3 Poems by Arthur Hugh Clough

Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861) stands as one of the most intriguing yet underappreciated Victorian poets, whose work bridges the Romantic and Modern sensibilities in English literature. Born in Liverpool to a cotton merchant family, Clough's early years were marked by a transformative period in Charleston, South Carolina, where his father's business interests took the family when Arthur was just four years old. This American sojourn, lasting until he was nine, would later influence his independent thinking and skeptical approach to established conventions.

Returning to England in 1828, Clough began his education at Rugby School under the legendary headmaster Thomas Arnold, whose influence on the young poet cannot be overstated. Arnold's emphasis on moral seriousness and intellectual integrity would become foundational elements in Clough's poetry and personal philosophy. As a student, Clough excelled academically and formed a close friendship with Matthew Arnold, the headmaster's son, who would later become a significant Victorian poet and critic in his own right.

At Oxford's Balliol College, where he matriculated in 1837, Clough found himself in the midst of the Oxford Movement's religious ferment. Unlike many of his contemporaries who were drawn to the High Church revival, Clough's response was to question more deeply, eventually leading to a crisis of faith that would inform much of his mature poetry. His poem "The Latest Decalogue," with its bitter satire of Victorian moral hypocrisy, emerged from this period of spiritual questioning.

Clough's masterwork, "The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich" (1848), written in hexameters, demonstrates his innovative approach to both form and content. This long narrative poem about a reading party in the Scottish Highlands combines classical meters with contemporary subjects, including progressive ideas about class and gender relations. The work's exploration of love, education, and social reform reflects Clough's engagement with the pressing issues of his time while maintaining a distinctly personal voice.

The years 1848-1849 proved pivotal for Clough. His resignation from his fellowship at Oriel College, Oxford, driven by his inability to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican Church, marked a decisive break with institutional Christianity. During this period, he traveled to Paris and Rome, witnessing firsthand the revolutionary movements sweeping Europe. These experiences inspired his long poem "Amours de Voyage," a work startlingly modern in its use of the epistolary form to explore themes of political disillusionment and romantic paralysis.

Despite his relatively short life, Clough's influence on later poetry was significant. His use of colloquial language, his psychological complexity, and his willingness to engage with doubt and uncertainty anticipate many concerns of modern poetry. His poem "Say not the struggle nought availeth," with its message of perseverance in the face of apparent defeat, has achieved an enduring popularity that belies its author's relatively modest reputation during his lifetime.

Clough's personal life was marked by a long courtship of Blanche Smith, whom he finally married in 1854. His friendship with Florence Nightingale, for whom he worked as a secretary, and his various positions in education and civil service show a man deeply engaged with the practical reforms of his era. His work for the Education Department and his efforts to improve women's education reveal a progressive mindset that aligned with his poetic innovations.

The complexity of Clough's verse, with its mixture of classical learning and modern doubt, its combination of social concern and personal questioning, makes him particularly relevant to contemporary readers. His long poem "Dipsychus," published posthumously, showcases his sophisticated treatment of psychological and moral conflicts, presenting a dialogue between the idealistic self and its worldly, cynical counterpart.

Clough's early death in Florence in 1861, where he had gone for his health, cut short a poetic career that seemed on the verge of new developments. His friend Matthew Arnold's elegiac tribute, "Thyrsis," helps us understand the depth of his loss to Victorian letters. Yet Clough's influence extends beyond his era. His technical experiments with verse forms, his psychological acuity, and his honest engagement with doubt make him a forerunner of modern poetry.

The publication history of Clough's work adds another layer of interest to his literary legacy. Many of his most important poems were published posthumously, thanks to the efforts of his wife Blanche and his friend Matthew Arnold. This delayed recognition has contributed to the gradual reassessment of his importance in Victorian literature, with modern critics increasingly appreciating his innovative techniques and his prescient handling of themes that would become central to twentieth-century poetry.