Written in the Victorian era, Matthew Arnold's “Dover Beach” laments the loss of religious faith that accompanied

advances in various fields of the period: evolutionary biology, geology, archeology, and textual analysis of the Bible, to
name a few. . . The poem senses the change of a historical era and finds this change reflected in the transitional figure of
the beach: the blurred boundary between land and sea. The poem therefore asks the reader to consider what is lost when
humanity turns away from the (questionable) certainties of the Christian faith.

For the speaker, the loss of faith is equivalent to the loss of certainty. Dover Beach itself seems to embody this loss, both
in its images and its sounds. Initially, the poem offers no evidence that its main theme is the loss of faith. Instead, the
atmosphere in which the speaker finds himself is first described. The descriptions of the sea and the sound of pebbles on
the beach are initially lyrically beautiful, but they hide "the eternal note of sadness" that emerges at the end of the first
stanza. This sudden intrusion of sadness indicates the speaker's feelings. of loss, which then finds its maximum
expression in the poem. Through the symbol of the sea, the poem suggests two key ideas: First, that important changes
in the social fabric occur in subtle ways: the slow, repetitive movements of the beach symbolize the gradual but inevitable
loss of faith that the speaker feels in this Historic moment.

Second, linking the loss of religious beliefs to the movement of waves implies that these types of historical changes occur
in cycles; that is, in waves. In fact, the speaker imagines that the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles heard at sea the
same sadness that he hears now. That is, the speaker sees an analogy between the irrelevance of the classical Greek
gods in the speaker's time and the impending irrelevance of the Christian God in the near future. This does not mean that
religious beliefs will return, but rather that something will take their place (in this case, the field of science).

The speaker's position on this loss of religious faith becomes clear in the third stanza. Faith once made the world “full” and
“bright,” that is, it gave it comfort and joy in its certainty. So his loss represents “melancholy.” Furthermore, the “Sea of
Faith” once touched shores around the world but is now “retreating.” Essentially, the poem states that this loss of faith was
global, which in turn suggests the enormous scale of scientific advances at the time. In the last verse of the poem, the
speaker urges that scientific progress represents a loss rather than a gain, saying that the new era will herald "confusing
alarms of fight and flight" and "ignorant armies that will clash in the night." “In other words, the speaker believes that
scientific progress will only bring scientific, not spiritual, certainty, and will lead to more doubts and questions (which is
actually an important part of the scientific method of research). In general, the poem then expresses a kind of resignation.
The speaker fully recognizes the change that is afoot (it is as inevitable as the waves rising and falling) and invites the
reader to consider whether this loss of faith is progress or a wrong turn." Beach is a deeply pessimistic poem that
challenges the predominant values of his time and embodies the sense of pain that some felt at the prospect of losing
religion. This question remains valid in the 21st century and calls Readers should examine whether their own lives are
spiritually satisfying.Related to the idea of loss of trust is a change in the way humans relate to the natural environment.
Written shortly after the era of Romantic poets, who praised nature as an antidote to overly rational thinking, “Dover
Beach” questions humanity's relationship with nature. Instead of finding happiness or sublimity in the natural environment,
the speaker finds a deep feeling of sadness (even recognizing the beauty of the beach). The cold indifference and
immense power of nature make the speaker feel small and insignificant. Therefore, this poem is an attempt to capture the
complexity of human experience only as part of nature, not as its center.

At the center of the poem is the implicit recognition that humanity is only one part of a larger system: nature. The natural
landscape encourages the speaker to think on a time scale that makes his life seem less important. The speaker reflects
on a scene that is, on the one hand, beautiful, but, on the other, is a powerful reminder of nature's indifference toward
humanity. The beach and the sea are by far the most prominent figures in the poem. The result of erosion and water
movement over millions of years, they represent a time scale far beyond a human lifetime, and perhaps beyond the mind's
ability to comprehend.

This sense of deep time distances the speaker from the natural landscape he observes. The scene makes the speaker
feel small and creates the impression that nature is almost hostile to the trials that humans experience, as evidenced by
the loud sound of the beach “roaring” with a “note of eternal pain” while The pebbles move with the current. . wave. The
mention here of eternity specifically links the idea of time to the speaker's isolation: without a God to provide the certainty
of an eternal life after death, the time scale imposed by nature seems to be a mockery of the limited place of humanity in
the world.

The speaker's thoughts about the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles further emphasize the tragedy the speaker
believes is occurring. The speaker imagines Sophocles hearing the same loneliness and sadness at sea that he
experiences in the poem. For the speaker, human life is inherently sad, and Sophocles, as a writer of tragedies, must
have heard of the same sadness at sea. On the one hand, the poem maintains that nature always has an isolating effect.
However, on the other hand, it seems that the speaker is also very aware of the current moment, of the moment in which
he wrote the poem; The use of the present tense shows that the speaker feels that the current moment is a very isolating
moment.

The natural setting of the poem causes the speaker to question everything related to human existence, a situation that
was previously guaranteed by religious beliefs. There is a paradoxical quality to the beach: it is always changing shape,
but remains as it is for millions of years, seemingly always in transition and always the same. This paradox reflects the
way people try to make sense of their lives while the world itself offers no certainty. As such, the poem was a precursor to
20th-century existentialism and is often considered ahead of its time. In short, “Dover Beach” reveals the melancholy that
underlies an impressive natural setting. Although the speaker recognizes the beauty of the scene, this beauty does not
hide the fact that the scene makes the speaker feel small and insignificant.

When religious decline causes a spiritual crisis of faith, the speaker turns to love as a response to the loss of God.
Perhaps, the poem suggests, love between humans can compensate for the loss of the relationship between God and
humanity. However, the poem only argues that love has the possibility of creating the certainty that religion once created;
does not maintain that this is inevitable.

It is generally accepted that Arnold wrote "Dover Beach" while on his honeymoon. Whether this is true or not, the speaker
is certainly not alone in the poem. The speaker's interactions with his off-page lover suggest a different possible
restoration of faith: in love, not in God. The first five lines of the poem reveal nothing about whether the speaker has an
addressee (beyond the reader). But lines 6 and 8 give clear instructions to the other speakers to come and share their
experiences of seeing Dover Beach. Because the beach scene so inspires the speaker's melancholy, his attempt to share
experiences becomes an argument for intimacy and honesty between people. Togetherness, the poem continues, can
help in any situation.

However, stanzas 2 and 3 lack a direct address to another person and therefore seem to show the speaker retreating into
his own soul. The melancholy of the sea echoes the loss of religion and almost overwhelms the speaker's soul. However,
from this depth emerges the final stanza that is spoken directly to the speaker's lover. If the two lovers could be faithful to
each other, the speaker suggests, they would provide comfort and certainty in a world that offers neither. The poem ends
on a literal cliffhanger, with the two lovers together (only the second time the poem uses the word "we") waiting for what
will happen. So, love may be the only answer to the problems expressed by the speaker: loneliness and loss of
confidence.

But the poem does not end on an optimistic note, casting doubt on the idea that love will save the day. Instead, the
speaker anticipates confusion, strife, and violence. While love may not be able to overcome them, the speaker presents it
as the only potential solution. Therefore, love is clearly valued in the poem and, in turn, the reader is asked to share that
value. But love only appears for a few brief moments, so its meaning is far from certain. The poem cannot say with
certainty that love will be able to give meaning to life, and may even suggest that it ultimately cannot, but it presents itself
as the best option and is worth a try.