Dover Beach Theme Imagery and Sound Essay

In capital of Delaware Beach, Matthew Arnold creates a soliloquy that shows how perceptions can be misleading. The approximation of conjuration versus candor in capital of Delaware Beach reflects the utterers awareness of the incompatibility between what is sensed and what truly is real. Arnold conveys the theme of Dover Beach through three meaty developments. First, he uses optic pick upry. Second, he uses choke (aural) imagery. Third, he uses measure and metric. These mechanism alone do not explain why dissembling and truthfulness differ, tho they do help to explain how Arnold repairs up the poem to nurse the theme.The strongest support of the theme comes from its intense imagery which is scattered through stunned Dover Beach. The about affecting image is the sea. The sea includes the visual imagery, used to fetch illusion, as well as the auditory imagery, used to express earthly concern. The image is intensely drawn by Arnold to vividly chat the faith go away from the speakers world. The image of immorality encompasses the speakers tone just like the night wind pushes the clouds in to change a bright, calm sea into dark, raw shingles. The irony of Dover Beach lies in the contrasting elements of the troubled speaker and the calm sea with tranquil moon brighten. For example, the dreamy cliffs of the front stanza appear again in the business organizations for the world/Which lies before us like a estate of dreams.The sea which begins calm and tranquil, becomes a roar shore with naked shingles and night-wind which in turn disrupts the speakers faith. The symbolizationism of the speakers faith, as well as open and dark, reinforce the theme of illusion versus reality. The illusionary quality of the sea infers how really shaky and insecure the speakers faith has become. In line 21, the speaker refers to the sea as a metaphoric sea of faith. This symbol represents the illusion of the speakers faith. The reality of his lack of faith bec omes unembellished in lines 25 through 28.The speaker explains on how that once enormous and calm sea of faith has turned into a roaring, dark, windy, benightedy, and gravely bench. In reality, the speakers faith disappears with only darkness to replace it a powerful symbol of disillusionment which sets the mood for the rest of the poem. In stanza 3, the illustration like the folds of a bright girdle furled (Line 13) contrasts with Vast edges sober/And naked shingles of the world (Lines 27-28)The speakers problem besides appears in the sounds of the talking to throughout the poem. The consonant quality of the g and the r in grating roar (line 9) takes on an auditory quality, whereas the previous stanza displayed visual qualities. The grating and roaring p reduceles produce sound while the calm sea and glimmering French coast produce a visual effect. In line 13, the rowing tremulous cadence slow slows the reader with the sounds of the t, c, and s sounds. After stanza two, the third, quartetth, and fifth stanzas alternate sounds (stanza three, first three lines of stanza four, last louvre lines of stanza four and stanza five). The smooth sounds of l in line 7, long line, and the f in line 23, folds and furled, point out the instances of illusion where the conflict of the illusion versus reality does not exist. In contrast, the rough sounds in line 28, naked shingles of the world, indicate the places where reality not only exists, plainly where illusion cannot exist, and the speaker cannot escape his misery.The sounds of the course not only slow the speakers struggle, but also suggest the underlying motif of light and dark. The words glimmer and gleam. The gl suggests light whereas the ea suggest smallness. The er suggests movement. All combined, the allusion is make to the view of a small, moving light. This contrasts with the darkness of the later stanzas indicated by the words darkling and night. In the third stanza, the words faith and bright follo wed by but imply a loss of faith, and in doing so associates darkness with loss of faith. The lack of a pattern in the poetry scheme reflects the speakers inner debate. The rhyme scheme of the first stanza consists of ABACD. The first and third lines rhyme, to-night and light, but no other lines rhyme in the first stanza. The same instance occurs in the second stanzas rhyme scheme of BDCEFCGHG. Multiple lines do rhyme, but in no set pattern. This opposes the pattern of the iambic rhyme of the first stanza. A vivid definition of the calm sea in the first eight lines allows a imprint of the sea to unfold. The next six lines really stand out, especially the words Listen, grating roar, and eternal note of sadness.The distinction between the sight and sound imagery continues into the third stanza. Sophocles can hear the Aegean Sea, but cannot see it. He hears the purposelessness of human misery, but cannot see it because of the turbid lower and flow of the sea. The allusion of Sopho cles and the pastis replaced by the auditory image, 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 (Lines 24-28). There is a sense of sympathy. The words tremulous cadence slow and eternal note of sadness evokes a sense pity for the speaker whose struggle with illusion and reality seems to culmination in darkness and sadness.Not only will the speaker stimulate to confront reality, but beyond the naked shingles the darkness continues, break up only by the confused alarms and fights and ringing conflicts of battle by night-the sounds of peremptory futility Arnold uses much alliteration and assonance in the poem as well. For example, in line 31, To lie before us like a land of dreams, repeating the letter L at the beginning of three words. Also, in line 4, Gleams and is gone repeating the letter G. Arnold shows use of assonance in line 2, tied/lies and in line 31, l ie/likeThe most important method in Dover Beach includes the rhythm and the one thousand of the lines and the stanzas of the poem. The sea/is calm/to-night. The gentle lively rhythm of the iamb mirrors the ebb and flow of the sea. The actual words of the first line manifest this idea to picture a calm sea gently lapping at the beach. The second line also reveals a calm sea. However, line 3 breaks the pattern and forces the reader to break his or her own rhythm. Line 3 includes Upon/the straits,//on the French/Coast/the light. The line begins and ends with an iamb, but the middle is scummy up. This is a foreshadow of the disorder to come. The fourth line breaks up evening farther at the beginning, but the fifth line recovers the rhythm. Glimmering/and vast//out in/the tran/quil bay.The rhythm recovers by the end of the first stanza, but the original rhythm has not. The number of feet per line constantly increases from three to four and then to five, once again, a foreshadow of the upcoming struggle. The second stanza attempts to heal a pattern but the pattern disappears in line 7 only to reappear in line 8. The pattern of iambs continues through the stanza, but the number of feet per line never projects a pattern. In other words, by the use of a pattern in the rhythm and the lack of a pattern in the number of feet per line and the rhyme scheme, Arnold portrays an outwardly jazzy and flowing poem with underlying confusion and trouble.The illusion of the rhythm masksthe reality of the struggle of the speaker. The auditory qualities of lines 9-14 set the tone for the rest of the poem. LISten yoU meet the GRATing ROar / of PEBbles which the WAves DRaw back, anD FLinG, / aT their return, UP the HIgh strand, / BEgin, anD ceASE, anD and so agAIN beGIN, / with TREMulous CAdenCE SLOw, anD bring / the eterNAL noTe oF sadness IN.Arnolds Dover Beach applies technical qualities, symbolism, and imagery to reveal the theme of illusion versus reality. The emotional str uggle of the speaker is supported by the rhythm and the meter, the lack of a consistent rhyme scheme, the figures of speech, the sound of the words, and the irony of the inbuilt poem. The symbolism of the sea and the imagery of light and dark bring out the alternating visual and auditory qualities, which elaborate on illusion and reality, respectively, Arnolds portrayal of one persons battle with illusion and reality shows a complex view of humanity in a wide poem.