Literary Analysis Essay on Dover Beach

Introduction

Dover Beach is a poem by English poet Matthew Arnold. It is considered one of his best works. The poem talks about the faith crisis that Christianity faced in the mid-19th century due to the scientific discoveries that were being made at the time. The poet perceived Christianity as unable to withstand the onslaught of attacks from the scientific field. Intellectual inquiries and new research challenged humankind's central role in the universe. The speaker subconsciously senses the changes in public perception about Christianity and uses melancholy, alienation, and doubt to express the changes happening in the world of faith. Dover Beach's topic appears to be completely different from that of London, which is also one of the best works of another English poet, William Blake. London is about the misery that is being witnessed through the streets of London. The poem emphasizes the sounds coming from men, women, and children as they struggle with the pain, oppression, and poverty in the city. It was written in the late 18th century as a response to the industrial revolution and served as a criticism of humankind's failure to build a society-based communion with God that encourages love, joy, and freedom. Despite the difference in topics, the two poems develop depict the sadness present in human life as a similar theme using alliteration, point view, and symbolism.

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Alliteration

The poems make use of certain distinct sounds that show the sadness of life. In Dover Beach, Arnold's use of the sound "gl" in the word "gleam" and "glimmering" in the fourth and fifth lines of the poem gives the reader or listeners a sense of deeming of the light. The feeling of fading light evokes some sadness among the readers and listeners who perceive the deeming light as the start of darkness. Darkness has a negative connotation, and humans prefer light as it represents certainty, while darkness represents uncertainty.

Blake applies the same technique but for displaying the consequences of humankind's urban life. The sounds "m" and "w" in lines 3 and 4 of the poem depicts the feeling of abundant misery present in the streets of London. London, which is an urban environment, is the representation of humankind's miserable life. It is the opposite of the environment displayed in Dover Beach and serves as an example of what happens when humans move away from nature. Both authors manage to bring out the sadness that is prevalent in human society and how everyone is almost helpless.

Point of View

The point of view also works towards showing how humans are insignificant in the order of life. Arnold's point of view is that a shift away from faith is the same as a shift away from nature. As people's trust in religion falters, so does their belief in nature. The author displays a deep sense of sorrow in people who are insignificant in the face of immense scale and power present in environment. The absence of God to assure humankind of eternity afterlife. The timescales of the natural order make human life a sad affair as they are born just to die, while everything else around them continues with or without their input.

Blake uses the urban environment to show the sadness of human life and society. The city itself is dirty and dangerous for humans, who are its inhabitants. Human life itself is nothing to buy as people are deprived and impoverished. It is a society where people have lost sight of what it means to be human, and are just going through life, for the sake of living. Blake uses London as the representation of the urban environment, which is oppressive and denies its inhabitants any kind of freedom, or joy in life. In the end, Arnold and Blake manage to bring out the sadness of human life by comparing it to nature and by showing it in the struggles of the urban environment.

Symbolism

Dover's Beach uses the sea as a symbol for time, hence using its vastness to depict the minuscule short lifespan of humans. In the fifth line of Dover Beach, the author says, "Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay." The vast nature of the sea represents the vastness of time. The author can only see as far as his eyes will allow him to. That describes how humans view, and perception of the future is only limited to the span of their life. Therefore, the fact that humans only have access to a small portion of the timescale that is very vast, and no matter how hard they try, they can't have all of it is very sad.

London also uses river Thames as the symbol of freedom to which humans have been accustomed to but has been cut short by the urban life that has brought sadness and misery to their lives. In the second line of London, the author talks about walking near the flow of river Thames. But then, he introduces an end-stop at the end of the sentence represents a stop to the flow of the river. That describes how humans' lives have been curtailed by the urban environment that has made life sad.

Conclusion

The alliteration, point of view, and symbolism have made a significant contribution to the development of sadness as a common theme in both poems. These elements have had an essential impact on the overall effect and message of the poems and the issues. They have developed a different angle of perceiving human life among its readers.