In referencing a plain, it seems, at first, like Arnold is breaking away from the ocean metaphor. Matthew Arnold and A Summary of Dover Beach. However, his plain could be the dried seabed that is left behind when the ocean recedes. 266-313. Arnold’s word choice in the first stanza alerts the reader to the overall tone of the poem before he even mentions the “eternal note of sadness” at the end (14). It was written in the year 1867, only a few weeks after he got married and the poem is written addressing his wife. This excerpt depicts sound as having an ability to arouse contemplation. Was once too, at the full In doing so, this also marked the time in which London became the first country to move towards an industrialized society, making many feel useless and no longer necessary with such technological advancements taking over so quickly (Norton 1886). As a Victorian poem, it shows the transitional changes in the society and echoes in the images. Arnold's stance and use of faith in the poem: He strongly lacks a concrete position on faith, but instead, chooses to focus on the loss or removal of faith in the nineteenth century. — But, his person could not abandon all values of the indoctrinated traditional culture: his roots drew deeper than his intellectualism. It is modeled in the Romantic style, which embellishes in the sacred representation of nature, and relates to it in human expression. Change ). Dover Beach itself?

However, the recognition is depressing, because the echoes come from so far away. It is one of the moments in the poem when the description of the land aludes to romanticism. #Additional Materials

"Dover Beach" is a lyric poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold. Ed. It considers facts as established superiority than emotions and fancy which led to the materialistic mindset in the society.

It is a deep-rooted religious and metaphysical anguish which renders an element of eloquence to “Dover Beach”. Yet still, from time to time, vague and forlorn, from the soul’s subterranean depth upborne as from an infinitely distant land, come airs, and floating echoes, and convey a melancholy into all our day” (“The Buried Life” 72-76). Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, Francis Orpen Morris Reverend (1810-1893) Biography, Frederic William Farrar (1831-1903) Biography, Grotesque Definition of Genre. Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. one of the most utterly disagreeable books I've ever read . Many writers, like Arnold, saw this period as, "taking a terrible toll on human happiness" and "abandoning traditional rhythms of life and traditional patterns of human relationships" (Norton 1886). Universal problems that Victorians experienced at the time are made present, such as a loss of faith. Perhaps Arnold believes that there are many disruptions beneath a calm surface. This nature of his reached into his writing style as well, coloring his prose to reflect his outlandish nature. T.S Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock” as a Modernist Poem. Arnold's Dover Beach as 'a criticism of life' Arnold's elegiac poem , 'Dover Beach' is a melancholy reflection on his contemporary Victorian faithlessness and spiritual vacuum. The idea of melancholy is depicted in a cold, raw way, “Retreating, to the breath/ Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear/ And naked shingles of the world”. The particular technical dynamics support the sincere voice of the poem. The most important element in the Victorian poem is the references to the classics.

. Has women’s place in society changed from Elizabethan and Victorian Eras. Arnold speaks to his wife in the lines, “Ah, love, let us be true to one another!” Through these lines he exemplifies his profound love for her and requests her to be faithful to him, saying that for the sake of their marriage they need to be faithful to the other.

Ed. for the world, which seems. Each stanza, except the second one, is clearly divided into alternating tones of optimism and pessimism.

. The fundamental note of Arnold’s poetry is, therefore, sadness. (4) Trilling, Lionel. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. A Manual of English Literature, Historical and Critical by Thomas Arnold, Key facts:Matthew Arnold was born in Laleham, a village near Thames, which is about sixteen miles from London. The dried remains of the sea floor can seem like a desolate, bleak place, as Arnold describes the world in the last stanza, but he also leaves room for hope. He thought that with a more critical historical account of the religion's history and a general (cultural) shift of interest from spiritual to material needs, the Victorian culture could no longer have much use for religious guidance.

Thus, the final stanza is drawn between the false potential of the world as seen by mainstream Victorian society, the true absence as seen by Arnold, and the flutter of hope for the world’s rebirth that Arnold finds in human love. “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold is a lyric poem set in the vicinity of a Dover, along the southeast bank of England, where Arnold and his new spouse spent their honeymoon in 1851. Here, Arnold compares the world to a land of dreams. 15. (3) "The Victorian Age." . Stephen Greenblatt.