard to politics, society and literature is enhanced.
He believes that criticism has an important social function and there for advocate the importance of criticism as a genere in education because it may become responsible in the generation of context of idea in order to anlies literature.
There are surtain questions to be addressed in order to understand the critical affects and according to Arnold it is all about laying emphasis on the ideas and having the capacity to scrutinize.
The highest function of men is to exercise creative power and get involved in creative activity. According to Arnold creativity is all about synthesis and exposition, not anything and discovery.
Inspite of the fact that Arnold phaises critical power lower than creative power, he does not deny that creative activity can be done even if you a not producing great works of literature or art.
Moving further Arnold talks about the relationship between creativity and critical power and focusing apone the fact that any literarary creation is not possible without criticism.
The answer to this question is that any critical power purports intellectual atmosphere in which art flarishis creative power according to Arnold works with multitude of fresh ideas that make creative art.
Instinct in criticism is very important as criticism is about shaping the instinct. Criticism should not lend it self to any political social or practical consideration of an idea.
Combining everything Arnold finally defined criticism as the idea of disinterested endevare to learn and propagate the best that is noun and thought in the world.
