BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
MATTHEW ARNOLD (1822 - 1888), English poet, essayist and one of the most influential critics of the nineteenth century, was born at Lateham on Christmas Eve, 1822. His father was the famous headmaster of Rugby School.
Arnold was educated at Rugby and Oxford University, and later became a teacher. In 1851 he was appointed as inspector of schools and did an immense amount of good to education in England by his work. In 1857 he was appointed professor of poetry at Oxford and occupied this position for ten years.
His first published work was "The Strayed Reveller", and other poems" (1849) followed by "Empedocles on Etna, and other poems" (1852) and in 1867 he brought out his last volume of poetry in "New Poems".
Arnold's best poetry is entirely *reflective; he was the most thoughtful of the Victorian poets. He is at his best when he is expressing the doubts and fears of his age. In addition, he valued *faith above everything else but could find no faith to satisfy him.
THEME Expressing regret for vanished faith and finding *consolation in love.
reflective: showing deep thought
faith: believing in God op some other system of religious belief
consolation: comfort, help, sympathy
STRUCTURE
1. .The poem consists of four stanzas of unequal length and an irregular rhyme scheme.
2. Each stanza has its own rhythm to match the poet's line of thought.
3. The poet employs apostrophe, metaphor, simile, and onomatopoeia to express his pessimism and melancholy thoughts.
NOTE I: The Straits of Dover
The Straits of Dover are the narrow passage of water separating England and France, and joining the English Channel to the North Sea.
Its greatest breadth is 34 fern, and on a clear day the French coast can be seen from Dover
STANZA I
The poet is standing at a window overlooking the Straits of Dover and gazing out across Dover Beach.
Addressing his beloved, the poet remarks that the sea is calm, although the *tide is full.
The moon is shining brightly on the waters of the Dover Straits; on the distant French coast the flashing light of the *lighthouse can be seen briefly, and the huge white cliffs of Dover *bulk *vastly along the shoreline of the peaceful bay.
tide: the regular rise (flow) and fall (ebb) of the sea, about every twelve hours lies fair upon: shines brightly on
lighthouse: a tower or a high bmld^ng, usually on a cliff or a rock, provided with a strong light which flashes to guide ships or warn them of danger, bulk: appear very big. vast(ly): very big. gleam: send out a flash of light, gammer: give off a weak unsteady light, tranquiI: quiet, peaceful
NOTE 2; "... the CLIFFS OF ENGLAND ..."
They are the famous Cliffs of Dover, one of the landmarks of England. They are steep, tall chalk cliffs and can be seen clearly from the French coast 34 km away.
The poet invites his beloved to come to the window and breathe in the fresh sweetness of the night air. He urges her to listen to the only sound that breaks the silence : out in the bay a continuous *grinding roar can be heard where the long line of breakers show where the sea meets the land which has been turned a silvery white by the moon.
This grating sound is caused by the masses of *pebbles on the beach : they are sucked up by the one wave as it *recedes, only to be flung back on the high . beach by the next *breaker. This process is repeated over and over again.
But while he is listening to the slow, uncertain rhythm of the waves, which *advance and *retreat endlessly, the poet is overcome by a feeling of *universal sadness : liis enthusiastic appreciation of the beauty of the scene has given way to pessimism.
NOTE S: (a) "COME to the window ..." "LISTEN!..."
These are examples of APOSTROPHE: the poet addresses his love, urging her to admire the beauty of the scene.
(b) "The TIDE is FULL ..."
The poet uses the SEA as a METAPHOR for FAITH : gust as the sea encompasses all the continents and spreads all over the globe (See Stanza 3), so has the belief in God spread to the utmost ends of the earth.
(a) "... the CLIFFS OP ENGLAND STAND ..."
The CLIFFS are used as a METAPHOR for GOD, his CHURCH and the CHRISTIAN FAITH.
grinding: grating, the rough rubbing together of hard objects, causing a crushing noise, moon-blanched; turned a silvery white by the moonlight
pebble: a small round stone worn smooth by water recede: go back
breaker: a large wave which falls and. breaks on the beach or rocks
tremelous: uncertain, shaking, often changing, cadence: rhythm advance: come forward, retreat: go back, universal:' eternal, experienced, by all people throughout the centuries
See the Glossary
encompass: surround on all sides. continent: any of the 7 main unbroken masses of land on the earth globe: earth, utmost: farthest
The word 'STAND' portrays, the immovable everlasting qualities, of the cliffs,, thus s,ymholizing man's, nnsjidkedble faith in and dependability on God throughout the centuries-.
