Dover BeachMatthew Arnold

Table of Contents Author’s

Biography Structure Analysis Diction and Tone Quiz

Author’s BiographyMatthew Arnold was born in Laleham, England on December 24, 1822. He is known as a poet, critic, and educator. “Dover Beach” and “The Scholar Gipsy” are some of his most popular poems. Arnold wrote “Dover Beach” in 1851 during his honeymoon with his wife, Fanny Lucy Wightman. They had six children – three of which died in their childhood. Arnold died at the age of 66 in 1888 while walking with his wife to go pick up their daughter.

Matthew Arnold

Structure Lyric – subjective and reflective poetry Basic iambic pattern Four stanzas that total up to 37 lines

1st stanza consists of 14 lines 2nd stanza consists of 6 lines (sestet) 3rd stanza consists of 8 lines (octet) 4th stanza consists of 9 lines

No apparent rhyme scheme Except for the last stanza, which is abbacddcc

AnalysisThe sea is calm tonight,The tide is full, the moon lies fairUpon the straits; - on the French coast the lightGleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!Only, from the long line of sprayWhere the sea meets the moon-blanched land,Listen! you hear the grating roarOf pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,At their return, up the high strand,Begin, and cease, and then again begin,With tremulous cadence slow, and bringThe eternal note of sadness in.straits – narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water

moon-blanched – whitened by the light of the moongrating – sounding harsh and unpleasantfling – throw strand – shorelinecease – come to an end tremulous – shaking or quivering slightly

The water reflects the image of the moon.Foreshadows

the light of faith in God and religion; once was strong, but now flickers

Eroding limestone cliffs develop the theme of a weakening of the light of faith.

Conflict between sea and land; long-held religious beliefs and the challenges against them.

Enjambment - continuation of a phrase into the next

Assonance – repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words

Alliteration - repetition of a sound at the beginning of words in a series

Personification – giving human qualities to something non-human

Sophocles long agoHeard it on the Aegean, and it broughtInto his mind the turbid ebb and flowOf human misery; weFind also in the sound a thought,Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

Sophocles – playwright; one of the Greek tradegiansAegean – the sea between Greece and Turkey; known as Anatolia in Sophocles’ timeturbid – muddy, cloudyebb – tide movement

Allusion to Sophocles’ plays that were filled with human suffering ℓ14 “The eternal

note of sadness...”

The poet hears a thought that disturbs him, like the one heard by Sophocles.

1st stanza is the present as the2nd stanza is a reference to the past.

Enjambment

Even back then, there was pain and tragedy.Sophocles thought the world was a miserable place.

The Sea of FaithWas once, too, at the full, and round earth's

shoreLay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.But now I only hearIts melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,Retreating, to the breathOf the night-wind, down the vast edges

drearAnd naked shingles of the world.

girdle – sash, belt; anything that surrounds or encirclesmelancholy – a feeling of extreme sadness, typically with no obvious causeshingles – pebbled beaches

The loss of people’s faith in God and religion.

Enjambment

I alone hearFaith wrapped around us, protecting us from despair, as the sea wraps itself around the continents.

Time when faith, in religion or humanity, was being questioned.

Ah, love, let us be trueTo one another! for the world, which seemsTo lie before us like a land of dreams,So various, so beautiful, so new,Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;And we are here as on a darkling plainSwept with confused alarms of struggle and

flight,Where ignorant armies clash by night.

darkling – dark, obscure, dim; occurring in darkness; menacing, threatening, dangerous, ominous

The world has become a selfish, cynical, materialistic battlefield. There is much hatred and pain.

Arnold writes that the world will not be true to him and asks his wife not to change, like the world has.

Enjambment

It is making a reference to the Peloponnesian War,which is an ancient battle that occurred on a similar beach. Since it was night time, the armies ended up killing their own people.

The sea is calm tonight,The tide is full, the moon lies fairUpon the straits; - on the French coast the lightGleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!Only, from the long line of sprayWhere the sea meets the moon-blanched land,Listen! you hear the grating roarOf pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,At their return, up the high strand,Begin, and cease, and then again begin,With tremulous cadence slow, and bringThe eternal note of sadness in.

It is so quiet that "you hear the grating roar of pebbles which the waves draw back and fling" (lines 6-10). These lines tell the reader that the mood is very calm.

But the mood doesn't really stay the same. In musical terms, the speaker describes the mood as a cadence – a sequence of notes or chords.He says "tremulous

cadence slow" bringing "the eternal note of sadness" (lines 13-14) The mood changes from tranquility to sadness.

Diction and Tone

Sophocles long agoHeard it on the Aegean, and it broughtInto his mind the turbid ebb and flowOf human misery; weFind also in the sound a thought,Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of FaithWas once, too, at the full, and round earth's shoreLay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.But now I only hearIts melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,Retreating, to the breathOf the night-wind, down the vast edges drearAnd naked shingles of the world.

Just like the past is filled with sadness, so the present is also like a wave, flowing back and forth.

This illustrates that sadness is hard to escape, even when in a place that is supposed to be tranquil.

Ah, love, let us be trueTo one another! for the world, which seemsTo lie before us like a land of dreams,So various, so beautiful, so new,Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;And we are here as on a darkling plainSwept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,Where ignorant armies clash by night.

In the last stanza of the poem, the speaker seems as if he is holding a conversation with someone. He is not alone on the beach as it seems in the previous stanzas.

Unlike the beginning of the poem, where sadness prevails and the past brings back unhappy memories, the speaker has a happier outlook for the future. He hopes that everything will be like new.

Quiz1. What was Arnold doing when he wrote this poem?2. What type of poem is this?3. Does the tone stay the same throughout the poem?4. The second stanza is a reference to the _____.5. What is the rhyme scheme for the last stanza?6. In the last stanza, what does Arnold ask of his wife?7. The first stanza is written in the _____.8. How many times does Arnold use enjambment?9. In the first stanza, how is personification being used? 10. What are the two poems Arnold is most famous?