Dover Beach
Dover Beach [1867]
Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
Questions for Discussion
1. To whom is the speaker talking?
A) his love
B) himself
C) his brother
D) his father
2. What is the speaker of the poem doing?
A) looking out a window
B) walking along the shore
C) sailing on the sea
D) lying in bed
3. According to the speaker, what does that sound bring with it?
A) happiness
B) uncertainty
C) sadness
D) indifference
4. Who, long ago, does the speaker say heard the same sound?
A) Sisyphus
B) Socrates
C) Sophocles
D) Silius
5. What does the speaker hear at the beginning of the poem?
A) the horn of a ship at sea
B) waves gently lapping against the ship
C) pebbles hitting the side of the ship
D) pebbles being tossed about by the waves
6. What does the speaker see at the beginning of the poem?
A) his love walking along the beach
B) a light on the French coast
C) a ship calmly sitting in the bay
D) hundreds of twinkling stars
7. Where was that same sound heard in ancient times?
A) on the Persian Sea
B) on the Caspian Sea
C) on the Ionian Sea
D) on the Aegean Sea
8. What sea is no longer fully present but withdrawing, according to the speaker?
A) the Sea of Charity
B) the Sea of Hope
C) the Sea of Love
D) the Sea of Faith
9. The speaker says that the world appears to be:
A) a tranquil sea
B) a stormy sea
C) a place of great chaos
D) a land of dreams
10. What does the speaker believe the world has to offer?
A) peace
B) light
C) pain
D) happiness
11. The poem is set
A) on a darkling plain.
B) on the English coast on a stormy night.
C) on the English coast on a calm, moonlit night.
D) on the French coast on a calm, moonlit night.
12. The roar of pebbles flung by the waves makes the speaker think of
A) the unconquerable spirit of the generations of humanity.
B) the steady march of human progress.
C) the eternal note of sadness.
D) the beauty and strength of nature.
13. "Dover Beach" is written in
A) iambic pentameter.
B) free verse with occasional rhymes.
C) unrhymed free verse.
D) fully rhymed free verse.
14. The reference to Sophocles is intended to suggest
A) the ability of great art to heal the spirit.
B) the uselessness of culture in dealing with the real world.
C) the universality of the tragic in human experience.
D) the irrelevance of the long-ago past to present-day issues.
15. The image in the poem's last three lines is an example of
A) allusion.
B) simile.
C) metaphor.
D) apostrophe.
16. Which statement best expresses the idea found in the last stanza?
A) The world honors those who share love and light.
B) The world is a beautiful and happy place.
D) The world should guarantee peace to everyone.
E) The world that promises so much has little to offer.
17. The "darkling plain" most likely refers to a
A) meadow
B) battlefield
C) night sky
D) sports arena
18. In the last stanza, the narrator describes the armies as "ignorant" because
A) the armies are composed of unskilled men
B) the armies do not have an effective battle plan
C) people have not learned to live together in peace
D) people are uninformed about the effects of war
19. The tone of the poem can best be described as
A) somber
B) hopeful
C) bewildered
D) lively
20. The poem's mood can best be described as
A) rancorous.
B) mournful.
C) mysterious.
D) elegiac.
E) caustic.
21. In lines 1-14, all of the following stylistic techniques poet's rendering of the sea EXCEPT .
A) assonance.
B) rhythm.
C) diction.
D) imagery.
E) end rhyme.
22. In the poem, the sea is depicted primarily through its
A) colors.
B) movement.
C) sounds.
D) smells.
E) tides.
23. The allusion to Sophocles (lines 15-20) serves
I. To universalize the speaker's experience.
II. To indicate the timelessness of human suffering.
III. To compare the ancient world with contemporary England
A) I only
B) II only
C) I and II only
D) II and III only
E) I, II, and III
24. In the third stanza, the speaker's analogy compares
A) the effects of high tide to the effects of low tide.
B) diminishing religious faith to the ebbing tide.
C) the sound of the waves to the sound of breathing.
D) the wind at night to the rise and fall of the sea.
E) the shoreline to a piece of clothing.
25. In line 22, "at the full" is best interpreted as
A) completely saturated.
B) loud and forceful.
C) overflowing.
D) at its maximum height.
E) abundant.
26. Between lines 28 and 29, there is a shift from
A) loathing to jubilation.
B) apathy to gusto.
C) discontent to satisfaction.
D) annoyance to pleasure.
E) dejection to solace.
27. The phrase "land of dreams" (line 31) serves primarily to support the notion that
A) idealists will inevitably be disappointed.
B) hopefulness comes from having strong faith.
C) goodness in the world is an illusion.
D) optimism serves as a defense against a hostile world.
E) love blinds one to reality.
28. What is the subject of the verb "Hath" (line 33)?
A) "love" (line 29).
B) "world" (line 30).
C) "land" (line 31).
D) "dreams" (line 31).
E) "joy" (line 33).
29. The poem can best be described as
A) a villanelle.
B) a narrative.
C) an ode.
D) a prose poem.
E) a dramatic monologue.
30. The poem derives its unity mainly from
A) a comparison between the past and the present.
B) the contrast between the peacefulness of nature and the tumult of battle.
C) a description of the sea.
D) the symbolism of The Sea of Faith.
E) the speaker's disenchantment with the world.
31. How does the speaker’s tone change through the first stanza?
A) At first he seems excited about his trip to France, but he becomes increasingly anxious about his companion’s feelings for him.
B) At first he seems dissatisfied, but the view from his window calms him.
C) At first he seems peaceful and happy, but the sound of the waves saddens him.
D) At first he is critical of his companion, but then he praises her.
32. When standing on Dover beach, which two countries are visible?
A) England and France
B) France and Dover
C) France and Belgium
D) England and Ireland
33. To whom is this poem addressed?
A) Sophocles
B) Love
C) the speaker’s beloved
D) A. H. Clough
34. What does the Sea of Faith, mentioned in the third stanza, have in common with the sea the speaker describes in the first stanza?
A) Both lie between two powerful nations.
B) Both are merely imagined by the speaker.
C) The speaker will have to cross both at some point in life.
D) The Sea of Faith has become more distant, as the actual sea does at low tide.
35. In the second stanza, what does the allusion to Sophocles convey?
A) the unbridgeable distance between shores
B) the universality of human suffering
C) the futility of day-to-day existence
D) the speaker’s superior education
16. E
17. B
18. C
19. A
20. B
21. A
22. C
23. C
24. B
25. D
26. E
27. C
28. B
29. E
30. E
31. C
32. A
33. C
34. D
35. B