Analysis of Matthew Arnolds Dover Beach

Analysis of Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach"
Research Questions:
A. What are the consequences of losing faith?
B. What is the solution to this turmoil?
In 'Dover Beach' (1867), the speaker laments the loss of faith in his society. As a result,
he believes, the society has become overwhelmed by cruelty, uncertainty and violence;
particularly during the Victorian age. This theme is developed by the imagery of the sea,
which is at high tide, and while on the beach, the pebbles' roar reminds the speaker of the
sadness of human life. Dover Beach is a poem that Arnold supposedly wrote on his
honeymoon, with his wife. Arnold uses a metaphor throughout the poem: "the sea of faith"
which represents the faith in humanity. Besides, this roar has interrupted the tranquillity of
night. Indeed, Matthew Arnold presents this gloomy image to suggest that the only solution
that brings tranquillity is to have strong faith.
The literary theory to approach this poem is Structuralism. According to this school, the
explicit stylistic features of a poem are so important because they reflect the implicit
meaning. Stylistic devices often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. These
include the graphological, phonological, morphological, semantically, etc. techniques.
Therefore, there is no need to rely on any other autobiographical or historical context but
rather to view the poem as an independent entity. The form is studied to have a close analysis
and interpretation.
The dramatic monologue opens with a description of the sea's fluctuation hinting at the
fluctuating faith in God and this is reflected through the short and long lines, which means
that he is psychologically unstable. The speaker's worries on life's meaning are obvious when
his mood changes from one of tranquillity to one of sadness. The poet skillfully has created
different types of figurative language, imagery and illustrative adjectives to portray a man, in
front a window, meditating about the sound of the pebbles tossing on the shore as the tide
goes out. The speaker addresses his companion, "Come to the window, sweet is the night-
air!/ Only, from the long line of spray" (932).
There is an obvious scene of melancholy and despair "Gleams and is gone," which is
heavily significant and obvious through the poem's structure. The speaker is expressing grief
over the deterioration of the society. The tranquillity of the natural scene is interrupted by a
depressing memory. The poet expresses, "Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling."
He means these 'pebbles' symbolizes the miseries that inflict pain on human beings. The
comma that separates the first part of the poetic verse and its end, which indicates a pause.
i.e. interruption. The poet further prone to say that the decline of spiritual and religious faith
has resulted in the human's calamities and futility.
Faith empowers communities and discipline people in such a manner that they stand
together and develop harmonious relations; else peoples would be "naked shingles of the
world." Arnold aims at painting a picture of a world which is overwhelmed by spiritual and
religious values, which brings people together. For this reason, he mentions, "Sophocles long
ago/ Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought/ Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow/ Of human
misery," to say that human experiences are alike." He emphasizes that life is a subject of
change; therefore, it needs such values to guide and protect man. Faithfulness adds meaning
to life and makes our world a better place in which man prospers and elevates. The poet says:
Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems
To 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 plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night (933).
The horror and brutality that exist in our world are the results of abandoning our faith,
beliefs, ethical disciplines and high values. People are subjected to various forms of
psychological and physical torture; deprived of happiness, joy and harmony. Arnold has
lamented the decline of religious faith and how society has lost its spiritual and moral
significance. To portrait this decline, the poet has provided vivid sea imagery; suggesting the
need to be reunited again by means of love, respect and tolerance. Matthew Arnold achieves
a lonely tone in the poem ''Dover Beach,'' through the use of imagery, simile, and
personification. The poem begins with a simple statement: ''the sea is calm tonight.''
There was a time when faith in God was strong and comforting. This faith wrapped itself
around us, protecting us from doubt and despair, as the sea wraps itself around the continents
and islands of the world. Now, however, the sea of faith has become a sea of doubt. Science
challenges the precepts of theology and religion; human misery makes people feel
abandoned, lonely. People place their faith in material things. Let us at least be true to each
other in our marriage, in our moral standards, in the way we think; for the world will not be
true to us. Although it presents itself to us as a dreamland, it is a sham. It offers nothing to
ease our journey through life.
Works Cited
Arnold, Matthew. "Dover Beach." The Oxford Anthology of English Literature. Eds. Harold
Bloom and Lionel Trilling. London: Longman, 1993. 950-951.
J.O. Bailey, eds. Victorian Poetry. 2nd ed. New York: Ronald Press, 1962.

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Ah, love, let us be true

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