Disillusionment in Arnolds Dover Beach
“Dover Beach” is a poem of sadness that deals with the loss of human faith. Throughout the poem Arnold’s use of words portrays man’s disillusionment. He begins the first stanza by describing the beautiful nature of Dover Beach: “The sea is calm tonight. ... In the second stanza Arnolds distress is further intensified by his recognition that others like the great Greek dramatist Sophocles have felt the same sadness that he feels “Sophocles long ago/ Heard it on the Aegean ;” Sophocles was also unable to change things leaving him imprisoned in perpetual misery: “and it brought/ Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow/ Of human misery. ... Words like "Sadness", "misery", "melancholy", “dark”, "pain" accompany this effect and reveal the overall sense of disillusionment and helplessness that the author believes is how man is standing before the powers of time and inevitable change.