In contrast to the immovable solidness of the cliffs is the never-ending flow and ebb of the sea.
(d) "... you hear the GRATING ROAR of PEBBLES.. 7"———————————————
This is an example of ONOMATOPOEIA we can hear the harsh, urrrpleasant, grinding, thundering sound made by the masses of pebbles being flung on to the beach.
At the same time it introduces the first note of harshness into the poem in contrast to the tranquil beauty described in Lines 1-6.
See the Glossary
Many of England's beaches are not covered with sand, but with shifting banks of pebbles or shingle. (See Stanza 3)
(e) ". . . with TREMULOUS CADENCE SLOW ..."
This is an example of INVERSION. The poet changes the order of the words : with a slow tremulous cadence, for the sake •;/ the rhythm of the line and for its striking poetic effect.
See the Glossary
(f) "... and bring the ETERNAL NOTE OF SADNESS Itl ..."
The poet reveals his pessimism : the harsh, unpleasant sound of the grating pebbles reminds him of the sold, selfish materialism of his time against whish he is powerless.
materialism: the way of life which enjoys the pleasures of the world and not the activities of the mind or spirit e.g. art, religion, etc.
STANZA 2
"he same *melancholy sound of the flowing and ebbing tide ,'as heard on the *Aegean sea by * Sophocles many centuries ;go.
me lancholy: causing sadness Aegean Sea: the sea east of Greece. Sophocles: a famous Greek writer of trage~aies in the 5th century B.C.
And it must also have caused the famous tragedian to *ponder on the confusing *recurrence of man's misfortunes, which come and go like the rising and falling of the tide.
This mood of sadness is so universal that even now, as the
poet and his beloved are standing by this far-away northern
sea, they are also experiencing it.
tragedy; a play in which the 'chief character('s) are driven by circumstances or by their own natures to dreadful suffering and death
ponder on: think deeply turbid: confusing. human misery: the sorrows/misfortunes of mankind, recurrence: happening again and again
NOTE 4: (a) "SOPHOCLES, long ago ..."
The poet's mention of SOPHOCLES, a tragedian, serves to stress the poet's personal feeling of intense sadness.
(b) ". .. the TURBID EBB and flow of HUMAN MISERY . .T"——————————————————
In this METAPHOR the never-ending ebb and flow of the sea symbolizes the constant recurrence of human suffering.
It moves like the tides : at times misfortune recedes from man, leaving him at peace. But, inevitably, like the sea returning at high tide, misery fills his life again, flowing over him with its confusing flood.
constant: going on all the time
at peace:_ in a state of quiet. •inevitably: being sure to happen
STANZA 3
At one time the Sea of Faith was at its strongest flow and closed around the contours of the earth like a bright girdle, tightly enclosing humanity in bonds of faith and love.
But now the Sea of Faith has withdrawn from mankind : the poet can only hear the melancholy, long-dra^n roar as it retreats on the breath of the night wind, far down the vast dreary beaches covered with bare *shingles.
shingle: small pebbles found on the seashore
NOTE 5: (a,i "The SEA QP FAITH .,. ".
Note the ANTITHESIS: in Stanza 2 the flow and ebb of the sea are the symbols of man's misery, of the forces which seek to isolate man from his fellow^man.
In this Stanza the SEA of FAITH represents the force which united mankind in the past with bonds of faith and broth^-herly love.
(b) ". . . WAS, ONCE, TOO, AT THE FULL ..."
In the past the sea of faith was running high on the beaches of mankind's existence, i.e. man's faith was strong, he believed in God, loved his fellow-man, was honest and sincere.
(a) "... lay LIKE the folds of a bright GIRDLE FURLED."
(i) Note the repetition of the 'F'
sound (ALLITERATION) in Lines 1-3 by means of which the poet conveys his enthusiasm at the former state of affairs when faith was still the motivating factor in man's life.
(ii) In this SIMILE the GIRDLE OF FAITH is FURLED, i.e. rolled up tightly to enclose humanity in a close circle of brotherly love.
motivating: causing a person to do something.
