DOVER BEACH BYMATTHEW ARNOLD

Analysis and Connections to F451

Background

Arnold wrote this to his wife in 1851 after a trip they took to Dover Beach, England

At this time many people (including Arnold) were shaken by the new theory of evolution

Figurative Language Used

Alliteration: to-night, tide; full, fair; gleams, gone; coast, cliff

Rhyming words: to-night, light; fair, night-air; stand,land

Opposites: draw back, return; begin, and cease, then begin again; turbid ebb and flow

Themes

Challenges to the validity of long-standing theological and moral precepts have shaken the faith of people in God and religion (Arnold who was deeply religious was upset by this)

Absence of true love Hopelessness/despair In a world without truth, there is nothing

left but lies

Connections to Montage and F451

Montag opens his book of poetry to “Dover Beach,” which is quite appropriate to his circumstances, as it deals with the theme of lost faith, and of the capacity for personal relationships to replace faith. The poem also deals with the emptiness of life’s promises and the unthinking violence of war.

Several examples of religious imagery in Part II of F451, which relate to this poem