The Full Text of “Dover Beach” 1The sea is calm tonight. 4Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand, 5Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. 6Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
What does the first stanza of Dover Beach mean?
The first stanza shows Arnold describing the beautiful scenery of the beach: “The sea is calm tonight./The tide is full, the moon lies fair.” As Arnold continues he turns his attention to the power of the waves on the beach, which first suggest a fearsome might (“Only, from the long line of spray/Where the sea meets
How many lines are there in the poem Dover Beach?
thirty-seven lines
Answer and Explanation: English poet Matthew Arnold’s 1867 lyric poem ”Dover Beach” is composed of thirty-seven lines. These lines are broken into four stanzas.
What is the setting of the first stanza in Dover Beach?
Arnold begins ‘Dover Beach’ by describing the setting in which it is taking place. It is clear from the title, although never explicitly stated in the poem, that the beach in question is Dover, on the coast of England. The sea is said to be calm; there is a beach on the water at full tide.
How is the sea described in the beginning of the poem Dover Beach?
The first line describes the sea as “calm” at high tide, and this description is reiterated in line five: “the tranquil bay.” This early in the poem, the sea seems to represent stability—especially in contrast to the chaotic final image of the poem.
What does the first stanza represent in meeting at night?
The first stanza describes the excitement of a secret journey by a boat on the sea. The second stanza describes the joy of the meeting of the two lovers.
What is the main theme of Dover Beach?
“Dover Beach” is the most celebrated poem by Matthew Arnold, a writer and educator of the Victorian era. The poem expresses a crisis of faith, with the speaker acknowledging the diminished standing of Christianity, which the speaker sees as being unable to withstand the rising tide of scientific discovery.
Is Dover Beach a sad poem?
“Dover Beach” is a melancholic poem. Matthew Arnold uses the means of ‘pathetic fallacy’, when he attributes or rather projects the human feeling of sadness onto an inanimate object like the sea. At the same time he creates a feeling of ‘pathos’.
Is Dover Beach a love poem?
Answer : In most of the lines of the poem “Dover Beach”, Matthew Arnold explored the theme of loss of faith in God and religion, but in the last stanza, Arnold has depicted the comforting power of love. Thus it can be said that “ Dover Beach”, on one level can certainly be called a love poem.
Is Dover Beach a real place?
Dover Beach is located on Barbados’ South Coast in the parish of Christ Church, with the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, Accra Beach and Needham’s Point Lighthouse to the west, and Maxwell Beach, Welches Beach and Oistins to the east. Situated at the southern end of the popular tourist area of St.
What is the main conflict in Dover Beach?
1 Answer. The main conflict in the poem is between faith and despair. The poem marks a distinction between the time when people had faith in religion and over one another and to the present times, where the unforeseeable future leads to the loss of faith in humanity.
What does Dover Beach symbolize?
Arnold uses the sea as a symbol for the inevitably negative fate of humanity. Throughout the poem, the sea and waves gain momentum and become more and more rough and violent. The waves come and go, but they ultimately bring the eternal note of sadness.
What is the central theme of the poem?
The central theme of a poem represents its controlling idea. This idea is crafted and developed throughout the poem and can be identified by assessing the poem’s rhythm, setting, tone, mood, diction and, occasionally, title.
How was the sea shown in the beginning of the poem?
In the first stanza of the poem the poet describes the calmness of the sea.The second stanza describes the mild sea waves. The waves were rising and falling so little that they did not make any sign or sound. The waves were gently flowing over the Inchcape Rock without moving or ringing the bell.
What is the moon symbolic for in Dover Beach?
In the poem, “Dover Beach”, the moon falls under a happy imagery. It symbolizes the calmness that will get disrupted soon. The moon denotes to the calm before the storm.
How is the sea described in the first stanza?
Answer: The Sea” uses an extended metaphor to describe the sea as a dog. In the first stanza, the choppy gray sea is characterized as a hungry dog with “clashing teeth and shaggy jaws.” The waves roll and gnaw like a dog on the stones they churn around.
What does first stanza mean?
A stanza is a group of lines that form the basic metrical unit in a poem. So, in a 12-line poem, the first four lines might be a stanza. You can identify a stanza by the number of lines it has and its rhyme scheme or pattern, such as A-B-A-B.
Which part of the day is described in the first stanza?
In the first stanza, the time described is twilight. In the second stanza, the time described is dawn.
How many lines does the poem contain?
The stanzas can have a different number of lines each, but the total length of a sonnet is 14 lines. The rhyme scheme may also differ, but it’s always the same length. Sonnets are one of the most popular types of poems, so you may notice that many poems have 14 lines with one of the rhyme patterns listed above.
What is the conclusion of Dover Beach?
The conclusion of the poem provides a solution for the speaker’s maladies. He beseeches his “love” to be true to him; only in their devotion to each other will they find comfort and certainty in the “confused alarms of struggle and flight” of life.
What type of poem is Dover Beach?
“Dover Beach” is a lyric poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold. It was first published in 1867 in the collection New Poems; however, surviving notes indicate its composition may have begun as early as 1849. The most likely date is 1851.