What is the theme of 'Dover Beach' by Matthew Arnold?
Matthew Arnold wrote a poem called "Dover Beach".The notes cover themes and literary analysis.
"Dover Beach" was written byMathew Arnold.Arnold describes how science has affected the religion.Being written in the Victorian era, this poem is a representation of many of the era's major concerns.The way people thought about the world and the place of human beings was changing due to the advancement of science and industry.Some of the established religious doctrine were being challenged."Dover Beach" is a mirror to the social changes that have taken place.
There is some evidence that the entire poem was written at the time Arnold married Lucy.The two of them stayed at the beach on their honeymoon.At the beginning of the poem, the speaker looks out at the beach and calls his love to look at it.The speaker calls his new wife at the end of the poem.
The mid-nineteenth century was a time of confusion.The religious skepticism was more than a personal matter for those living in England at that time.A person defined his identity in the Victorian era.His place in the universe, his moral and ethical rules, and those principles that claimed to run the society are examples.
Christianity provided a whole view for an average Victorian in the 19th century.People started questioning their beliefs when new alternatives came to replace the Christian doctrine.Many Christians remained firm throughout the challenges by scientists, biblical scholars, and social theorists.Many Christians were confused by it.If type of ez_fad_position is 'undefined'.
The acceptance of Utilitarianism was a threat to society.The reality is based on people's self-interest.A person doesn't choose an action because of its moral and ethical outcome.It said that actions are chosen because they are likely to bring pleasure.Society acts according to the collective self-interest.
The motto of Utilitarianism was "the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people."
Thomas Malthus, a cleric and economic theorist, was a threat to the church doctrine and society.He thought that a shortage of resources would lead to mass poverty.His prophecy was coming true in the mid-nineteenth century.Northern England was built with factories.The living conditions of workers seemed to have worsened despite the growing economy.
Malthusians said that the workers are poor because of their tendency to have many children.They believed that social reforms and welfare would encourage the production of more offspring and decrease mortality among the poor.The church teaches charity towards the poor and that all people are equal in God's eyes.
More genealogy discoveries increased the scientific outlook of Victorians.Neanderthal Man's remains were discovered in 1856.History was found many times older than the Bible.Charles Darwin wrote about evolution rather than creation.He came up with the idea of natural selection and survival.Charles Darwin published his studies on evolution in On the Origin of Species a long time before "Dover Beach" was published.Dover Beach is a witness to the clash between science and religion.
The poem begins in a naturalistic way.The speaker is talking about the seashore.The speaker is on the cliffs.He looks at nature.He looks out at the sea and sees the highness of the tide.The water reflects on the moon.The speaker looks across the English Channel to the French coast.The speaker sees that the lights on the French coast have faded.The cliffs of the English coast are tall and bright.The bay is calm at the moment.
The speaker calls someone else.He wants this person to be the speaker's companion because he describes the scene to someone else.He wants this person to join him at the window to see what the speaker is looking at.
The speaker's mood suddenly changes after this.The speaker senses something isn't right.When the water meets the moonlit land, he describes the result.
The speaker tells the other person to listen to the sound of pebbles.When the waves pick up the pebbles as they move across the shoreline, they make a displeasing sound.The speaker notes the slow motion of the waves and it makes him sad.The misery of humans throughout history is reflected in this eternal sadness.
The speaker considers the ancient Greek tragedy writer, Sophocles.He wonders if Sophocles heard the same sadness in the Aegean Sea that the speaker hears on the English coast.In his mind, Sophocles compares the sound of the sea waves to the suffering of humanity, which moves like the waves.
The speaker observes a mental image that comes from the sound of the sea.The speaker likened religious faith to a sea and called it "The Sea of faith" that was once filled with the tides.The earth was surrounded by a belt at that time.The speaker only hears that the sea brings melancholy.The Sea of Faith becomes smaller as it disappears into the atmosphere.The world's boundaries are left uncovered in this way.
The speaker suggests that the two of them need to deal with each other with honesty and originality.The speaker states that the world before them is beautiful and full of joy.
This is not the truth.There is no happiness, love, or clarity in the world.There is no assurance, calmness, or solace for pain in this world.The speaker compares the current situation of humanity with a standing position on a flat and dark piece of land that is trapped in the chaos of a battle.The groups are fighting in the dark.
To the poets of the Victorian era, man's unease.Man didn't like himself.The man turned his eyes from the center of his mystery to his unhappiness.The era's intellectual advances were evolutionary theory, sociology, archaeology, and textual criticism of the Bible.They challenged the explanations of religion regarding the origin of the world, its function and the way it would precede in the future.
People were forced to accept the science that explains nature in the best possible way because of the incontrovertible evidence.Such thinking was harmful to humankind.Science gave less spiritual comfort than religion.People were questioning their beliefs.
The world was not a special place for man according to the scientific view.Charles Darwin said that man was the product of evolution.Man was considered to be an opportunist and successful animal.People were told that their presence on earth was secured only because they had survived the battle for survival.
