Though The Scholar Gipsy explores one of Arnold's signature
themes - the depressing monotony and toil of modern Victorian life - it is
unique in that it works through a narrative. There are in fact two levels of
storytelling at work in the poem: that of the scholar-gipsy and that of the
speaker who is grappling with the ideas poised by that singular figure.
Both levels of story relay the same message: the scholar-gipsy
has transcended life by escaping modern life. As he usually does, Arnold here
criticizes modern Victorian life as wearing down even the strongest of men. His
choice of the word "disease" is telling, since it implies that this
lifestyle is contagious. Even those who try to avoid modern Victorian life will
eventually become infected.
In this
way, the poem makes a comment on the perils of conformity, as other poems in
this collection do. What make the scholar-gipsy so powerful is not only that he
wishes to avoid modern Victorian life - many wish to do that. More importantly,
he is willing to entirely repudiate normal Victorian society for the sake of
his transcendence. There is a slightly pessimistic worldview implicit in that
idea, since it is clearly not possible to revel in true individuality and still
be a part of Victorian society. The scholar-gipsy has had to turn his back
entirely on Oxford, which represents learning and modernity here, in order to
become this great figure. And yet the poem overall is much more optimistic than
many of Arnold's works, precisely because it suggests that we can transcend if we
are willing to pay that cost. This makes it different from a poem like "A
Summer Night," which explores the same theme but laments the cost of
separation that individuality requires.
