MATTHEW

ARNOLD’S
“DOVER BEACH”
Dr. Arti Nirmal
Department of English
Banaras Hindu University
arti.nirmal@bhu.ac.in
“DOVER BEACH”:
EXPLANATION & ANALYSIS
 The poem “Dover Beach”, written by Matthew Arnold, was published in the year 1867 in New Poems to
realistically discuss the complexities and tensions of his age.
 It offers a critique of the contemporary society with all its melancholy and loss of faith in virtue.

 It is written in the form of a dramatic monologue in the vein of an elegy to mourn not over the death of
somebody but over the loss of religious faith.
 The poem is also a critique of the overpowering impact of science on the life and thoughts of people. It
should not be forgotten that Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species (1859), which was
published just few years before ‘Dover Beach’, gave a new theory of human evolution and shook all the
existing philosophies of the West to understand man. The rising tide of reasoning jolted hard against the
religious ethos of the contemporary society. This conflict between science and religion as well as
spirituality has been remarkably addressed in this poem by Arnold.
STANZA 1 (PART A)
 The poem “Dover Beach” begins with the description of the beauty of sea with
all its serenity. The poet offers a sensory portrayal of the landscape by referring
to the tranquility of sea, moonlight and the strait to suggest a balance, stability,
and harmony. Here, the strait refers to the Strait of Dover between the English
Channel and the Northern Sea. The light that ‘gleams and is gone’
metaphorically suggests the fluctuating light of human faith in God and
religion. However, the poet at the same time assures us that goodness and
virtue cannot disappear completely from the world by using a trail of
affirmations in the very first sentence. The melancholic mood in the poem is
generated through the moonlight which also represents the atmosphere of
meditation and despair.
STANZA 1 (PART B)
 In this way, the natural beauty of the surrounding is amalgamated
with a sense of spiritual security which has been communicated by
the use of words such as ‘calm’, ‘full’, ‘fair’ and ‘tranquil’. The
bright and huge cliffs of England are shown to be eroding which
conveys the sense of weakening of faith in human beings. The
speaker seeks companionship at this moment and invites the lady to
enjoy the delightful beauty of the Dover Beach. It is remarkable,
however, that the contrast between the appearance and reality has
been skillfully suggested at the outset of the poem.
STANZA 1 (PART C)
 The underlying sadness and human misery has been covered up by
evoking a beautiful image of the sea meeting “the moon blanched
land” (land getting colored in the moonlight). A striking contrast to
this sensuous image has been presented in the next line where the
waves of the sea jar the serenity and silence of the atmosphere by
producing a roaring sound, dispersing the pebbles on the shore. The
approaching and returning waves of the sea introduce an intense
tone of melancholy in the poem rightly articulated in the line “the
eternal note of sadness”.
STANZA 2
 The second stanza of the poem alludes to the ancient Greek tragic poet Sophocles
who heard this “eternal note of sadness” long ago on the bank of the Aegean sea
(a part of the Mediterranean sea near Greece) and expressed it in his songs. The
despondent and dull tune in the rise and fall of the waves of the tiding sea also
allows us to see the perennial misery suffered by man since ages. The poet adds
that the same sad tone of distress and suffering could be heard even today in the
roar of the northern sea which was heard at that time by Sophocles. In other
words, whenever man lost his faith in virtue, misery crept in the human life.
Here, the sea is an archetypal image which is invested with divine force and
spiritual content.
STANZA 3 (PART A)
 In stanza 3, the poet compares the sea with religion and virtue and informs us
that how we have lost the “sea of faith”; how on account of the scientific and
materialistic advancement, our faith in religion, virtue and humanity has been
lost. The sea of religion and goodness was full once upon a time because people
believed in it, but owing to the worldly obsession our minds today are full only
of doubt, despair and melancholy. The power of faith which used to connect us,
bind us and strengthen us earlier like ‘a girdle around our waist’, is now shaking
and disappearing.
STANZA 3 (PART B)
 In the line “naked shingles of the world”, the speaker anticipates horrible
consequences of our deeds in horrifying and repulsive images and warns that as with
the receding waves of the sea the pebbles become nakedly visible on the shore,
similarly with the withdrawal of the much needed “sea of faith”, the ugly pebbles of
materialism and skepticism are getting exposed to the world. The sea no longer retains
its sacredness and power of ablution in the rituals of human life. Against the towering
impact of science, religious faith is getting weakened. Here, the “night-wind”
symbolizes disbeliefs and doubts in the mind of modern man.
STANZA 4 (PART A)
 The concluding stanza connects us to the first one in the description of beauty and
love but it is distinct in the sense that here there is a hope to revive the lost “sea of
faith”. In an atmosphere of intense gloom and despair, love is invoked as the
ultimate solace and source of redemption. In the tone of consolation, the poet
suggests that in the world tormented by deception, lies, violence, love is the only
source of revival and regeneration. The world has been perceived as an illusionary
world of dream which showcases enchanting things but lacks real love, joy, and
light. In this illusionary world, there is neither certainty nor peace and it can only
yield misery and pain. The world of illusion may be shattered only through the
power of truth and love.
STANZA 4 (PART B)
 The poet describes the world as ‘darkling plain’ full of turmoil. The last two
lines of the poem portray a realistic picture of the contemporary age
characterized by war and military activities- “swept with confused alarms of
struggle and flight/ Where ignorant armies clash by night.” A sort of darkness
envelops human destiny when they clash with each other with a sense of
savagery and primitivism. These clashes would never come to end unless the
flame of love is enkindled. Humanity has lost its significance and spirit
because humans have engaged themselves in the futile acts of battles and
warfare, generating only despair and hopelessness.
HOME ASSIGNMENT
 Answer the following in about 200-250 words:

 Comment on Matthew Arnold’s definition of poetry as the “criticism of life” with reference to the
poem “Dover Beach”.
 Appreciate critically the poem “Dover Beach”

 Answer the following in 100-150 words:

 Highlight the significance of the “sea of faith’.

 Explain with reference and context the following lines:

 “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…”
FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE

 Contact:
 artinirmalbhu@gmail.com
 arti.nirmal@bhu.ac.in