Victorian poets needed to alter the entire meaning of nature in poetry due to the presence of such concepts.The natural world remained the same.Science has changed man's perception of nature.The conception of soul and eternal life was changed by it.
The speaker in "Dover Beach" notes the cliffs and night air.The sea is calm with tides and moon reflecting on it.The speaker acknowledges that nature's beauty doesn't hide its darkness.The speaker describes the world as a darkling plain, and the noise on the shore reminds him of the struggles the man had against decay and competition.
In "Dover Beach," the sound of the sea reminds the speaker of "ebb and flow of human misery."The "Sea of Faith" was calm, full of the tide, and the moon was on it.Hope and certainty were provided by it.The sea is drawing and treating the edges of the world.The loss of faith has a negative effect.The boundaries of the world are no longer covered by the sea.The world is not as beautiful as it used to be.It is no longer protected.
The hopes and dreams of man have died in this world.There is no hope of a peaceful past in today's world.The world still shows a glimpse of its beauty in brief moments, but it requires a different type of belief because of the greater doubt at hand.Faith in God and religion has taken away the joy, love, light, certitude, and peace which live in faithful hearts.The world is facing struggles, confusion, and battles of armies in the dark instead of peace and comfort.
There is a transition in the speaker's tone despite its appealing opening.When he hears the sound of the waves, the speaker turns his thoughts to violence and misery.Readers are presented with a picture of total anguish by the end of the poem.A road map of the speaker's process of thought is provided by the connections between the stanzas.The poem is about human suffering.
According to the speaker, the slow and rhythmic sound of the waves, going back and forth on the shore, produces the "eternal note of sadness."The sound of the waves reminds him of Sophocles.The sound of waves was compared to the human waves that come and go.
The speaker finds a thought in the sound at the end of Stanza 2.Understanding of the thought is given by Stanza 3.The world is less beautiful and harsher because of the sea's withdrawal.Stanza 4 shows an image of the world when faith is lost.The world with no faith has no love, joy, hope, certainty, or peace.A place of violence, suffering, and war is a faithless world.
When the speaker says, "Ah, love, let us be true, to one another!" it shows that it is his love who he calls to the window to look at.The person in the first line of the poem is told to watch the tides crash upon the shore.The commitment and faithfulness between the two lovers provide the only break from the havoc and torture of the world.The perseverance of love despite the warlike state of the world is shown in the final image of two people standing together on a darkling plain.
The last image of the two lovers shows them united by their bond and standing against the world.The statement suggests the world may appear beautiful and full of love and happiness, but its beauty is a mere fantasy.The world seems to be a land of dreams.
Arnold is against the rapid modernization during the Victorian period.Society as a whole is ruined by the speed at which everything moves and the intensity with which people are expected to work.It leads people away from what was important to them.The poem studies modernization and faith.Faith focuses on the power of humans to find their true selves through nature.
One of Arnold's poems is "Dover Beach".A dramatic monologue is what it is.The leading disease of the Victorian age was lack of faith and certainty.The speaker's demeanor is expressed by a calm and moonlit sea.He wants his companion to look at the quiet of the night.The peace of the sea and night is disturbed by the sound of pebbles and waves.The speaker of the ancient times of Sophocles was disturbed by the noise which reflected human suffering.
The poem explains the slow loss of faith.He compares people's faith in religion to a sea around the world.When men believed in religion, the world was full of faith.People's minds are like pebbles on the seashore as faith is gradually passing away.The loss of faith causes the mind to be between belief and disbelief.
The lines from "Dover Beach" show Arnold's loss of faith and his increasing hopelessness.This world is strange for Arnold.It is not possible to hold tightly and be hopeful.There is no joy, love, peace, or certitude.The world is full of uncertainty.The speaker compares men struggling in the world with armies fighting at night.The ignorant armies don't know what they are fighting for.
The speaker of the poem starts a monologue.The sea is calm.The speaker stands on the coast to enjoy the calmness of the sea and moonlit night.The speaker goes through sensory awareness.The sea shows balance and harmony.There is a strait between the English Channel and the North Sea.The lights of the French coast are gone.The light that "gleams and is gone" means the faith of people in God and religion.
The people's loss of faith cannot destroy the dignity of God.There is a sense of desolation, meditation, and pain when the speaker observes the moon.Words such as calm, full, fair and tranquil are used to blend the natural scene before the speaker with a sense of spiritual security.The cliffs of England are made of chalk.It looks big and bright to the speaker.The theme of the fragile faith of human beings is intensified by the concept of eroding.
The speaker calls his companion to join him at the window.It shows that the speaker is lonely.The speaker of the poem is concerned about the shift in human ideology from the teachings of Christianity to the impersonal world of Darwin and other scientists.
When the sea ebbs and flows, the terrible roar of the pebbles is evoked.The pleasant atmosphere is described in the first few lines.The appeal is depressing and tragic.There is an eternal note of sadness in human life due to the continuous and endless movements of the waves.
