How Did Arnold Deliver the Subject/theme of Dover Beach

Peaceful Dover beach, which was calm the night when Arnold was there, showed us the difficulty of accomplishing something. By using ideational structure full of metaphors and making each stanza to have its own characteristic, Arnold effectively transferred the theme of the poem. The poetry starts with the description of Dover beach at a moment, which would not last forever, directed us to the sadness or disappointment that he would reveal later in poetry.

The first stanza is very much about descriptions of the place, which are full of contrasts. Arnold, with so much imagery, introduces us to a peaceful, tranquil image of the sea. However, this beautiful image soon creates a tension in the poem through its instantaneousness, the beauty will not last forever, which we can interpret from the words like ÐŽotonightÐŽ±, ÐŽogleams and is goneÐŽ±. Then the contrasts from opposite concepts come into the play, which adds to the suspense of the poem. The light that is gone ÐŽoon the French coastÐŽ± and the light on ÐŽothe cliffs of England coastÐŽ± that is ÐŽoglimmering and vastÐŽ± starts this kind of contrasts. Then the contrast between ÐŽoinÐŽ± and ÐŽooutÐŽ± in line 6 continues it, which is continued by the contrast in ÐŽolowÐŽ± and ÐŽohighÐŽ± of ÐŽothe seaÐŽ± and ÐŽothe moon-blanchЎЇs landÐŽ±

Then there is a sudden halt. Arnold starts a line with ÐŽoListenÐŽ± with an exclamation mark, as if he is suddenly trying to arrest all our attention to the poem. And from here, the poem changes from only something that we see to something that we have to both see and listen. Even here, however, Arnold continues with his contrasts of the opposites. ÐŽoThe grating roarÐŽ± that ÐŽobegin and ceaseÐŽ± and ÐŽothe draw backÐŽ± and ÐŽothe returnÐŽ± of the waves, really strike us to the point where Arnold tells us about ÐŽothe eternal note of sadnessÐŽ±. ÐŽoThe eternal note of the sadness with tremulous cadence slowÐŽ± suddenly rounds up everything that is in the first strophe, itЎЇs like a sudden answer to the tensions created, and is the question that leads us to next 3 strophes.

In the second philosophical stanza, Arnold, by using intertextuality to a Greek tragic poet Sophocles, reassures us about the sadness he is going to talk about, about ÐŽohuman miseryÐŽ±.

The third paragraph, a paragraph of simile and metaphor, although still being philosophical, really lets us know what he is talking about. ÐŽoThe sea of faithÐŽ± which we can see as the sea that was described in the first paragraph, a beautiful sea, and it ÐŽowas once, too, at the full, and round earthЎЇs shore. Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furlЎЇdÐŽ±. However, this ÐŽobright girdleÐŽ± suddenly changes to ÐŽoits melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, retreating, to the breath of the night wind, down the edges drear and naked shingles of the worldÐŽ±, as foreshadowed in the first stanza, in which implies the fact that nothing can be eternal. This paragraph, as well, is a paragraph of opposites. It