Matthew Arnold (1822–88) was an English poet, critic and cultural commentator best remembered today for his poem ‘Dover Beach’. He was also a school inspector, and an early proponent for state schools and access to education.John Greening is the author of over twenty collections of poetry, most recently The Interpretation of Owls: Selected Poems 1977–2022. His essays on poetry are collected in Vapour Trails and A High Calling. He has taught in Upper Egypt, Scotland and New Jersey, and has lived for many years with his family in Cambridgeshire.