The Dover Beach poem pulls you into a personal moment of crisis where the narrator, Matthew Arnold, is looking for hope in the vast landscape of the ocean. The evocative landscape of the sea as a place that is constantly changing; wild, vast and relatively undiscovered, encourages the personal reflection that is evident in the poem. Beginning with a vivid description of the 5 senses creating a scene that can be tangible in the readers mind. You can almost hear, see and smell the surrounding coastline further shaped by the rippling imagery produced by ‘glimmering’ and ‘gleam’.
The description is almost magical with an overwhelming feeling exploiting the sounds and sights. The immense clarity and vastness displayed by Arnold in the description of the setting suggest the idea of all that he is sure of. By relying on his senses, the sounds and sights, he can know it’s definitely there; of the power and presence of the ocean relating possibly to the idea of faith and hope. The sea and its unmissible presence could represent how he once felt about religion and the controlling strong influence in his life of which he had no doubt would always be there. The use of strong slightly violent imagery such as ‘blanched’,’ roar’ and ‘fling’ create the dramatic rolling of the waves continuing with the concept of stimulating the senses, in contrast to the previous stanza that paints a peaceful solid setting eternal and ‘calm’.
Alternatively the introduction of the poem being a conversation allows the poem to reveal a vulnerable and more confused side to the narrator. The fact that he is willing to declare his fear and confusion in the presence of another not only indicates the un sure feeling he may have but also the love or trust he must have in the other person to let them hear his doubts. The personal topic of religion and the common idea of a Victorian mans silence and solidarity strengthen this suggestion, as declaring wavering belief in God is a very unusual and risky thing to do in such a secular society. The exclamation of the word ‘listen!’ is cutting point in the poem setting the second stanza off with an entirely different speed and tone reflecting the ever changing landscape of the sea; which in turn metaphorically can represent the ever changing thoughts and decision of Matthew Arnold about faith and the struggle and transition he is facing.
From this point onwards the poem looses the use of words like ‘full’ and ‘draw’, which phonetically create the rhythm of the waves in the sea. Constant and calm, are now replaced with much shorter sentences and language like ‘turbid’ and ‘naked’ both of which suggest a lack of clarity and defence once again indicating vulnerability. This change repetitively indicates transition reflecting the unpredictable nature of the sea and the transitional period of which Matthew Arnold is struggling with. In particular the use of the term ‘girdle’ is significant to perhaps indicate the constriction or control that religion once had on Victorian life. The girdle holds together society containing all the thoughts that are unwanted allowing for the public to continue unquestioning, until that girdle is removed allowing for the first time all the unwanted thoughts and doubts to be considered freely removing the security he once felt. Similarly this self consciousness is reflected in the word ‘naked’ used in the penultimate stanza. When someone is naked they are bared to all unifying the Victorian people with a common theme of religious doubt, a problem which many struggled with.
Finally the last stanza is much more like a song or a prayer truly capturing the romantic side of the poem in which its author clings to his wife or loved one in an attempt to maintain some kind of hope. The irony at the sermon like structure to the sentences suggests that he still believes unwaveringly in something or someone but who he is not sure. More controversially the narrator’s wife is said to be much like his father whom he continually tried to gain the respect of. By being ‘true’ to each other while ‘ignorant armies clash’ could perhaps be unspoken words to his father in that he wishes for them to be close and to have a relationship regardless of the religious turmoil that is going on the outside; of which Arnolds father was very much involved in. The final stanza returns the passion and clarity that is present in the start of the poem. The use of exclamations and much longer sentences with enjambment bring back that feeling of large waves flowing and linking with sentences continuing on to the next line like a constant stream of water. This finishes the poem with an idea or imagery of a person out of his depth, swept away with the flow of thoughts he cannot control, wild and unpredictable like the sea, the only thing for him to cling onto or grasp at is his wife or his relationships concluding with a sense of hope in an otherwise unsure poem.
