Dover Beach
a 6
The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair b 8
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!
Matthew Arnold
a
c
d
b
10
10
11
10
The Sea of Faith
k4
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore10l
m10
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
n6
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, l 10
o6
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear n 10
And naked shingles of the world. p 8
Only, from the long line of spray d 8
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land, c 8
Listen! you hear the grating roar e 8
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling, f 10
Ah, love, let us be true q 6
At their return, up the high strand, c 8
r 10
To one another! for the world, which seems
Begin, and cease, and then again begin, g 10
f 10
To lie before us like a land of dreams, r 10
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
g9
So various, so beautiful, so new, q 10
The eternal note of sadness in.
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, s 10
h6
t 10
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
Sophocles long ago
i 10
t 10
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Heard it on the Ægæan, and it brought
h 10
s 11
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
j 7
Where ignorant armies clash by night. s 9
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought, i 8
Hearing it by this distant northern sea. j 10
Look for any imagery that is particularly powerful and vivid
What is your image literally describing?
What words transform it from the normal?
How does this particular description transform the meaning?
"The cliffs of England stand, glimmering and vast"
What is your image literally describing?
The cliffs of Dover, England
What words transform it from the normal?
"glimmering," and, "vast."
How does this particular description transform the meaning?
While, "vast," may emphasises the size of the cliffs
in an almost fearful manner, the word,
"glimmering," is usually seen as a positive quality.
Therefore something that could be quite terrifying
is being described in terms of beauty. This both
adds to the impressiveness of the cliffs while
perhaps suggesting they may be dangerous.
"The eternal note of sadness"
What is your image literally describing?
The sound of the sea on the shore
What words transform it from the normal?
"eternal," and, "sadness."
How does this particular description transform the meaning?
The word, "sadness," is emotive and is heavily
emphasised in the metaphor by the word,
"eternal," which suggests not only that it will
never end, but also that it has always been there.
Thus, the sadness is an inescapable and inevitable
part of the human experience.
Look for any other poetic devices
How do these devices add to the meaning of the poem?
The rhyme scheme is irregular. This means that while lines
rhyme with each other, there is no pattern. In the fourth
stanza however, there are four lines that do not have a
rhyme at all. This disruption perhaps reflects the state of
the poet's mind, as he seems to be almost entirely in a day
dream at this point in the poem, reflecting deeply on the
world which he finds quite troubling.
Prep
Try to write a paragraph on one of the
devices you have chosen. If your
paragraph is very short and does not take
much time, write another.