Dover Beach

In the poem ‘ Dover Beach ’ Mathew Arnold writes about the effects
science has had on religion. Not long before the publication of the
poem, Charles Darwin had published his work on the “ Origin Of Species ”
in which he had documented his studies on evolution. Arnold’s poem is
read as a record of the clash between science and religion. The poem is a
kind of record of the shockwaves in traditional religion brought about
by new science in the mid 19th Century. The geology of Charles Lyell and
others was forcing Europeans and Americans to rethink how life began
on the planet. Lyell’s discoveries of fossils dating back more than 1
million years were making it increasingly difficult to accept the
traditional motion in the book of Genesis that the world is a work of a

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creator mere 6000 or 7000 years ago.

Theme :-

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Dover Beach is one poem full of imagery, narrating various themes in
background. The port’ s lament on the transition of the age from
religious faith to the inspired by science and technology.
Arnold speaks about the resulting misery in the life of humans, leaving
no scope of hope in the poet’s heart.
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● Man and the Natural World :
This poem is practically overflowing with deep philosophical thoughts
yet rooted in the natural world that the poet sees all around him.

The sight of the moonlit night in the ocean makes the poet ponder upon
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the world’s history and its future - where at one end calm sea , the fair
moon, the sweet night air speak about the natural beauty and the
associated positively and Joy in Human’s life while on the other hand
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the retreating water and the darkling plain tends to intimidate our
thoughts with uncertainty, mystery and an approaching danger in the
near future.

● Sadness and suffering :

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From the initial moments of love, beauty , pleasure the poem shifts
towards the theme of sadness. When Arnold mentions the lack of faith in
modern societies and eternal human miseries and sadness, the fearful
uncertainty , underlying the beauty of the modern world - the world is
just an endless, and confusing wilderness of pain and struggle.

● Loss Of Spirituality :
Dover Beach focuses on the loss of spirituality. Looking back longingly
to a time when people were more spiritual and had more faith in
spiritual guidance which have mostly gone.

With the huge influence of science and technology and absence of faith,
the world is left naked , vulnerable and miserable.