“The Scholar-Gipsy” is a poem by Matthew Arnold, inspired by a 17th-century Oxford story found in Joseph Glanvill’s work titled “The Vanity of Dogmatizing” (1661). It is also well-known among music enthusiasts because Ralph Vaughan Williams used lines from this poem, along with its companion piece “Thyrsis,” in his choral composition titled “An Oxford Elegy.” The poem was written in 1853, likely shortly after Matthew Arnold completed his poem “Sohrab and Rustum.” First appeared in Arnold’s Poems (1853), published by Longmans.
The poem revolves around a renowned scholar from Oxford who decides to forsake his academic pursuits in favor of embarking on a global journey alongside a group of Gypsies. His aim is to immerse himself in their traditions and uncover the origins of their profound wisdom.
An Elegy is a type of poem that focuses on mourning and lamentation. It often explores the three distinct stages of grief, admiration, and acceptance. Thomas Gray was the Father of Elegy in literature.
Pastoral Elegy is a poetic genre that combines themes of both death and the tranquil, idyllic life in rural settings. Shepherds frequently play a prominent role in this genre and can be considered a pastoral element serving as a vehicle for expressing grief and mourning over a loss.
In “The Scholar Gipsy,” Arnold establishes a pastoral or rustic backdrop. The infusion of local elements lends a delightful quality to the Pastoral Elegy. The poem takes place in the beautiful Oxford countryside.
English pastoral elegy has been written in a ten-line stanza pattern, constituting a total of 250 lines.
“The Scholar Gipsy” is indeed a significant English pastoral elegy, written in a unique ten-line stanza pattern known as the Decasyllabic Decuple Rhyme. This pattern consists of ten lines, each with ten syllables, and a rhyme scheme of ABABCCDEED.
Arnold begins the poem with an excerpt from Glanvill, a passage that narrates the tale of a destitute Oxford student. This student decided to abandon his academic pursuits and joined a group of gypsies. He became so close to them that they shared many of their trade secrets with him. Over time, he was recognized by two of his former Oxford companions. They discovered from him that the gypsies possessed a unique kind of traditional knowledge, and they could achieve extraordinary feats through the power of their imagination, which had the ability to influence others. The student further mentioned that once he had learned everything the gypsies could teach him, he would eventually leave their company and share these secrets with the world.
Matthew Arnold concludes “The Scholar Gipsy” with an extended simile that compares the Scholar Gipsy to a Tyrian merchant seaman. This comparison serves to underscore the idea of the Scholar Gipsy’s quest for knowledge and wisdom as a timeless and relentless pursuit. Arnold suggests that if the Scholar Gipsy were to come into contact with contemporary society, he would likely lose his faith, sense of purpose, and the habitual cheerfulness of his mind.
Arnold idealizes the Scholar Gipsy as someone who has preserved his purity of purpose and devotion to higher knowledge by remaining separate from the corrupting influences of the modern world. He encourages the Scholar Gipsy to continue his quest in solitude, suggesting that contact with modernity would diminish his spiritual and intellectual pursuits. This aspect of the poem underscores Arnold’s critique of the moral and intellectual state of Victorian society and his longing for a return to more virtuous and purposeful values, embodied by the Scholar Gipsy’s way of life.
In 1929, Marjorie Hope Nicolson proposed that the mysterious figure in this story could potentially be identified as the Flemish alchemist Francis Mercury van Helmont.
“The Scholar Gipsy” represents very closely the ghost of each one of us, the living ghost, made up of many recollections and some wishes and promises.
In the poem, Arnold explores the idea of the Scholar Gipsy’s existence over two centuries. Initially, there is uncertainty about whether the Scholar Gipsy is still alive, given the passage of time. However, as the poem progresses, Arnold dismisses the notion of the Scholar Gipsy’s death, suggesting that he might still be living and wandering the countryside, seeking wisdom from the Gypsies. This ambiguity adds depth and intrigue to the poem as it raises questions about the eternal pursuit of knowledge and the transcendence of time.