Arthur Hugh Clough

Abstract

Clough’s life is a story of unfulfilled promise. His early childhood was spent in South Carolina, but his schooling was at Rugby under Dr Thomas Arnold (see Strachey essay in Anthology vol. y), whose most outstanding pupil he became. At Oxford he formed a close friendship with Matthew Arnold and was caught up in Tractarian ferment by his tutor W. G. Ward. His religious opinions were unsettled and eventually, after gaining an Oriel Fellowship in 1842, he resigned it in 1848 unable to adhere conscientiously to the 39 Articles of the Church of England. His theological views had become increasingly liberal, undoubtedly influenced by Strauss’s Das Leben Jesu [Life of Jesus] of 1835.