Dover Deach by Mathew Arnold - Essay Example

?DOVER BEACH Introduction: Dover Beach is a fantastic dramatic monologue composed by Mathew Arnold in 1851.It was a period of industrial revolution. The approach of the people towards life had changed due to industrialization which brought immense mechanism in human life. This is known as Victorian period, a period of material prosperity and spiritual degradation. Arnold is regarded as one of the most popular poets in Victorian era. Arnold wrote the poem “Dover Beach” during his short visit with his wife to Dover region of southeast of England. In this monologue the lover or the speaker talks to his ladylove who is a silent interlocutor. “Dover Beach” is a lament on the shaking of long-standing Christian theology and morality due to the materialistic approach of Victorian people. The speaker is a sensitive spiritualist, who tries to explore the meaninglessness and self-indulgence prevalent at that time. Arnold belonged to the era where faith in religion was at stake. Earlier Christian values were like a pillar on which the entire social structure was fixed. But mid 1800s was the period in which this faith almost crumbled under the pressure of scientific postulate. People had started finding scientific reasons behind every happening and thus challenging the existing religious morals. Arnold was a strong believer of Christian values. He has an intense grief in his mind due to the deterioration of religion in such a way. Hence he laments on these dying Christian values in his poem. Key words: Victorian age, materialism, deterioration, religion, lament, Christian values. The poem starts with a blissful and tranquil note in which the poet describes the peace and calmness of the atmosphere. The sea is calm to-night. The tide is full, the moon lies fair The two lines are the expression of the peace which comes out of deep religious faith. When the faith existed in the society, human life was so calm and serene. The tranquil thoughts suddenly transform and thus the peaceful and happy disposition gets changed. The optimistic narrator suddenly becomes pessimistic when he states, on the French coast the light Gleams and is gone; Here the light is basically associated with the light of faith. The light is gleaming and it is going on. Gleaming light thus is the symbol of shaking religious faith. Once the faith in God was very strong but now like the flickering light it is also shaking. It is also connotative expression of the poet’s dilemma. Sometimes he feels deep faith in God and sometimes he is suspicious about His existence. The first stanza is the symbol of the state of mind of narrator, whose mind is occupied by confusion. It is a calamity of mind expressed in the stanza. Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land, Listen! you hear the grating roar Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling, At their return, up the high strand, Here the word ‘grating’ is used to show the conflict between the sea and the land. The sea and the land are symbolic connotation of long held religious beliefs and the opinions developed against them in the contemporary society. The poet here uses exaggeration when he says “grating roar of pebbles.” The first stanza is the description of the present situation while the second stanza starts with the mythological reference. The poet has given the Greek mythological allusion of Sophocles who once upon a time was feeling the same grief for mankind when he was watching the sea. The conflict between two generations has been a common phenomenon since ancient time. The connection of sea with misery has been there since long time. The third stanza also continues with the same melancholy note. It was a deep religious faith that was ruling on the earth. In this stanza the poet abstracts the image of the sea by using a metaphor “Sea of faith.” This faith was giving comfort to the world and it would also protect the human beings from despair.”Bright girdle furled” is another metaphor that describes that now the mind once full of faith has been in a state of confusion and occupied by so many doubts. It is a conflict between religion and science, between spiritualism and crass materialism which has resulted into loneliness. The words “but now” in line 24, we suddenly notice a pause. The pause shows the contradictory and pessimistic thoughts of the poet’s mind. In the third stanza, the first three lines give a sanguine note where as the remaining lines are expressing the despair. To express the grief in the last line Arnold uses the words such as “melancholy,” “drear,” and “naked.” Without religious faith life according to Arnold is naked. The life will be barbaric without faith in God. If the civilization leads to a corrupted society, there is no use of such kind of civilization. In the forth stanza the poet compares the world with a “land of dream.” It seems very beautiful and new to him. Thus the positive note peeps out again in the poem. But the word “which seems” means the poet not sure about this beauty and freshness of the world. The poet shows the cruelty exists in the world through the line “Nor love, nor light, nor peace.”The poet, though on his honeymoon with his wife, is not sure about the love he has got. The love also is uncertain. He is doubtful about the genuineness of love. It is a depiction of hope v/s reality. There are many caesuras used in the poem to show the changing mood of emotions of the poet’s mind. The poet is yearning for the old peaceful world which is not possible in reality. The poem is like hide and seek of the various emotions of the poet. The poet in the whole poem is nostalgic about the Utopian society of his dream. It is hard for him to accept the harsh reality of deterioration and degeneration of the society. The name “Dover Beach” itself is symbolic. While describing about the setting Francis O’Gorman states, “Dover is a peculiarly appropriate setting for a text that concludes with the vision of the modern world as one of the armies in conflict.” (O’Gorman 2004)He further says, “Attack and defence dominate Dover’s violent history, and England’s traditional enemy, France, lies closest to the port than to anywhere else on the English coast.” (O’Gorman 2004)Thus the setting of the poem is on the land where peace has been threatened by political tensions. Conclusion “Dover Beach” is a very good reflection of the view of Victorian towards religion and Christianity. It is a very apt description of the materialistic contemporary society. Through the poem we observe Arnold’s strong sense of his duty towards society. The dramatic monologue is serious and didactic in its tone. Reference: Francis O’Gorman (2004), pg.312 Victorian Poetry: an annotated anthology” Published by Wiley Blackwell Read More