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Matthew Arnold uses the “the world-river of poetry” to refer to the Western tradition of poetry, dating back to the time of Homer and spanning all national traditions. In Arnold’s telling, this great tradition is the “mighty river” itself, and each national tradition—such as the English tradition Arnold focuses on in “The Study of Poetry”—is a tributary that feeds the “world-river.” Arnold’s use of this term emphasizes the universal, international character of poetry, as he sees it: all human beings can appreciate Homer, regardless of what countries they come from, and all human beings can write poetry that will flow into the great “world-river.” In addition, the river flows as the tradition of poetry moves forward into the future in an unstoppable manner, an idea that symbolically resonates with Arnold’s vision for poetry’s “high destiny.”
The River of Poetry Quotes in The Study of Poetry
The The Study of Poetry quotes below all refer to the symbol of The River of Poetry. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Study of Poetry
Quotes
In the present work it is the course of one great contributory stream to the world-river of poetry that we are invited to follow. We are here invited to study the stream of English poetry. But whether we set ourselves, as here, to follow only one of the several streams that make the mighty river of poetry, or whether we seek to know them all, our governing thought should be the same. We should conceive of poetry worthily, and more lightly that it has been the custom to conceive of it.
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The River of Poetry Symbol Timeline in The Study of Poetry
The timeline below shows where the symbol The River of Poetry appears in The Study of Poetry. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Study of Poetry
...his task in this essay is specifically to follow one “great contributory stream to the world-river of poetry .” But whether readers are acquainting themselves with one type of poetry or with poetry...
(full context)
