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Personal Estimate
The “real estimate” is Arnold’s term for the true evaluation of a poem’s worth, which is a product of its aesthetic features and the fact that its criticism of life is based on high seriousness. One of the central purposes of “The Study of Poetry” is to show readers how to arrive at the real estimate of a poem, a task of particular importance for Arnold, since readers must be able to distinguish between truly great poetry and merely good poetry—this ability to distinguish the great from the good is important if poetry is to fulfill the “high destiny” that Arnold thinks it should fulfill. Arnold’s method for arriving at the real estimate of a poem is to compare a given poem to the poems of the classic poets Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Milton, whose works have the timeless features that enable them to be enduring sources of comfort for human beings.
Real Estimate Quotes in The Study of Poetry
The The Study of Poetry quotes below are all either spoken by Real Estimate or refer to Real Estimate. For each quote, you can also see the other terms 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
But if [the poet] is a real classic, if his work belongs to the class of the very best (for this is the true and right meaning of the word classic, classical), then the great thing for us is to feel and enjoy his work as deeply as ever we can, and to appreciate the wide difference between it and all work which has not the same high character. This is what is salutary, this is what is formative; this is the great benefit to be got from the study of poetry.
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Real Estimate Term Timeline in The Study of Poetry
The timeline below shows where the term Real Estimate appears in The Study of Poetry. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Study of Poetry
...of “the best in poetry.” However, there is a problem with anthologies: instead of the real estimate of “the best in poetry,” they can give readers false standards of judgment. The two...
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...is why it is worth reiterating the primary concern of the anthology: to establish the real estimate of a poem, and thus to reap the real benefits of poetry. Arnold quotes the...
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...a few examples to confirm that, indeed, such definitions allow readers to arrive at the real estimate of a poem. For that reason, Arnold explains, he will run briefly through the course...
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...day. But, Arnold asks, is this historic estimate of Dryden’s work in line with the real estimate ? Arnold acknowledges that it takes a brave critic to deal with Dryden so categorically,...
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...for patriotic reasons. But, as with John Dryden, it is important to arrive at the real estimate of Burns’s poetry. Arnold begins his discussion of Burns by dismissing his English-language poetry, which...
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Matthew Arnold uses this real estimate of Robert Burns to address the case of more contemporary English poets, such as Percy...
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