Dover Beach
(Mimi Banerjee)
Matthew Arnold?s Dover BeachMatthew Arnold, the Victorian poet, is a critic more than a poet. He criticizes the whole Victorian era, the Victorian society- the government, the law, the customs , above all the religion and poetry is his weapon of his criticism. Dover Beach is no exception in this view. Dover Beach is not a mere poem, it is a of his life. It is not subjective but objective in its theme. In the poem the poet throws his search not only on the beach, but on the social problems, anxities of the Victorian age. In the opening lines the picture of Dover Beach is very calm and peaceful. In the moonlit night the calm sea, full tide and the glimmering light which reflects on the French coast all appeal to our visual sense.The poet invites his beloved to share the beauty of the sea. But with the grating roar the disturbance of the poet?s mind turns back. The coming and going of the waves is actually disbalance of society due to industrial revolution. The life of the factory workers became very mechanic like the motion of the waves. Therefore the poet hears the eternal note of sadness which means the misery of their life is eternal, endless. In the second stanza there is obviously a reference of Sophocles? famous Antigone which also shows the miseries of human life. The poet?s attention turns to religion in the next stanza. He says that the sea of faith was once full. With the use of the word ?once? he suggests that people had their faith in religion in the past, but now there is no faith, no god, no religion in the present Victorian society. The melancholy, long, withdrawing roar retreating to the breath stands for men?s frustration. In that age science and technology improved enormously; it proved Bible wrong . Men?s faith in religion became ?naked?. Not only in god, people lost their faith in their personal relationship. The poet urges his beloved atleast to be true in love. Their land of dreams is clashed with reality. In reality there is no joy no love, no light? They are like the masked army, who hides their identity, who has duel nature , who fights in darknes. Thus the struggle between the appearance and the reality pervades the whole play.
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