Barrett Marum
AP. English
In the poem Dover Beach, the poet uses conflicting imagery t
o give meaning to the poem. The differences in the way that the poet sees the relationship between t
he beach and the sea and the way that most people would see it become more pronounced as the poem de
velops. He also uses the change in attitude from the first stanza to the last to emphasize his messa
ge.
The poem starts with the normal image one would expect of a beach and a peaceful moonlit night
, but quickly moves to an entirely different point of view. By the end of the first stanza the sea i
s no longer peaceful and calm, but crashing with a “grating roar”. The poet has taken an image that
most people associate with tranquility and turned it into a depressing scene. The stanza ends with “
The eternal note of sadness” being brought in by the sea. The poet is comparing the sea to the sum o
f all human troubles. The sea is eternal just as human suffering is eternal. The sea has also seen a
ll of the human suffering and in it’s roar the poet can hear that suffering.
When the poet talks ab
out Sophocles and the Aegean he is clearly reinforcing the idea of the sea being the bearer of miser
y. The reference is to Sophocles tragic plays and the suffering that necessarily accompanied them. T
his image becomes powerful as the reader realizes that the poet is saying that he can hear the same
message on Dover Beach that Sophocles heard so many years ago by the Aegean. He is basically saying
that the nature of life doesn’t change. There was suffering in the times of the Greeks, suffering in
his time, and there will be suffering after he is gone.
The poet finishes the poem of with several
images that lend even more power to the poem. At the end of the poem the sea has become the exact o
pposite of what it was at the beginning. No longer calm, the image the poet uses to describe it is t
hat of two armies senselessly fighting. There is no point to their struggle, just as there is no poi
nt to the crashing of the sea. It just is. And that is the point that the poet really seems to be tr
ying to make; that no matter what happens misery and suffering will always be present in the world a
nd there is no explanation for them. Just as the sea will continue to crash on the beaches of the wo
rld for eternity.
In Dover Beach, the poet successfully uses contrasting imagery to bring out the m
eaning of the poem. The change in attitude toward the sea and beach that takes place between the beg
inning of the poem and the end of the poem is dramatic. It is this change in attitude that allows th
e reader to decipher the meaning of the poem. All in all a little bit of a depressing poem; the idea
that suffering is eternal just as the sea is eternal is a powerful but depressing image. ------------------------------------------------------------- barrett marum english poem dover beach poet us
es conflicting imagery give meaning poem differences that poet sees relationship between beach that
most people would become more pronounced poem develops also uses change attitude from first stanza l
ast emphasize message starts with normal image would expect beach peaceful moonlit night quickly mov
es entirely different point view first stanza longer peaceful calm crashing with grating roar poet t
aken image that most people associate with tranquility turned into depressing scene stanza ends eter
nal note sadness being brought comparing human troubles eternal just human suffering eternal also se
en human suffering roar hear suffering when talks about sophocles aegean clearly reinforcing idea be
ing bearer misery reference sophocles tragic plays necessarily accompanied them this image becomes p
owerful reader realizes saying hear same message dover sophocles heard many years aegean basically s
aying nature life doesn change there times greeks time there will after gone finishes several images
lend even more power become exact opposite what beginning longer calm uses describe armies senseles
sly fighting there point their struggle just point crashing just really seems trying make matter wha
t happens misery will always present world explanation them will continue crash beaches world eterni
ty dover successfully contrasting imagery bring meaning change attitude toward takes place between b
eginning dramatic this attitude allows reader decipher meaning little depressing idea powerful depre
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