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Life And Life In Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach

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Matthew Arnold publishes “Dover Beach,” in 1867. It is written in a time in history when many changes are taking place in the world that Arnold lives in, and these changes are evident in his writing. The Industrial Revolution is causing people to view the world in new and different ways as ideas and philosophies are changing. Because of the modern thoughts and ideas that are expressed in Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach,” it is considered to be one of the most important pieces of poetry of that time, and continues to be studied today. A study of Matthew Arnold’s life and career reveals his personal views of the world in his poem “Dover Beach.” Matthew Arnold was born on December 24, 1822, in Laleham, Middlesex (England). He was the oldest son …show more content…

The diction is simple and easy for the reader to follow. The sentences are short and straight-forward. Examples of this are: “The sea is calm tonight,” “the tide is full,” and “the moon lies fair” (Arnold). The poets.org website article written about Matthew Arnold gives further insight to the use of diction in “Dover Beach”: In it the authenticity that is in general the characteristic note of Arnold’s poetry achieves a peculiar pathos. The diction is perfect in its lightness and simplicity. The verse, moving in a delicate crescendo of lyricism from the muted beginning to the full-voiced desperate conclusion, is superbly managed. Not the least of the elements of its success is that a poem so modest in tone and in apparent scope should contain within it such magnificent vistas of time and space. The mood in “Dover Beach” can be described as moving from tranquil to sad to desperate (Middlebrook 44). “It moves slowly from a dream of natural appearances to a fearful figurative vision of the world inhabited when one wakens to reality” (Middlebrook 44). The themes of suffering, sadness and melancholy are seen throughout the

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