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David Girbino
Jindra7th period
AP Lit
2/14/14
Boketto: Dover Shore
*Boketto is the Japanese word for staring into the distance
Dover Beach is an intensely emotional poem written by Matthew Arnold, expressing his sadness at the
suffering of humanity and the ebbing of religious faith. The lamenting tone of the poem is sharply delineated
by the precise choice of words and phrasing that Arnold arranged in the piece. Arnolds careful construction of
metaphor to connect his thoughts on humanity to the Dover shore builds the tone as well, carefully presenting
the duality of the ocean without betraying his feelings towards the subject.: The lamenting tone of Dover
Beach is defined by the diction, the employment of extended didactic metaphor, and the use of vivid imagery
to create a sense of pensive sorrow.
The diction in Dover Beach is carefully chosen to create the foundations of the poems intonation. In
lines 13-14, for instance, With tremulous cadence slow, and bring the eternal note of sadness in, the phrase
tremulous cadence describes the slow, shaking rhythmic sound of the waves crashing on the shore. This is not
an entirely peaceful image, for the waves tremor and bring in the eternal note of sadness. The word eternal
is critical to the tone, because it shows that this sadness is not an ephemeral whim but rather an inescapable,
suffocating infinity. Another selection of diction that builds tone is the turbid ebb and flow of human misery
(17) The word turbid is defined as murky or cloudy, which plays cleverly into Arnolds view of human suffering.
The use of turbid to describe the ebb and flow of misery denotes the indiscernibly murky depths of the
reasons we suffer, and how people go through life in a misery that clouds their eyes and perceptions of reality.
This is an incredibly somber image because it makes the idea of escaping misery seem so impossible, because
the reasons are so clouded. Finally, the words used in the final stanzas, melancholy, withdrawing roar(26-27)
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and Neither joy, nor love nor light, nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for painas on a darkling plain (35-37)
also contribute to the lamenting tone of the piece. The melancholy, withdrawing roar of the receding
spiritual values recounts a plaintive call for a past that no longer exists; it evokes the sense that the waves
themselves are sad to withdraw. Additionally, the words certitude, peace and help for pain all are defined as
traits that characterize humanity. However, on this darkling plain that Arnold describes, there is no
righteousness or certitude, no peace, and no help to be found for the weak and low. Such a dark place is sad
to picture, and Arnolds perception of a faithless world as a cold and darkling plain is a terrifically lamentable
notion. (ADD CONCLUSION)
Arnold also uses two major didactic metaphors to illustrate his pervasive sadness towards the erosion
of faith and suffering. The most apparent metaphor is in the third stanza, where the receding waters of Dover
are compared to the melancholy, long, withdrawing roar of the so called Sea of Faith, meaning the
collective spiritual values of the world. By comparing the erosion of human spirituality to the cacophonous
withdrawal of the tide, Arnold shows that, like the tide, the receding of faith is inevitable, and will leave the
naked shingles of the world(27) exposed. The notion of naked shingles left in the wake of spiritual recession
is a haunting sort of image; it echoes the ruined landscape left after tidal waves break on inhabited islands.
The didacticism of the metaphor is the almost inferred suggestion that, if people want to avoid being awash
on a darkling plain, they should turn back to spirituality. The second crucial metaphor presented in Dover
Shore is the connection of the sea to the ebb and flow of human suffering. In the second stanza it is written,
*the sea+ brought into his mind the turbid ebb and flow of human misery. (17-18) The comparison to the
inevitability of human suffering to the ocean is a sad one, because it shows that regardless of ones actions,
the rising waters of suffering are inescapable. By depicting suffering as something as inevitable as the tides
and pairing it with diction choices of ebb, flow and misery, Arnold creates a scene that is not pained, so
much as pensively lamenting. The didacticism of this metaphor is left up to the interpreter, but can be
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considered an acknowledgement that despite the inevitability of suffering, life does go on. This enforces the
tone, because a lament, while deeply sad, is not entirely hopeless. Arnolds use of didactic metaphor in Dover
Shore creates a deep network of ideas that reinforce the lamenting tone of the piece.
The final creative element of Dover Beach that contributes to the tone of the poem is the vivid use of
imagery to create a scene that parallels the tone. In the fifth line the Cliffs of Dover are described as,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. The use of a tranquil environment as the setting for this poem
is crucial, because it allows for the sorrow to come to the speaker like the waves themselves; slowly, and then
all at once. This idea is seen again in the 13
th
line, where, with tremulous cadence slowbring the eternal
note of sadness in. The slow arrival of these thoughts upon the waves eliminates any sense of urgency from
the tone. Because the scene is calm, the tone reflects that in the voice of the speaker. Alternatively, other
pieces of imagery contribute to tone outside of the setting. The line retreating to the breath of the night-
wind(26) discusses the retreating spiritual values of the world, but presents the retreat not as something
sharp or violent, but quick and silent, like the breath of the night. The swift and silent decline of faith is a more
saddening image than a violent one because the idea of something fading away elicits a lamentable sadness,
whilst the violent removal of faith might have caused objection and opposition. Finally, the final two lines
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night at first seem to
contrast the original idea of the poem. However, the imagery here is designed to reflect the roaring confusion
that accompanies the crash of the waves. The ignorant armies that clash by night reflect the chaos that is
emerging in the darkness following the retreat of spirituality. This image, while denoting tension with the
words like confused alarms and struggle, really intend to create a sorrowful image, where lost souls fight
in this darkness and noise for some sense of direction. The imagery placed in Dover Beach creates mental
images that further the lamenting tone of the piece, by creating an environment that is both peaceful and
overwhelming at the same time.
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The lamenting tone of Dover Beach is beautifully defined by the elements of literature that Arnold
endowed it with. The diction creates the direct sense tone, while the metaphors resonate with the reader on a
complex emotional level and the imagery creates an atmosphere for the tone to echo. The three key elements
of tone in the poem coalesce into a single, saddened voice that decries the present and ponders the future.
The inevitability of the waves on the shore and the burdened weight of the diction work together to create a
tone that is as plaintive and inescapable in truth as the waves themselves.