Greek and Roman Society Essays - Poetic Form, Dover Beach

Dover Beach Chris Jones ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Terri Hennessy October 10, 2011 It was written of Arnold, ?His poetry endures because of its directness, and the literal fidelity of his beautifully circumstantial description of nature, of scenes, and places, imbued with a kind of majestic sadness which takes the place of music? (Kunitz). After reading this description of Arnold?s style it is clear that ?Dover Beach? is a very typical example of his work. I selected ?Dover Beach? as the poem I wished to study for several reasons. First, its setting is a place I can identify with, having taken the ferry between Calais and Dover and having viewed the scenery from the same spot as Arnold does in his poem. The opening lines spoke to me in that respect and the poem jumped out of the anthology at me. In addition, I have always been drawn to and fascinated by the sea; its sounds, regularity, and strength. Finally, the poem has directness and accessibility that drew me in once it had attracted my attention; I found that I could concentrate more on the themes, style, and f orm and less on simply trying to understand whom the speaker was and what he was doing. Arnold first published ?Dover Beach? in 1867, and it has been repeatedly described as an example of introspective, romantic, and modern poetry. Arnold?s own description of his poetry as ?wandering between two worlds? seems to fit perfectly with the style of this poem, as it also moves between two worlds: the relentless nature of the sea (the old tradition and order) and the coming of the modern world (with the resulting threats to faith) spoken of in the last two stanzas. From a biographical perspective, it seems that this melancholy poem was written at a time in his life when Arnold was the happiest. His diary records that in September 1851 Arnold stayed in Dover, having just been married and on his way to the honeymoon. This was about the time ?Dover Beach? is believed to have been written, and the woman Arnold calls to the window in the first stanza must certainly be his bride. Interestingly, the romantic scenery and mood of the beginning of the poem (honeymoon?) are in contrast w ith what comes later, which are deeper thoughts, reflections, and uncertainties about fundamental changes in the world. The speaker is observing present events (the sights and sounds of a scene of nature) and reflecting on them and expanding them into a larger context. This woman is his intended audience, although the world at large is implied as the recipient of his sad message. The themes of ?Dover Beach? are several. Above all, the poem laments the collapse of spirituality, religion, and long-standing traditions in the face of an uncertain and threatening modernity. Change of an unstoppable and uncontrollable form is approaching, and Arnold is longingly looking back at the faith-based world that is disappearing. This central theme reaches its full force in the third and fourth stanzas with the introduction of a proper noun: The Sea of Faith. This faith was once like the sea, touching every shore, and the simile in line 23 enhances that vision further. The poet?s mood sours and a negativity, which started with a historical reference to Sophocles in the second stanza, takes over. The brief plea from the poet to his lover at the start of the fourth stanza to be honest and truthful is a wish to hold on to what little is left in the world: humanity and trust. We continue the deterioration in stanza four to reach the haunting images that close the poem: ?darklin g plain,? ?alarms of struggle and flight,? and ?ignorant armies clash.? Thus, we see that this first and most important theme is expressed through a well-developed transition from line to line and stanza to stanza and how it builds strength in the work; we begin with a calm sea and end with clashing armies. A second theme is in the poem is time; it appears throughout the work. We have references to the passing of time in an inevitable and unchangeable manner, as in lines 10 through 12 when Arnold shows the movement of pebbles