Dover Beach Flashcards
some key themes of dover beach
man and natural world sadness faith/doubt suffereing life and existence
How has the poem often been read
as a seismological record of the shock waves in religion brought about by new scientific developments in the of the century
What were Arnold’s religious views
He remained a believer in God and religion although he was open to and advocated a reform of religion
what is the effect of the assonance in the first stanza
mirrors the calmness of the sea and the rhythmic waves of the ocean reflects endless human misery and restlessness
summary of the poem
opens with quiet calm scene of couple looking out onto english channel
sound of the waves trigers many thoughts in the speaker from ancient greece to human history
concludes with heartbreaking note of couple clinging to their love in a world of violence and fear and pain
How does arnold experiment with the conventions of traditional poetry
through his use of form meter and rhyme
could reflect the experimental nature in faith society facing
one of the major images and metaphors in the poem
the sea
What sort of tone does the poem have
it has the mournful tone of an elegy and the personal intensity of a dramatic monologue
when was it written
1851 shortly after his marriage when he and his wife honeymooned in dover-
pre dates Darwin
According to Ruth Pitman what can the poem be seen as
a series of incomplete sonnets
What is the effect of the metaphor sea of faith
encompasses Arnold’s view that faith is fading from society like the earth is from the shore
one of most powerful and dominant images in the poem
what does the poem employ a lot of and what is the effect
enjambment
effectivley gives the poem a faster pace which means that the information hits in rapid sucession -does not want to paint a pretty picture for reflection
what was an intolerable concept to Arnold
the dissaperance or death of God
in the first 3 stanzas what is the imagey like and what is the effect
grounded in nature and the real visible,tangible world
‘sea/cliffs/pebbles/earth’ suggesting that Arnold understands the power of simple language
what is the structure of the first 2 stanzas
a sonnet
more prominent in first stanza
