Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 — 15 April 1888) was an English poet, essayist, and critic from the Victorian era who worked as an inspector for schools. He is considered one of the great Victorian poets, alongside Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning, and one of the "Victorian sages", alongside Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin. Among his best-known works include "Dover Beach", "The Scholar-Gipsy", "Thyrsis", and Culture and Anarchy.
Arnold was born in Laleham-at-Themes, Middlesex, the eldest son of Thomas Arnold, an Anglican priest and educator, and Mary Penrose Arnold, the daughter of an Anglican clergyman. John Keble, an Anglican priest and poet who would become one of the leading figures of the Oxford Movement, was Matthew's godfather. In 1828, Thomas was appointed headmaster of Rugby School, so he and his family moved there; from 1831, Matthew was tutored by his uncle, John Buckland. In 1834, the Arnolds built a family home in Fox How, in the Lake district; William Wordsworth was their neighbour and a frequent visitor.
In 1836, Matthew and his brother Tom were sent to Winchester College, and during this time Matthew made his first attempts at writing poetry, including 'The First Sight of Italy' and 'Lines written on the seashor at Eaglehurst'. A year later, he transfered from Winchester to Rugby School, where he studied and came under the tutelage of his father. Arnold won the school prize for English essay and English verse in 1840, with his poem 'Alaric at Rome' printed there. That same year, Arnold matriculated in Balliol College, Oxford and gained an open scholarship a year later. During his school years in Oxford, Arnold became very close friends with Arthur Hugh Clough, who would become a famous poet. He also attended service at St Mary's and admired the preaching of John Henry Newman, but he did not join the Oxford Movement.
