Dover Beach by Mathew Arnold (ISE English Literature)

 Dover Beach by Mathew Arnold unveils a conflict between religion and science. The poet depicts a loss of faith in modern world and its ill effects. The poet victimised despair , hopelessness and frustration of the people to be the cause behind the loss of faith. In the world of declining faith, people lead a life of doubts ,confusions and uncertainties. The poet looks through the window of the house on a shingled beach at Dover , England in moonlight .He gave a vivid description of the calm sea . Although the moon is shining fairly, the light of the French  coast is becoming dimmer . The sea provides the setting of the whole poem .and as the poem advances it becomes the symbol of eternal human misery . It is used as a symbol of faith . On hearing the waves the poet recalls once the sea of faith encircled the whole world and sustained all humans , which is now fast receding. The poet has compared the world without faith with a barren sea Coast . In the absence of faith life seems to have lost its purpose and meaning . The world looks beautiful but in actual reality it is deprived of joy, love, hope , certainty and peace. The poet feels that only love can serve as a solace to the discontented people . That is why, he tells his beloved whose presence is felt through a dramatic monologue that they should remain loyal to each other in the age of doubts and uncertainties.

The poet compared humans in the dark world with two opposing armies fighting each other in complete darkness. They are not aware whether they are killing their friends or foes. The people in the Victorian age found themselves in the doldrums .They did not know what to believe. Neither could they shut their eyes to the new scientific discovery nor were they willing to accept  their religious faith in our world . Arnold suggests a way to live in the midst of such a mishap . He believes if nothing can be done on the social level, a small step at individual level is significant and necessary to solve the difficult problem . 

The poem presents the ephemeral human feeling of melancholy through the image of sea. The poet stresses that the hopelessness and frustration in the world is due to the loss of religious faith. The poem is composed during the Victorian age and Arnold attempted to capture The general feeling of doubt and confusion in his writings. With the fast development of Science the new theories challenged the pre established religious ones. This led to majority of the people wavering in their faith being vailed by doubts.

His feelings were exposed in this manner-

"And we are on the darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and fight , where ignorant armies clash by night."

It encapsulates the theme of uncertainties and confusions.

Arnold feels that the sound created by the pebbles as they strike against the shore when the waves advance as a note of despondency, which also reminds him of human misery .

He exclaims that the " sea of faith " was once "  fall and rounded earth's shore "  but at present it is fast receding leaving behind the naked shingles of the world." which infact depicts the harsh realities ,leaving mankind sad and dejected.

He also gave reference to Sophocles, Who had " heard it on the Aegean" and also had thought of "Human misery". He calls out his beloved to " be true to one another" in the world where there is no light of hope and " where ignorant armies clash by night" and are unaware whether they are hurting friends or foes in the dark world.

He depicted that the world has "neither joy , nor love, nor light , nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain"- indicating the loss of humanity and faith in the world .

Arnold feels that he is living amidst the souls killing each other and loss of faith in the world, his only solace was the love and loyalty of his beloved.

The poem is remarkable for its sensuous and detailed imagery .

The efficient description of the Dover beach , the calm sea, full tide, receding lights on the French coast, cliffs of England- provide a vivid imagery. The beautiful sketch creates a quintessential image in the minds of the readers. The poem is noteworthy for the use of fantastic phrases  like " the eternal note of sadness" and alike- creating a deep impact among the readers. The use of various poetic devices like alliteration, imagery , similies,  metaphores etc all add up to the majestic charm of the poem .

In a nutshell , "Dover beach" is a consummate lyric . The note of melancholy , lyrical charm and brilliant imagery dazzles the readers of all times. His vivacious and intricate details leaves a lasting impact in the minds of the readers.