This is an allusion to a famous Greek poet.The speaker of Sophocles heard the gloomy and tedious sound of the waves.The waves of the Aegean Sea were so sad that Sophocles heard them.The speaker is affected by the waves of the sea.Humans are caught up in suffering.They are trapped in a cycle of hardship.The speaker compares the ebb and flow of the sea waves to human misery.The idea of divine dignity is what makes the sea a classic image.
Faith in the religion is rapidly losing its significance due to the increasing materialistic approach of people.Man has been left vulnerable and depressed by skepticism and pessimism.The faith that used to be unbreakable is no longer.The sea of faith is no longer the same.Humans are no longer protected by the sea of faith.Religion and spiritual beliefs have been questioned and challenged by science.The roar of religion is still dominant.
The roar of the sea of faith is replaced by a quieter roar.The night wind is a sign of doubt and disbelief.The arrival of materialistic science has taken faith away.The stones that are naked are the ones that have no water.There is no divine delight to protect us when faith is lost.
The speaker's mind is filled with sadness and despair.Love is the ultimate support for the speaker.Love is the only truth in the world of despair and torture according to the speaker.Human beings are engulfed by the darkling plain and there is no joy, no love, or hope.The same suffering is being experienced by lovers in the poem.They are united by the sadness of the world.
Humans are surrounded by darkness.People are involved in a battle.The purpose and meaning of their life has been lost.They are fighting in the dark which results in stress and hopelessness.
The beach is called "Dover Beach".It is very irregular.This poem doesn't fit with any specific poetic form.It is an early example of free verse.There were different experiments done with poetry in the twenty century.There are four different poems in the book.The first, second, third, and fourth are all made of nine lines.
The poem's meter is very unpredictable.The pattern is soon disturbed.The length of lines and stressed and un stressed syllables are unpredictable.The twenty-first line has an iambic dimeter.The speaker's mental state is shown by the inconsistent meter.
The scheme of "Dover Beach" is irregular.The first poem has a rhyming scheme.The speaker has a disorder that is reflected in the rhyming scheme.
The speaker is thought to be Mathew Arnold.The poem is considered an expression of Arnold's thoughts because it is a dramatic monologue.The speaker lamented the loss of faith in religion and God.The advancement in science is causing a chaotic situation in the world.
The speaker invites a companion to join him.The speaker is worried about the state of humanity.The speaker's monologue seems to be inviting everyone.
The location of the poem is obvious.The poem is about a body of water.It joins the North Sea at the East end of the English Channel.The speaker is looking out his window.The sea in front of him is calm.There is a light on the water.The speaker can see the lights on the French coast, as well as the Tides coming and going from the shore.
The poem is dominated by the tone of hopelessness.The poem starts with a beautiful image of a calm sea, but it also evokes the eternal suffering of human beings.At the beginning and end, the tone is calm and peaceful.
The perspective of a person who is addressing his beloved is what the poem is written from.The speaker might be the poet.The speaker is sad that the world is losing something important.
The narrative voice in the opening lines expresses the speaker's opinion of the scene.He wants to share the joy of the night with his loved one.He starts to think about human suffering and the chaotic state of the world as he looks at the scene.
The speaker says the sea in the first line is calm and full of tides.There is a symbolic significance to the sea here.The tides symbolize eternity.The constant rhythm of the waves symbolizes the never-ending cycle of human misery.
The sea is a sign of faith.The speaker says that the sea of faith was full in the past but is no longer.Waves are leaving the world without protection.The sea symbolizes birth and death.
According to the speaker of the poem, the cliffs of England's shore are large and tall.The land is large and great.It shows strength and stability.
The final image shows a different part of the land.armies are fighting on a plainThe authority of man is represented by the land's tendency towards battles and violence.It shows that there is no love, faith, hope, or peace.
The speaker observes the meeting of land and sea.An image of conflict is brought to the poem by the shoes.When the waves beat against the land, the sound is disturbing.The speaker of the human misery, loss of faith, and eternal sadness is reminded of this harsh sound.
The world has been darkened by the loss of faith.The light of the moon is dim and not as bright as the sun.Light is already gone from the world because the speaker is seeing it at night.
The speaker believes that the darkness of the night symbolizes the loss of faith.The lights on the French coast are bright at first, but then they go off.The speaker of the poem is upset with the decline of light.The people who can't see things are represented by the darkling pain.
It is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two different things.Faith is compared with the sea.The unbreakable faith of people in God and religion is compared to the high tides of the sea.The weakest spiritual and religious faith are compared with the sea waves.
It is a figure of speech in which a similarity between two things is clearly described by using the word "as" or "like."Human civilization is protected from the evils of the world by faith in God and religion.
It is the repetition of sounds in a sentence.For example, the sound is repeated in "Ah, love, let us be true," and "To lie before us like a land of dreams."
It is a reference to other cultures.The speaker mentioned Sophocles in the poem.The speaker and the poem have a sense of melancholy.
The repetition of the same words is called repetition.The word "so" and "nor" are both repeated in the same way.