What is touchstone method in criticism?

Arnold’s touchstone method is a comparative method of criticism. According to this method, in order to judge a poet’s work properly, a critic should compare it to passages taken from works of great masters of poetry, and that these passages should be applied as touchstones to other poetry.

What is touchstone method in English literature?

In literature A touchstone can be a short passage from recognized masters’ works used in assessing the relative merit of poetry and literature. This sense of the term was coined by Matthew Arnold in his essay “The Study of Poetry”, where he gives Hamlet’s dying words to Horatio as an example of a touchstone.

What is the touchstone method of Matthew Arnold explain?

Matthew Arnold tries a lot to invent an ideal standard of ideal literary works in ” The Study of Poetry “. He invents a process by which the real worth or value of literary work can be judged. This process of judging a piece is called touchstone method. Touchstone method can be applied to the writers of all ages.

Why is it called touchstone method?

In the study of poetry, Arnold delineates his idea of excellent poetry and formulates a practical method for identifying the true poetry -this method is named by him the Touchstone method. Arnold says than the personal estimate should be eschewed because it will lead to wrong judgments. …

Why is the touchstone method important in literary criticism?

Touchstone method helps readers to get rid of these two fallacies. Arnold said that if we do not follow touchstone method then we would not be able to differentiate between good and bad literary piece which would eventually destroy the value of literature. Hence, touchstone method is very important and we all should take it seriously.

Are there any synonyms for the word touchstone?

We hope that the following list of synonyms for the word touchstone will help you to finish your crossword today. We’ve arranged the synonyms in length order so that they are easier to find. piece of fine-grained dark schist or jasper used for testing alloys of gold by observing the colour of the mark which they made on it

How is a classic used as a touchstone?

According to Arnold, a real classic is a work which belongs to the class of the very best. It can be recognized by placing it beside the known classics of the world. Those known classics can serve as the touchstone by which the merit of contemporary poetic work can be tested.

Are there any limitations to the touchstone method?

Limitations: The touchstone method has its own limitations. Those who do not agree with this theory of comparative criticism say that Arnold is too strict, too exacting in comparing a simple modern poet with the ancient master poet. Also, this theory has set limited criteria for work to be great where as great works do not require any criteria.