The Scholar Gipsy : Key info
The Scholar Gipsy is a notable literary work by Matthew Arnold. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of The Scholar Gipsy.
Key info
Key Facts
Author: Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
Title of the Author:
The Melancholy Voice of the Victorian Age
Pessimistic poet of the Victorian Age
Professor of Poetry at Oxford
Full Title: The Scholar-Gipsy
Total Lines: 250
Stanza: 25 stanzas (10 lines each)
Genre: Pastoral Elegy
Published Date: 1853
Written Date: Around 1852–1853
Form: Elegy in pastoral setting, inspired by romantic ideals
Meter: Iambic pentameter (with regular and unrhymed lines)
Rhyme Scheme: ABCBCADEED (in each 10-line stanza)
Tone: Dreamy, Reflective, Idealistic
Point of View: First-person (Arnold as narrator-poet)
Setting:
Time Setting: An idealized, timeless moment reflecting on the past
Place Setting: The countryside around Oxford (fields, hills, and nature)
Key Notes
- Scholar-Gipsy: “The Scholar-Gipsy” is a story about a character who is partly fictional and partly historical, presented by Matthew Arnold in his poem. This character is a student who leaves behind his family and boring academic life and joins the gypsies. He hopes to gain special knowledge from them and lives his life in that pursuit.
- Oxford Countryside: The fields, rivers, valleys, and natural surroundings of Oxford play an important role in this poem. These natural scenes create an atmosphere of peace, freedom of thought, and nostalgia in the poet’s mind.
Background: The inspiration for The Scholar-Gipsy came from “The Vanity of Dogmatizing” book by Joseph Glanvill, in which the story of an “Oxford student” is told. This student abandoned the regular academic life of the university and joined a group of wandering gypsies, seeking from them a mysterious kind of knowledge that lay beyond conventional education. Matthew Arnold gave poetic form to this story in his 1853 poem The Scholar-Gipsy. Through this poem, he presents the Scholar-Gipsy as a symbol against the monotonous and lifeless existence of Victorian society—a figure who has escaped from the “modern disease.”
Arnold sees in this character a kind of eternal quest and spiritual liberation. The poem is written in a pastoral style, filled with depictions of nature, rural life, and a silent yet profound philosophy. Against the confusion, fatigue, and spiritual emptiness of his own age, Arnold presents the life of the Scholar-Gipsy as an ideal. Amidst the natural surroundings of Oxford’s fields and meadows, he imagines glimpses of that long-lost student’s soul, still wandering in search of truth.