Though this be madness, yet there is method in't

Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) is probably best known as a poet, and in particular for the poem 'Dover Beach' which you will almost certainly encounter if you go on to study English Literature beyond A Level. The poem explores a nightmarish world from which the old religious certainties have disappeared - and is therefore sometimes celebrated as an early, perhaps the first, example of the 'modern' sensibility; so although he is firmly 'Victorian' in terms of era, he might be considered to anticipate the Modernist movement. He became Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857, and was the first figure to be elected to this position who delivered his lectures in English rather than in Latin! As well as this, Arnold was a schools inspector for more than three decades. Partially to blame for the existence of Ofsted, then? Finally, he was also the owner of an impressive set of sideburns. A quick Google search will lead you to a host of images of their changing length and ...