Is “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold pessimistic or optimistic?
mrs-campbell Teacher High School – 11th Grade eNotes Editor If you look closely at the directions that Arnold takes each image and thought in this poem, it shows itself to be pretty pessimistic. It starts off with such a beautiful description of the night, a calm, serene oceanside view of the moon and sea, that the mood right off is one of beauty and tranquility: “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!” This description is calm and beautiful, so one might think that Arnold is writing a pretty, placid reflection of his evening. However, note closely how he takes this beautiful scene and tinges it with pessimism. Right after the above lines, he brings in a contradicting conjunction. He states, “Only,” which indicates that he is admitting the beauty of the scene, but saying it woul
mrs-campbell Teacher High School – 11th Grade Editor Emeritus Scholar Debater Expert Scribe $(document).ready(function() { $(‘a.toggle_expert_titles’).click(function() { $(‘#show_expert_titles’).toggle(); return false; }); }); If you look closely at the directions that Arnold takes each image and thought in this poem, it shows itself to be pretty pessimistic. It starts off with such a beautiful description of the… (The entire answer is 390 words.) This is an expert answer, written by an eNotes editor. To read the entire answer, please join eNotes. Sources: http://www.enotes.com/dover-beach-salem/dover-beach http://www.enotes.com/dover-beach/group/ http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/arnold/writings/dover…
