Matthew Arnold's 1869 work "Culture and Anarchy" addresses the societal changes in Victorian England brought about by industrialization, urbanization, and expanded education and voting rights. Arnold uses a Socratic narrator to divide society into the Philistine middle class, the Barbarian aristocratic segment, and the lower populace class, arguing they could be elevated out of anarchy through the pursuit of culture, which he defines as an inherent tension between Hebraism and Hellenism. The work was a provocative tract and classic defense of high culture against the pressures of modernity on Victorian society.
1. Culture and Anarchy: An Essay in Political and Social Criticism. Prepared by: Maulik B. Bhatt, Roll No: 03, M.A. Part – I, Semester- II, Department of English, Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar. 10th of March, 2011.
2. Historical Background Industrialization Urbanization Education (Unregulated) (Shoddy) (Popular) Middle Class Upper Lower Growth of Science Voting Rights Sectarian Controversy Reform Bill I (1832) Religious Beliefs – Doubted Reform Bill II (1867) Mass Democracy
