Essay on Technical Qualities, Symbolism, and Imagery of Dover Beach

The poem starts with a couple looking at the serenity of the moonlit water of the English Channel. In fact, the sound of the waves makes the reader think of Greece, but the poet uses the sound of the sea as a metaphor to explain humanity’s loss of faith. For instance, the poet treats the sea initially as a beautiful part of nature that is comforting, but then the poet changes the tone to the sea as being unstable. The poet uses many metaphors to compare the sea to personal weaknesses. Each stanza has different tones, but each stanza repeats the idea that faith must remain strong.

Arnold is the speaker speaking to someone he loves. As the poem progresses, the reader sees why Arnold poses the question stated above, and why life seems to be the way it is. During the first part of the poem Arnold states, "The Sea is calm tonight" and in line 7, "Only, from the long line of spray". In this way, Arnold is setting the mood or scene so the reader can understand the point he is trying to portray. In lines 1-6 he is talking about a very peaceful night on the ever so calm sea, with the moonlight shining so intensely on the land.

While the poet observes nature in Dover Beach, the experience is metaphorically useful, but not an end unto itself, nor does it bring any comfort. Rather, Arnold uses the futility that he sees in the ocean's tides to illustrate the fruitlessness of human endeavor. Although the sea appears calm [line 1], beneath the surface there is this almost cruel drama being played out, as the pebbles are dragged and flung by the waves and dragged back again, producing a "grating roar." [lines 9-12] The image of human beings as pebbles on the sand recurs in the third stanza, when Arnold refers to the "Sea of Faith" which has withdrawn and left the rocks exposed as "naked shingles." Eliot later also repudiates t... ... middle of paper ... ...he colloquial almost instantaneously.

Contemporary American Poetry-5th Edition. Ed. A.Poulin Jr..   Boston:   Houghton Mifflin,   1991. 188. Merrill, Thomas.

In "Dover Beach", Matthew Arnold uses detailed adjectives and sensory imagery to describe the setting and portray the beginning mood, which begins with the illusion of natural beauty and ends with tragic human experience. The poem begins two-part stanzas, the first which is promising and hopeful; the second replaces optimism with a reality which is grim. Arnold uses contrast when he appeals to the sense of sight in the first section and to hearing in the second. Arnold starts with the descriptions of the "calm sea", "fair tide" and the "vast" cliffs which create a calming, innocent appearance. This sets the mood of peace and contentment which the speaker feels when he gazes out upon the sea.

The imagery indicates the loss of faith is not simply unfortunate but also results in a great sense failure and destruction (1101). An analysis of “Sea Fever” allows the reader to understand John Masefield desire for adventure. “Sea Fever” is a poem, written in simple language, with no difficult words to understand (Michael par. 1). “The title of the poem, “Sea – Fever,” and the poet’s vivid imagery communicate the power of the sea (“Analyzing a Poem” par.

His tone, though touched with sadness and perhaps even anger at man, unlike Arnold's poem, reveals an abiding sense of hope. Basically, each poet is presenting a very different view of Faith, and consequently of man's ultimate condition. Matthew Arnold begins his poem by describing a calm, beautiful scene. Dover Beach is lying "fair" in the moonlight. It is high tide and he sees the coast of France and "the cliffs of England... / Gleaming and vast, out in the tranquil bay."

The colours I chose for this picture are very peaceful, with blues and greens and whites, showing the true calmness of the sea. The themes in "Sea Fever, the longing the speaker has for the sea and the comparison of life to a sea voyage, are also seen in the pictures I have displayed on my poster.

Ferris, Paul. Dylan Thomas: A Biography. New York: The Dial Press, 1977, Pg.166-233 Knepper, B.G. "Dylan Thomas". Critical Survey of Poetry.

New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. Fairley, I.R. (1975). E.E. Cummings and ungrammar: A study of syntactic deviance in his poems.