Matthew Arnold: The Function of Criticism at the Present Tim

             In 1865 Matthew Arnold wrote, "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time". In this essay, Arnold discusses the tenuous relationship between criticism and creation, one that before this, was virtually non-existent . Though literary criticism had been taking place for years, it was generally disregarded and held as useless. William Wordsworth once said that, ""if the quantity of time consumed in writing critiques on the works of others were given to original composition, of whatever kind it might be, it would be much better employed"" (2103). By acknowledging this view, and then creating a rational argument against it, Arnold's essay helped to send the genre into a new direction, as well as to create a new respect for it.
             Arnold begins his argument by stating that, "The critical power is of lower rank than the creative" (2104), this is because man finds his true happiness within the creative process. However, this creative process cannot be limited to great works of literature, or most people would be denied their true happiness. Arnold says that well-doing, learning, or even criticizing can be creative projects and that they can be just as fulfilling as a great work of literature. He then says that the critical process may in fact be a crucial one for the creation of literary works.
             Criticism may be necessary because the creative power works with certain materials, and for the author these materials are ideas; "the best ideas on every matter which literature touches, current at the time" (2104). However, authors do not actually discover these ideas, rather they synthesize them into works of art. Therefore, if these ideas are not readily known to the author, then he has nothing to write about. Arnold say that, "for the creation of a masterwork of literature, two forces must concur, the power of the man, and the power of the moment" (2105). That is, the author needs to live in a society where true ideas are openly discussed and debated; a society where thought is cherished and then passed on, as it was in Ancient Greece or Renaissance England.