(d) "... its MELANCHOLY, LONG, WITHDRAWING ROAR ..."
Note how the rhythm of the poem changes from Line 4 onwards : the sounds become deep, heavy and long drawn out to depict the poet's disillusionment.
disillusionment: feeling bitter and unhappy as a result of realizing the unpleasant truth
(e) ". . .DOWN the VAST EDGES DREAR ..."
This is a further example of INVERSION: down the vast-drear(y) edges.
Again it is used to fit into the rhyme , scheme (to rhyme with 'hear' in Line 4) and for poetic effect.
(f) "...and NAKED SHINGLES of the world."
The poet pictures the sea as having retreated far from the shore, exposing a vast stretch of bare shingles.
Together with Line 7, this METAPHOR pictures man in his utter, spiritual desolation and sterility ; he no longer has any faith to sustain him and has become cold, selfish, loveless and materialistic.
desolation: misery, being sad, unhappy,Tonely. sterility: producing no result, being dull, lifeless, sustain: to keep strong materialistic: worldly, enjoying the pleasures of the world and not activities of the mind or spirit, e.g. faith, love, etc.
STANZA 4
Turning to his beloved, he pleads with her that they at least should be true to each other.
He warns her that the world which now lies before them like a *dreamland with all its variety, beauty and novelty is merely a *myth.
Actually it is completely lacking in joy, love, *enlighten-nient, *certitude, peace or *compassion.
Far from living in an ideal world, the poet and his love are actually like a bewildered couple wandering through a battlefield in the dark.
The night seems to be filled with the confusing sounds and alarms of armed forces fighting and fleeing. It is as if two armiesthat do not know what they are fighting about are *engaged in a life-and-death struggle in the darkness.
dreamland: an ideal land, i.e. one which is the nearest to perfection, myth: something unreal enlightenment: 'light', having a true unaerstanding. certitude: being/feeling certain, freedom from doubt, compassion: sympathy, sorrow for the suffering of others
engaged:-in: busy with
NOTE 6: (a) "AH, LOVE, ..."
This is a further example of APOSTROPHE: the poet's feelings of isolation and frustration have become so strong that he feels a desperate need of a personal love to sustain him in the friendless world he lives in.
sustain: strengthen, help
Cb) "... LIKE a dveamland ..."
According to this SIMILE their world which seems to be an -ideal one, filled with wonders, is nothing more than a sham.
sham: something false pretending to tie the real thing
(a) "... NEITHER joy, NOR love, NOR light.."
The repetition of the NEGATIVE is proof of the poet's total despair at his world's utter • lack of anything worth— while.
(d) ". ..AS on a DARKLING plain ...
Where IGNORANT armies clash Bl NIGHT .."
This SIMILE illustrates the poet's despair in a striking manner : he and his beloved are caught up in this endless war between faith and materialism : it is a battle fought in the confused minds of people and they are on the losing side because faith has withdrawn from mankind.
Note the ONOMATOPOEIC effect of images such as 'confused alarms ' 'struggle and fight' and 'clash' which depict the SOUNDS of a battle very convincingly.
NIGHT or DARKNESS becomes a METAPHOR for IGNORANCE : without FAITH man has no knowledge of the right way to follow
QUESTIONS
A. GENERAL
1. What type of poem is this?
2. What is its central theme?
STAN_ZA_J_
3. What is the poet doing?
4. Who is with him?
5. (a) In what state is the sea?
(b) What is the significance of this fact? (See NOTE 3(b}).
6. By what is the scene lit up?
7. What can be seen on the French coast?
8. (a) Where do the cliffs of Dover 'stand1? (b) What do these cliffs symbolize?
9. What does the poet ask his loved one to do?
10. (a) To what sound is she to listen? (b) Where does the sound come from?
11. (a) By what is the 'grating roar' caused?
(b) Why can it be regarded as an example of onomatopoeia?
(c) In what way does it change the tone of the poem?
12. (a) What effect does the slow, uncertain rhythm of the waves have on the poet? (b) Of what does it remind him?
STANZA 2
13. By who else was this melancholy sound heard?
15. Explain the metaphor of the 'turbid ebb and flow of human misery' in your own words.