The study of English is a modern, artificial invention, not a timeless academic pursuit.

: Critics, such as those at The New Criterion , argue that Eagleton’s desire to be "politically correct" and "intellectually fashionable" sometimes leads to reductive statements about complex philosophical ideas. Finding the Text

Eagleton argues that Matthew Arnold, the great Victorian poet and critic, was the high priest of this new faith. Arnold famously argued that culture (specifically, "the best that has been thought and said") would replace the Bible. Culture was supposed to provide:

As the 19th century progressed, the authority of the Church of England began to decay under the weight of scientific rationalism (Darwin) and political revolution (Marx). The Victorian bourgeoisie needed a new ideological apparatus to quell the working class and humanize the industrialists.

If you have searched for , you are likely a student of literature, cultural studies, or critical theory. You are not merely looking for a scanned chapter; you are looking for a foundational text that explains why you are studying English literature in the first place.