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Matthew Arnold: Poems Summary and

Analysis of "Dover Beach" (1867)

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Summary
Onenight,thespeakerof"DoverBeach"sitswithawomaninsidea
house,lookingoutovertheEnglishChannelnearthetownofDover.They
seethelightsonthecoastofFrancejusttwentymilesaway,andthesea
isquietandcalm.

WhenthelightoverinFrancesuddenlyextinguishes,thespeakerfocuses
ontheEnglishside,whichremainstranquil.Hetradesvisualimageryfor
auralimagery,describingthe"gratingroar"ofthepebblesbeingpulledout
bythewaves.Hefinishesthefirststanzabycallingthemusicoftheworld
an"eternalnoteofsadness."

ThenextstanzaflashesbacktoancientGreece,whereSophoclesheard
thissamesoundontheAegeanSea,andwasinspiredbyittowritehis
playsabouthumanmisery.

Stanzathreeintroducesthepoem'smainmetaphor,with:"TheSeaof
Faith/Wasonce,too,atthefull,androundearth'sshore."Thephrase
suggeststhatfaithisfadingfromsocietylikethetideisfromtheshore.
Thespeakerlamentsthisdeclineoffaiththroughmelancholydiction.

Inthefinalstanza,thespeakerdirectlyaddresseshisbelovedwhosits
nexttohim,askingthattheyalwaysbetruetooneanotherandtothe
worldthatislaidoutbeforethem.Hewarns,however,thattheworld's

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beautyisonlyanillusion,sinceitisinfactabattlefieldfullofpeople
fightinginabsolutedarkness.

Analysis

Arguably MatthewArnold 'smost

famouspoem,"DoverBeach"managestocommentonhismostrecurring
themesdespiteitsrelativelyshortlength.Itsmessagelikethatofmany
ofhisotherpoemsisthattheworld'smysteryhasdeclinedinthefaceof
modernity.However,thatdeclineisherepaintedasparticularlyuncertain,
dark,andvolatile.

Whatalsomakesthepoemparticularlypowerfulisthathisromantic
streakhasalmostnotingeofthereligious.Instead,hespeaksofthe"Sea
ofFaith"withoutlinkingittoanydeityorheaven.This"faith"hasadefinite
humanisttingeitseemstohaveonceguideddecisionsandsmoothed
overtheworld'sproblems,tyingeveryonetogetherinameaningfulway.It
isnoaccidentthatthesightinspiringsuchreflectionisthatofuntouched
nature,almostentirelyabsentfromanyhumaninvolvement.Infact,the
speaker'struereflectionbeginsoncetheonlysignoflifethelightoverin
Franceextinguishes.WhatArnoldisexpressingisaninnatequality,a
naturaldrivetowardsbeauty.

Heexploresthiscontradictionthroughwhatispossiblythepoem'smost
famousstanza,thatwhichcompareshisexperiencetothatofSophocles.
Thecomparisoncouldbetrite,ifthepointweremerelythatsomeonelong
beforehadappreciatedthesametypeofbeautythathedoes.However,it
ispoignantbecauseitrevealsadarkerpotentialinthebeautiful.What
naturalbeautyremindsusofishumanmisery.Becausewecanrecognize
thebeautyinnature,butcanneverquitetranscendourlimitednaturesto

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reachit,wemightbedrawntolamentaswellascelebrateit.Thetwo
responsesarenotmutuallyexclusive.Thiscontradictoryfeelingis
exploredinmanyofArnold'spoems"TheScholarGipsy"and"ADream"
aretwoexamplesandheshowsinotherpoemsaninstincttowardsthe
tragic,thehumaninabilitytotranscendourweakness(anexamplewould
be"Consolation,"whichpresentstimeasatragicforce).Thus,the
allusiontoSocrates,aGreekplaywrightcelebratedforhistragedies,is
particularlyapt.

Suchadualexperiencebetweencelebrationofandlamentforhumanity
isparticularlypossibleforArnold,sincemankindhastradedfaithfor
sciencefollowingthepublicationofOntheOriginofSpeciesandtherise
ofDarwinism.Ironically,thetumultofnatureoutontheoceanis
nothingcomparedtothetumultofthisnewwayoflife.Itisthislatter
tumultthatfrightensthespeaker,thathashimbeghislovertostaytrueto
him.Heworriesthatthechaosofthemodernworldwillbetoogreat,and
thatshewillbeshockedtodiscoverthateveninthepresenceofgreat
beautylikethatoutsidetheirwindow,mankindisgearingupfor
destruction.Behindeventheappearanceoffaithistheneworder,andhe
hopesthattheymightusethismomenttokeepthemtogetherdespite
suchuncertainty.

Thepoemepitomizesacertaintypeofpoeticexperience,inwhichthe
poetfocusesonasinglemomentinordertodiscoverprofounddepths.
Here,themomentisthevisceralserenitythespeakerfeelsinstudyingthe
landscape,andthecontradictoryfearthatthatserenitythenleadshimto
feel.Toaccomplishthatend,thepoemusesalotofimageryandsensory
information.Itbeginswithmostlyvisualdepictions,describingthecalm
sea,thefairmoon,andthelightsinFranceacrosstheChannel."Thecliffs
ofEnglandstand/Glimmeringandvast"notonlydescribesthescene,but
establisheshowsmallthetwohumansdetailedinthepoemareinthe
faceofnature.

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Perhapsmostinterestingly,thefirststanzaswitchesfromvisualto
auditorydescriptions,including"thegratingroar"and"tremulouscadence
slow."Theevocationofseveralsensesfillsouttheexperiencemore,and
createsthesenseofanoverwhelmingandallencompassingmoment.

Thepoemalsoemploysalotofenjambment(thepoetictechniqueof
leavingasentenceunfinishedononeline,tocontinueandfinishitonthe
next).Theeffectistogivethepoemafasterpace:theinformationhitsus
inrapidsuccession,formingaclearpictureinourmindslittlebylittle.It
alsosuggeststhatArnolddoesnotwishtocreateaprettypicturemeant
forreflection.Instead,thebeautifulsightissignificantbecauseofthefear
andanxietyitinspiresinthespeaker.Becausethepoemsowonderfully
straddlesthelinebetweenpoeticreflectionanddesperateuncertainty,it
hasremainedawelllovedpiecethroughoutthecenturies.

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