Dover Beach

Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" explores his melancholy stemming from a perceived loss of beauty, goodness, and faith in the world. The poem is imbued with pessimistic imagery, such as the "grating...

In "Dover Beach," Sophocles is perceived as someone who also heard the eternal note of sadness that the speaker hears in the waves. This connection suggests that human misery is a timeless and...

In "Dover Beach," Matthew Arnold uses the metaphor of a shingled beach to depict the modern world and the Victorian situation as one of instability and uncertainty. The pebbles on the shore,...

Arnold is depressed by the beauty of the moonlit scene outside his window, because he sees it as a reflection of the sadness in the world.

The last stanza of "Dover Beach" conveys a negative connotation by depicting the world as superficially beautiful but ultimately devoid of joy, love, or certainty. Arnold describes life as a...